Chuck Ärlund
Chuck is a photographer living in the Nashville, TN, area, Murfreesboro to be exact. He teaches photography at Middle Tennessee State University. He started photographing musicians in 1988 when he was a member of an Aqua Net hard rock band. As a musician and performer himself, he understands how much visuals mean to artists. He knows how to create an image that best suits the style of music they make or perform.
His personal tastes in music are all over the place but he is mostly inspired by the world of rock-n-roll. An accomplished guitar player, he listens to jazz almost every day. His daily playlist will also include Duran Duran, Slayer and so much in between. He and his wife almost named one of their kids after Robin Zander but ended up going with Nikolette Sixx. All three of his children, in fact, have middle names that are the last names of photographers he admires. Check out Nikki Sixx's photography.
Besides his classes at Middle Tennessee State University, he also leads lectures and classes independently for photographers looking to advance their lighting techniques.
MOST MEMORABLE SOUTHLIGHT MOMENT
The first meeting of the four founding members of Southlight, when my vision of the Salon €” a group of like-minded image-makers getting together and sharing experiences, techniques, stories and friendship €” was officially formed. There was electricity in the air as we discussed our love of photography and our ideas for the future of the Salon.
FAVORITE NICK DANTONA MEAL
Pasta with any of Nick's homemade meat sauces. He cooks with love and it shows.
PHOTOGRAPHIC EVENT THAT IMPACTED ME THE MOST
My photography professor, Tom Jimison at MTSU, complimenting me on my final series of images for a class. This was pivotal because I was not a photo major. I loved photography but had not even thought that it could be a career. This was the first time I had received a thoughtful compliment on a series of images, and it made me think in the back of my head that I might be good enough to be a real photographer.