Instagram Russ has ultimate travel job
TRAVELLING round the globe, taking pictures and posting them on Instagram may not sound like work to you but for Russ Francis that is exactly what he does in his job as cruise giant Royal Caribbean UK’s Instagrammer-In-Chief. Not only that but Russ, 35, from Gravesend, is about to take on his first apprentice.
Is this really a job?
It is indeed. I know it sounds crazy but for the past two years I have been all over the world taking pictures and posting them on Instagram.
I often fly to cruise destinations and take shots of on-shore excursions to get a feel for what it is like. I might also fly out to join a ship. In the past year I have been capturing the fun and adventures that come with life aboard the largest cruise ship in the world Symphony of the Seas.
I am constantly trying to capture the feel and personality of a place through people, food, nature or a moment in time. No two weeks in this job are ever the same and in two years I have never once got bored.
I might be flying to the other side of the world one day and then back for a couple of weeks to get on top of paperwork. It’s just as well my partner understands. I think one of my highlights has to be taking shots of meteor showers in Alaska.
I particularly love taking landscape shots and that was spectacular.
Is there pressure to get THE shot?
Not at all. I am having the time of my life and so I get up every day, do what
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needs to be done and love every minute of it. I suppose jet lag might be considered the only downside to the job but it is never a real problem.
Are you laden down with gear all of the time?
I manage to get my two cameras in my small backpack which comes with me everywhere so I’m ready to work wherever and whenever. Mobile phones
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What’s top of your wish list?
The Northern Lights. I’ve been to Iceland but didn’t manage to see them. They are elusive. In a survey the Lights are top of the wish list for Instagrammers.
How did you get the job? I was discovered after I entered Royal
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Russ hard at work are so good now I even get the occasional shot that way. Caribbean’s Internship of the Seas in 2016. They were looking for an intern to travel the world taking photos of all the amazing destinations and onboard adventures that Royal Caribbean offers on its ships.
The judges were so impressed with my pictures they sent me off on a trip and that was that.
Have you always been a photographer?
No. After school I did various jobs including being a project manager working nights at a data company.
About 15 years ago, I borrowed my mum’s camera for a trip to Cornwall and found I just had a knack for taking good pictures. It was at the time social media was emerging and I used Facebook and Instagram as a way to showcase my work. I got the travel bug and saved up for two years to go to Australia.
It was amazing. Over the years I have bought the camera equipment I need, never knowing it would become my career.
What now?
I am just going to carry on doing what I am doing for as long as I can. I’m currently helping to find my side-kick. Due to the popularity of travel photography on Instagram, as well as research showing that millennials favour experiences over material assets, we are in the process of hiring a Shore Explorer Apprentice to join me.
I am one of the four judges who will decide on the winner from all the entries we’ve recieved.
The lucky winner will earn the equivalent of £104,000 on an all-expenses paid global trip. All they have to do is take pictures every day and post them on Instagram. What a life.
■ Check out Russ’s Instagram: instagram.com/russ_francis/
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Highlight? Taking shots of meteors in Alaska
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