ShutterSpudz
Patrick & Ida Collins
Sam Shutterspudz (a.k.a.
Patrick M. Collins) has over twenty-five years of photography experience; he
has been published in National Wildlife, Petersen’s Photographic, Outdoor &
Travel Photography, Birders World, Richmond Surroundings, Blue Ridge County,
Virginia Wildlife, Sierra Club Calendars and others. His work has been featured in calendars of Virginia for Graphic
Arts Publishing. He lives in Manassas,
Virginia with his lovely wife Shirley. Their combined work can be found on the
AGPix, Portfolio or ShutterSpudz website.
Ida Shutterspudz (a.k.a.
Shirley R. Collins) began as the Sous Photographer of this operation (as in
Sous Chef). She was promoted to
photographer and has been photographing seriously in Virginia for over five
years. Though still new to nature
photography, Ida is perfectly comfortable photographing bears, wrangling
snakes, looking for butterflies and running through the fields and forests with
Sam. In addition to photographing, she is the graphics artist, scanner, writer
and business operations manager of this endeavor.
Both Ida and Sam travel many
weekends to take photographs and spend all of their free time, when not on the
sofa, exploring the natural world.. The
philosophy they put forth is for serious nature photographers. While they use humor to convey techniques,
quality photography is very important to them. Their presentation will help you
enjoy the experience as well.
OVERVIEW
After spending approximately
twenty-five years hiking in numerous national, state, and local parks we
discovered a universal truth. As a
Tater, never ask directions from people in the park. Why? Because they will
assume you enjoy walking long distances down trails covered with rocks,
tree stumps, slippery roots, and sprinkled with “gifts” from dogs in the middle
of the trail. Unlike many nature
photographers, most rangers and avid hikers enjoy walking long distances and do
not always carry heavy camera equipment when doing so. They are there for a different reason and
when giving directions, do not always take into consideration the equipment you
are carrying. For the mathematically inclined remember that:
(C+L+T+B) divided by miles
hiked equals A.H.
While there are numerous books
with maps and information on national parks, most were designed for hikers or
tourists, not photographers carrying heavy equipment. San and Ida humbly offer
Tater techniques, directions, descriptions and maps to assist the nature
photographer who wants to capture subjects and landscapes with the least amount
of effort.
Come to the 7 December VPS
meeting and learn the Ten Cardinal Rules of ShutterSpudz Photography.