Andy and his Gear
Andy believes strongly that it is the photographer and how they use the light that makes a great picture rather than the gear. He does conduct regular gear reviews for warehouse express and currently he is testing the Nikon D3, please click here to go to the review section of the Warehouse Express site.
The Aspira Fund - a conservation partnership between Andy Rouse and Paramo Directional Clothing Systems
Andy has always been involved in conservation projects, but always in the background and he has never made a big thing of his involvement with anyone. Finally however he is coming out of the closet a little as we have realised that having his brand name involved with a conservation project can help it get more funds to use. Therefore Andy has teamed up with Páramo Directional Clothing Systems to produce an exclusive, high spec. range of garments aimed at the outdoor photography professional and enthusiast. Andy wears these garments in all climates and wore the Aspira range exclusively during his time in Antarctica and South Georgia. In his opinion it is without equal in the world of serious outdoor clothing and it works.
A percentage of the proceeds from the sales of these garments are placed into the The Aspira Fund, which uses those funds to assist small conservation projects worldwide. Each year, the fund’s management committee will select research or conservation projects to benefit from the fund. In 2007 the Aspira Fund made donations to RYICO and the Capercaillie Recovery Project in Scotland. RYICO are a Rwanda based youth organisation that takes street kids (the unseen victims of the genocide) and re-educate them to give them a better chance in life. Andy will be visiting the centre in Rwanda in February 2008, paying for the visit from his own finances. The Capercaillie is one of the most endangered birds in the UK and the Aspira Fund has allocated funds to assist in vital research to identify what can be done to stop the decline.
In addition Andy donates 25% of the profits from the sale of to all prints from this website to the Aspira Fund and there are many events that happen during 2008 that will provide much needed funds. His Inner Visions lecture with Joe Cornish in late 2007 raised many thousands of pounds for the fund and there will be hopefully more Inner Visions talks in 2008. Full details can always be found first on the BLOG so add the RSS feed to your browser to be the first to know of any developments. Both Andy and Paramo are committed to making the Aspira Fund a success and all monies donated are coming directly from their profits.
To see the full Páramo range and the Aspira Fund garments please click here to be taken straight to their website.