Story Tools • • Date of Issue: July 02, 2008 Former Islander volunteers to shoot mermaid calendar by Lisa Neff. Islander Reporter The July image in the Weeki Wachee Springs Mermaid Calendar, shot by former Islander Andrew Brusso. Calendars are available at Weeki Wachee's gift shop, State Road 50 and Highway 19 near Spring Hill, and www.weekiwachee.com. Islander Photos: Courtesy Andrew Brusso Photographer Andrew Brusso Former Islander Andrew Brusso published his first photograph at the age of 10 and worked for his hometown paper, The Islander, through his mentor Gene Page III. Brusso went on to become a professional photographer, most recently shooting a limited-edition, 16-month Mermaid Calendar for the famed Weeki Wachee Springs park. Brusso volunteered to shoot the calendar after hearing about Weeki Wachee’s “Save Our Tails” campaign. Brusso attended Rochester Institute of Technology and studied photography for a year in Salzburg, Austria. He then went to work as a staff photographer for Hampton’s Magazine in South Hampton, N.Y., where he began training his lens on celebrities. From there, Brusso went to work in New York City and, over the years, he has photographed numerous celebrities, politicians, sports stars and musicians. The names include Dolly Parton, Jack Black, Ellen DeGeneres, Jim Carrey, Will Smith, Roger Clemens, Fiona Apple, LeBron James, Amy Poehler, Stephen Colbert, Jason Kidd, Jerry Seinfeld, Howard Stern and John Glenn. “Shooting John Glenn was my favorite photo shoot - when he went back into space. Growing up in Florida and into the whole space thing, I was stoked. The [Newsweek] cover got a lot of recognition and Glenn picked my photo for the cover of his biography.”