Elam Stoltzfus
Elam Stoltzfus | |
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![]() Stoltzfus in 2012 | |
Born | Elam Stevie Stoltzfus May 18, 1957 Pennsylvania, U.S. |
Alma mater | Florida State University |
Years active | 1990-present |
Spouse(s) | Esther Stoltzfus (1985-present) |
Website | www.liveoakproductiongroup.com |
Elam S. Stoltzfus (born 1957) is an American environmental documentary filmmaker.
Early life[]
Stoltzfus was born into an Amish family of nine in Pennsylvania in 1957. During his later teens Elam left the Amish community, purchased a car and a camera. He first attended Chipola College and then earned his B.S. in Media & Communication from Florida State University’s College of Communication and Information.
Career[]
Stoltzfus is devoted to working on nature documentaries in Florida and has traveled all over the state documenting stories of Florida’s varied environment. He has made five hour-long nature documentaries, with the genesis for this work beginning with the half-hour "Visions of Florida: the Photographic Art of Clyde Butcher" produced in 1990. He first met Clyde Butcher as the cinematographer for the project Visions of Florida. This was his first award-winning project; he received a Louis Wolfson award for “Best in Artistic Expression.” This film was also his first to be released nationwide through Public Television.[1] After a six year stint as a media designer for the state of Florida, in 2000 he began work on "Living Waters: Aquatic Preserves of Florida" featuring 12 aquatic preserves located around the state.[2] His next project was "Apalachicola River: An American Treasure" on the iconic waterway of the Florida panhandle.[3] After this he completed "Big Cypress: The Western Everglades" featuring Clyde Butcher’s backyard.[4] Following this was "Kissimmee Basin: The Northern Everglades".[5] As a way to tie all of these Everglades projects together, he was a member of the four-team expedition group, the Florida Wildlife Corridor Expedition.[6] The team traveled 1000 miles in 100 days from the Everglades to the Okefenokee Swamp.[7] This journey was documented in the film of the same name and garnered Stoltzfus a Suncoast Regional Emmy in the Documentary category.[8] According to Walton Outdoors, Stoltzfus is currently working on a project involving Walton County's Coastal Dune Lakes[9] as “bringing awareness to [the] lakes is key to helping preserve our environment… we are fortunate now to have an educational documentary in the works.”[10] The film was featured on PBS’ Public Television Earth Day weekend in 2015.
Personal life[]
Elam Stoltzfus married his wife, Esther Yoder Stoltzfus in 1985. Together, they have two children, Nicholas and Laura.
Awards and honors[]
In 2010 Stoltzfus was recognized by the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission for documenting wildlife in the state of Florida.
In May 2013, Stoltzfus was invited to speak at Florida State University's Spring Commencement Ceremony.[11] That year, governor Rick Scott recognized Elam and the Florida Wildlife Corridor Expedition team for their efforts to aid in conservation.
In 2014, Stoltzfus won a Suncoast Emmy in the category of best documentary for the Florida Wildlife Corridor film.[12] He received both the 2014 Conservation of the year award by the Florida Wildlife Federation at the Annual Awards Banquet in Naples, Florida,[13] and the 2014Sierra Club of Florida Cypress Award for Conservation Education.[14]
Filmography[]
- “Great Florida Cattle Drive” (2017)
- “Coastal Dune Lakes: Jewels of Florida's Emerald Coast” (2015)
- “Florida Wildlife Corridor Expedition: Everglades to Okefenokee” (2013)
- "Kissimmee Basin: the Northern Everglades” (2012)
- “Photoshop Made Simple by Clyde Butcher” (2010)
- “Big Cypress Swamp: Western Everglades” (2009)
- "Will McLean: Songs about Florida” (2007)
- “Our Legacy: Florida Communities Trust” (2006)
- "Apalachicola River: an American Treasure” (2006)
- “Our Signature: the Wild and Scenic Loxahatchee River” (2005)
- “Living Waters: Aquatic Preserves of Florida” (2004)
- “Visions of Florida: Photographic Art of Clyde Butcher” (1990)
References[]
- ^ http://comm.cci.fsu.edu/emmy-award-winning-comm-alumnus-melds-nature-and-art-in-documentaries/
- ^ http://liveoakproductiongroup.com/AquaticPreserve/ap_home.html
- ^ http://www.apalachicolaamericantreasure.com
- ^ http://www.bigcypressswamp.org/home.html
- ^ http://www.northerneverglades.com
- ^ http://vimeo.com/flwildlifecorridorfilm
- ^ http://www.wjhg.com/news/noonshow/headlines/Nature-Documentary-269231171.html
- ^ http://www.coastaldunelakes.org/Articles.html
- ^ http://www.coastaldunelakes.org/home.html
- ^ http://www.waltonoutdoors.com/award-winning-cinematographer-creating-coastal-dune-lake-documentary/
- ^ Video on YouTube
- ^ http://suncoastchapter.org/awards/2013-suncoast-emmy-awards/2013-nominations/
- ^ http://www.fwfonline.org/News-and-Pressroom/Florida-Wildlife-Federation-Presented-Annual-Awards-to-Outstanding-Conservationists-at-the-Naples-Hilton-on-June-21%2c-2014.aspx#.VIiv04dU3ww
- ^ http://www.florida.sierraclub.org/awards.asp
- 1957 births
- Living people
- American film producers
- American conservationists
- American environmentalists
- Florida State University alumni
- Amish people