This Rocky Harbour retiree's Twitter feed might be the best thing on social media

Stan Collins' social media popularity seeped into the real world one evening this past summer, when a tourist stopped him while out for an evening stroll with one of his dogs, Luci.

"This fella came up to me and said, is that Luci? And I said yes. And he said, are you Stan? And I said yes. And he said, oh I am so glad to meet you," Collins recalled.

"He introduced himself as a man from England, who came to Rocky Harbour, Newfoundland, specifically because he'd been watching my feed for the last six or seven years, and decided this is the place he'd like to come for a vacation."

Collins wasn't particularly shocked — it wasn't his first fan encounter — despite the fact the retiree never went looking for online fame.

But fame found him: more than 14,000 people and counting like, comment on and share the photographs he posts on his prolific Twitter feed, one that may be one of the best things going on social media.

From sunsets to snowblowers

Chances are, if you've seen a gorgeous shot of the Gros Morne area on Twitter, Collins was behind the lens.

A lifelong amateur photographer, he always has a camera in his pocket: today, it's a Hasselblad with a well-worn handgrip. He estimates he takes about 60 photographs a day — no matter the weather — but it was only after his sister urged him to share them that he started a Twitter account in 2012.

"I often wondered whether I'd have 50 or 60 followers, and felt it would probably be mainly my family," he said.

"I had no idea that so many people would start seeing these pictures, and it just continues to grow exponentially." 

In person, Collins is laid back, and laughs about his unlikely role as an image ambassador for the area. But online, he keeps to a strict discipline: 10 posts a day, seven days a week, year round. He estimated he's posted more than 24,000 photos so far.

Scrolling through his feed, you get a sense of life in rural Newfoundland: spectacular sunsets coexist with shots of snowblowing out from under the latest storm.

There are eagles in flight, his beloved beagles asleep, and even the occasional selfie.

"Anytime I see something that interests me, I take a picture," Collins said matter-of-factly, adding that weather and animal shots seem to strike the biggest chords with his fans.

"It's just art, and it's there to make people happy." 

No nitwits allowed

Collins has set out other Twitter rules for himself too: no posting about politics or religion, and no getting drawn into any battles with internet trolls.

"I'm glad to say I've never encountered any real nitwits on my site. I've had the odd one, and I've just blocked them," he said.

Nitwits aside, Collins makes a point to respond to every single person who comments on his tweets.

Every. Single. One.

"I feel that if people are kind enough to make a little comment that requires an answer, or they ask a question specifically about Newfoundland or the park here or something like that, I always send them a response," he said.

He takes a page from his former career as a vice-president of the energy utility giant Fortis, when he'd spend four hours every day answering emails.

"I had a lot of employees and got a huge amount of emails every day from around Canada. And I took pride in answering every one of those emails on a daily basis," he said, although he noted when it comes to Twitter replies, he limits himself to two hours a day on the site.

'An instant in time'

While Collins credits posting to his Twitter feed with giving structure to his relaxed, retired life (photography "is the reason to get out of bed in the morning,") he does, despite all appearances, take a break from the internet occasionally.

For the week between Christmas and New Year's, his 10 posts a day are a sort-of greatest hits of the past year, a reposting of his most liked photographs.

Then, he deletes everything, and begins again.

"My life has always been an instant in time, and that's Twitter too. You post a photograph and it's there for a minute and clunk — it's gone. And it's the same with my Twitter feed," he said.

"I'm always looking at the next picture."

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