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Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Feb 26, 2006 by Jan Biles Capital-Journal

FEBRUARY 26, 2006

NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY

A Lawrence photographer develops the

patience needed to zoom in on snakes, frogs

PHOTOGRAPHS BY ANN WILLIAMSON/THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL

Suzanne Collins gets some help from her husband, Joseph Collins, while photographing a Kansas milk snake in their kitchen.

Lawrence photographer Suzanne Collins, whose work has appeared in a number of publications, including Peterson's field guides, recently had a photograph of the endangered dusky gopher frog published in a national wildlife magazine.

COLLINS'

WORK

More than 14,000 of Collins' 30,000 nature images are of amphibians, turtles and reptiles, including these:

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Plains spadefoot

Plainbelly water snake (shedding)

Marbled salamander

Western rat snake

Desert spiny lizard

BY JAN BILES

THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL

LAWRENCE --- We all have things in our work environment that annoy us. For Suzanne Collins, it's mosquitoes.

The nature photographer from Lawrence said the insects drive her crazy when she is trying to capture images of amphibians, turtles and reptiles.

"The worse part is mosquitoes on my hand when I'm trying to be still," she said.

Suzanne has amassed 30,000 nature images since 1981, when she began making treks into the woods with her husband, Joseph Collins, to photograph various animals. Joseph, the state's most prolific author about Kansas wildlife, teaches herpetology classes at Washburn University.

Suzanne's photographs have appeared in a number of publications, including Peterson's field guides for venomous animals/poisonous plants and reptiles/amphibians of eastern and central North America. She also has co-authored a

number of books, including "Kansas Wildlife" and "Kansas Wetlands: A Wildlife Treasury."

More than 14,000 of her photographs are of amphibians, turtles and reptiles, the best of which are marketed by Photo Researchers, a stockhouse in New York City.

"We get dozens of requests per month," Joseph said, adding that Microsoft has purchased a number of her images.

Suzanne, who retired in December 1998 as assistant to the dean of the School of Education at The University of Kansas, said if a photo request comes from a student or educational organization for use in a classroom, she often will send the image free of charge.

"But if it's someone writing a book for profit, we charge," she said.

When she started out, Suzanne relied on her husband to help her locate animals and photograph them safely, particularly in regard to how close she should get when photographing snakes.

"Venomous snakes have a comfort zone. Suzanne didn't have as much experience with that comfort zone," said Joseph, who has been treated at a hospital at least once after being bitten by a poisonous snake. "I know how far a snake can strike and the warning signs of a striking snake."

So far, Suzanne has escaped the fangs of snakes.

The Collinses travel throughout the United States observing and photographing wildlife. They typically take a winter trip to Florida.

"My philosophy of photography is to take many photos," she said.

One of their most memorable finds was in 1986 when they spotted an alligator snapping turtle --- which they named Omar --- in Montgomery County in southeast Kansas. When Suzanne tried to photograph the turtle, she got too close and the turtle raised up out of the water and snapped at her.

The photo is fuzzy, but she has kept the image to remind herself to be cautious and alert when she is snapping her photos.

Suzanne, who uses a digital Nikon camera with an old lens she has had for many years, said she has a list of animals she would like to photograph in the future, including the Vegas leopard frog.

"It's found in only two or three springs outside of Las Vegas," her husband said.

"I want to photograph rare animals in case they become extinct," she said.

Her photograph of the endangered dusky gopher frog was published in the December 2005 issue of Bird Conservation, a magazine published by the American Bird Conservancy. The dusky gopher frog, measuring about four inches long, is found only in a few small ponds in southern Mississippi, although once it had a wider habitat range.

She said she also would like to photograph a rainbow snake, which she has yet to see in the wild. The rainbow snake, typically found in aquatic habitats in South Carolina and Georgia, gets its name from its red stripes, yellow chin and the iridescent, bluish sheen of its scales.

Suzanne said photography "by and large is not necessarily a taught skill," but she can give some pointers to those wanting to become wildlife photographers:

- Go out into the field as often as you can and to as many different habitats as you can.

- Shoot a lot of photos.

- Find someone who can identify what you have photographed.

- Take photographs of animals that no one else is shooting.

- Know your camera.

Joseph said shooting wildlife photographs isn't as easy as it seems. Photographers often spend hours standing in swamps or lying on their bellies waiting for animals to appear or move to the best advantage point for a photo.

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Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Feb 26, 2006 by Jan Biles Capital-Journal

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