Brownie Camera launches career of photographer Collins

By Peggy Kelly Santa Paula TimesA Brownie Box camera given to a 12-year-old boy was the beginning of a distinguished second career and now the photographic works of Terry Collins are on display at Blanchard Community Library, sponsored by the Santa Paula Society of the Arts.Collins’ work will be exhibited through Aug. 31 at the library, located at 119 N. 8th St.“Terry has a wonderful eye for not only the scene but also the lighting,” said Virginia Gunderson of the SPSA. “When you look at his photographs it’s almost like you are right there...”Collins’ experiences with the first Brownie Box camera “changed my life forever. I can look at a photograph taken forty years ago of Lamark Lake in the High Sierras hiking with my family and remember not only composing the shot, but also of the many memories associated with that trip. This is one of the great values of photography, a memory jogger if you will.”But Collins took the camera beyond memory joggers as he developed a keen interest in hiking and backpacking, never without a camera.“Not only did I enjoy the experience of nature but the opportunity to shoot with my Nikon” he noted.After graduating from Northern Arizona University with degrees in Geology and Business Management, Collins formed Collins Communication Corporation, a successful enterprise that allowed him both the time and the money to “pursue one of the truly great loves my life, photography.”Photography has allowed Collins to meld travel and teaching, including at Oxnard Community College where conversing with Jim England’s landscape photography class allowed him to “help students’ with their inquiries, which has made my passion very worthwhile.”