Imagine a photogenic model, posing for her close-up. Now imagine an endangered San Joaquin kit fox.

For wildlife photographer Susan Middleton, the two are the same.

Middleton drew a crowd of over 100 students and faculty at De Anza College’s Kirsch Center on Tuesday night. Her photos try to capture the soul of her subjects, all of which are classified as federally endangered species.

“Evidence of Evolution” is her most recent work, made in collaboration with Mary Ellen Hannibal. She has also been featured in National Geographic magazine.

But Middleton warned about the precipitous nature of her work.

“They’re victims of all kinds of environmental degradation,” she told De Anza students.

Two of her books, “Archipelago” and “Remains of a Rainbow,” brought her to Hawaii where over 25 percent of the federally listed endangered species exist.

Middleton, who has been “more humbled by plants than any other subject,” described native forests of Hawaii as “paradise” and a place “where the symphony was still playing.”

Readers can preview more of Middleton’s work on her website at:

www.susanmiddleton.com