PRESQUE ISLE – An extensive collection of photographs that capture the beauty and vitality of the largest county east of the Mississippi River will be on exhibit at Northern Maine Community College throughout the month of April, which is designated National Community College Month.
Contributed photo
This photo of a familiar fall site in Aroostook County is among those that will be on display this month at Northern Maine Community College in photographer Ray Burby’s “From My Backyard” exhibit.
The official opening of “From My Backyard” Maine Photography, presented by photographer Ray Burby of Caribou, will coincide with the official 150th birthday party for the city of Presque Isle Saturday, April 4 from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. in the Edmunds building on the NMCC campus. The exhibit will be on display throughout the month of April in the Edmunds Library and Conference Center.
Featuring more than three dozen photos from throughout the region, the exhibit – Burby’s first – includes the people, places, flora and fauna and other things that Aroostook County is know for. Images include Aroostook sunsets, photographs taken from the air, wildlife and photos taken at both the Can-Am Sled Dog Races in Fort Kent and the Balloon Festival in Presque Isle.
“The work of Ray Burby encapsulates in two dimensions the beauty and majesty of Aroostook County – in particular – and Maine in general. His sensitive use of color, form, and contrast paints the natural world ‘from his backyard’ vividly, inviting the viewer to reflect upon the often overlooked details that provide the context for life in northern New England: the flora and fauna, the broad vistas, and the big sky that watches over them,” said Gail Roy, NMCC assistant dean of learning resources and exhibit curator. “The photographs present a variety of perspectives – close-up, landscape, and aerial – but the work undeniably issues from one very special point of view, that of the artist himself.”
Born and raised in Caribou, Burby’s love of photography was started by his father, Vetal Burby Jr. when he was about 12 years old. He got his first 35mm camera while stationed in the Republic of the Philippines. Burby spent 20 years in the U.S. Air Force retiring in 1994 and moving back to his home in Caribou with his wife, JoAnn. While in the military, he was stationed and practiced his photography in places as far away as Thule, Greenland and Lisbon, Portugal.
After returning, he continues taking photos here in The County. He has had many photos published in ECHOES magazine during the past few years and even has photos on the State of Maine Web site.
Burby is an active member of the Civil Air Patrol in Caribou and serves as the Squadron’s public affairs officer, mission scanner and mission observer. Serving in these positions affords him the opportunity to take many aerial photographs of The County. He currently works as the facilities manager for BurrellesLuce in Presque Isle and Houlton.
Aside from the opening April 4, the “From My Backyard” exhibit can be viewed throughout April on Mondays through Thursdays from 7:30 a.m.-8 p.m. and Fridays from 7:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Contributed photo
Ray Burby
