he goldfinch flew from his backyard feeder in Jim Thorpe and landed on a billboard in New York City. Well, that’s kind of how it happened.

Jim Logue captured a close-up of the head of a goldfinch with his camera’s zoom lens on May 10.

His photograph appears in New York inside a 10-inch square along with 792 other pictures and paintings from 514 artists.

The billboard is an invitation for art appreciation that is located in New York to inspire others to want to delve into the world of visual representation.

“A man named Rudolph Van Valkenburg from Paris is displaying art in a variety of public places around the world in this manner,” said Logue. “His mission is to bring artwork to the public because he feels that few people go to art museums now unless they are artists themselves or they have their work there on display.”

Van Valkenburg, Chief Officer of ArtQuid@ ExpoMetro, charges a fee of $99 to display collages of photographs and paintings in public places for a minimum of a week.

Logue’s goldfinch on the billboard is located at a street level parking garage on Clarkson Street in Greenwich near the New York Disney Headquarters. Van Valkenburg’s billboard collages have also appeared in London and Berlin.

“I found out about him on Facebook where I post many of my photos,” said Logue, who has worked for Blue Ridge Communications for the past 15 years.

Logue also contributes photos he takes at local meetings and events to the Times News, where his mother had worked for many years as a circulation manager.

He was influenced by his father into the artistic world of photography. Logue finds one of the best places to shoot pictures is in his own backyard.

“I like to get shots of birds. I have one of a Baltimore oriole and another of a blue jay that are two of my favorites.”

Like many accomplished photographers, he’s always trying to capture the perfect sunrise and sunset to add to his growing collection.

Speaking of collections, Logue has one of several vintage cameras. He owns a Kodak Hawkeye from the mid 20th century and a Minolta 7000 35 mm camera that was introduced in 1985.

“I also bought an Argus Argoflex 75 made in the late 1940s at an auction,” he said, “but of course, everything we do today is digital and no film is needed to get developed. All these cameras are fully operational and you can get film for them on special order.”

Logue is proud of his hometown and has become a member of a planning committee that will develop special events with the Carbon County Commissioners’ office for 2026.

“That year will be the 250th anniversary of America and every state is going to create events to celebrate our nation’s history,” he said. “I’m excited and want to be part of Carbon County’s planning and celebration.”

For now, James Logue will continue to take more pictures and improve upon his photography and photojournalism skills. He’s currently taking an online course that he hopes will help him produce more interesting photos that he can share with the public.

“Anyone can take pictures,” he said. “I’d like to learn more about the artistic quality of photography.”