But it is Baltimore itself that keeps me rooted. All that has happened to me over the years, anything that has truly mattered, has happened to me here. Here has been my life, and I am at home here. And yet every once in a while, I'll unconsciously refer to home, and I won't be speaking of Baltimore. I say "Home," and I mean Uniontown…a place I haven't lived in almost half a century. It can happen as suddenly as a clap of thunder from a clear, blue sky. A rogue wave crashing down on a beach and washing the blanket out to sea. Or a random gust of wind that rakes an entire picnic lunch off the table. In that moment, it's as though I never left that morning, the day after commencement, in 1978. The past, and the place it happened are also home. And no matter the time or distance I journey, they are always right behind me.

Born:

Uniontown PA October 7, 1960

Education:

The Maryland Institute College of Art

Graduated Cum Laude as a Bachelor of Fine Art 1982

Professional Experience:

• Photographer - The City Paper, Baltimore MD 1982-1988
• Photographer - The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore MD 1988-1999
• Freelance Photographer 1999-Present

Columnist - The Baltimore Messenger, STYLE Magazine, and Smart Woman Magazine

Work has appeared in Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Examiner, Sacramento Bee, Washington Post, and Philadelphia Inquirer

Freelance clients include AARP, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Lockheed-Martin, Six Flags Amusement Parks, Chronicle of Higher Education, Johns Hopkins University, TransAmerica, Aegon, McCormick Spice, University of Maryland, Open Society Institute, and WBAL - TV

Recipient of three Maryland State Arts Council Grants

Published "In Service…" A Photo Documentary of the Baltimore City Fire Department

Commissioned Photographer for "America 24/7: 24 Hours. 7 Days. Extraordinary Images of One American Week" 2003

Solo Show at the Baltimore Creative Alliance October 13 - November 24, 2018: "A Charmed Life. The Jim Burger Photography Retrospective."

Published photographic memoir, "What's Not To Like? Words and Pictures of a Charmed Life" 2021