Photography, writing provide creative outlet for program coordinator
A newborn fawn photographed by Patty Mondore at her camp in Redwood, in the Thousand Islands region.
Whether it‘s with a camera, a keyboard or a microphone, Patty Mondore likes to express herself and share her world.
A 25-year employee of Upstate, where she is the pediatric residency program coordinator, Mondore has written numerous newspaper columns and books to express her thoughts, often of a devotional nature, and usually featuring photographs she has taken of her beloved Thousand Islands region, where she and her husband have a camp.
“I‘ve always loved nature. I‘ve always been outdoors since I was a little kid, when I had a Brownie,” she said, recalling her first Kodak camera.
“When I am outdoors I like to shoot photos. I just want to bring it all back in with me.”
Her photos, and some videos, include views of the St. Lawrence River and its islands and wildlife, including a chipmunk that she and her husband, Bob Mondore, a retired Upstate clinical data staffer, named Hoover. The energetic Hoover – named for the way he practically vacuums up his food -- has achieved something of a following on YouTube.
She takes pictures with an inexpensive, point-and-shoot camera that has a good zoom lens for capturing animals. “Someone once told me that being a good photographer is strictly a matter of showing up at the right time and place,” she notes.
Two of her photos – of a butterfly and a rainbow, both taken near her Jamesville home -- hang in the Upstate Cancer Center.
Her photos can be seen on her Web site, which also features songs and keyboard music by Mondore.
This article appears in the fall 2016 issue of Upstate Health magazine.
Mondore captured this image of a butterfly and butterfly bush at her home in Jamesville.
