Pat Trotter
born in the bronx
pat trotter
Anchored to Long Beach Island, N.J.
I was born in The Bronx the daughter of an Air Force officer. We spent a lot of time moving from place to place and traveling and so now, in my work, I seek to invoke a sense of place. My inspiration has come from Dorothea Lange, Gregory Heisler, Dawoud Bey, Richard Avedon, Mary Ellen Mark, Stephen Shore, and others.
My photographic vision has been shaped partly by the extraordinary photographers with whom I have studied: Kurt Markus, Norman Mauskopf, Joe McNally, Raina Matar, Aline Smithson, Jason Langer, and David Turner.
A keen sense of adventure is part of my DNA and I love to travel and photograph the essence of people and places. In Africa that meant photographing wildlife as well as people – especially the elephants with whom I feel a special connection.
In 2022 I took a trip to Indian Country in the Dakotas and Colorado and focused on learning about the heritage of the Native Peoples. Visiting sites such as Wounded Knee and Standing Rock Reservation gave me a sense of the spirits whose stories are finally being told.
In December 2022 I made my third trip to Cuba, this time journeying through Cienfuegos, Trinidad and Playa Larga. This is being followed up by my fourth trip in March 2023 to Baracoa and Santiago.
But it is in the Scottish Highlands where my soul now resides and I have begun work on a major project to photograph the history of the Lords of the Isles and publish a book about these medieval rulers and the land they inhabited. You can read about my Scotland and Cuba journeys on this website under journals.
Locally I photograph for the Surflight Theater and the Lighthouse International Film Festival.
