Pat Trotter
born in the bronx
about pat trotter
Anchored to Long Beach Island, N.J.
Born in the Bronx and the daughter of an Air Force officer Pat spent much of her life moving from place to place. She spent 30 years living in Lexington, Kentucky and working in marketing and television for the Thoroughbred industry. But there was one place that always anchored her, Long Beach Island, New Jersey where her family built a beach house in 1955 and where she spent her summers. In 2016 she moved permanently to this small island where she feels grounded and completely at home. Inspired by the people of this region, she has launched a project to document the men and women of the Jersey Shore who make their livelihood from the shore. She is also working on a project to document the old, small cottages on Long Beach Island, many of which are in danger of being torn down. Both projects will result in books and possible exhibitions.
Pat has always been drawn to photographing the human condition through environmental portraits and a personal connection to people she photographs. Her inspiration has come from Dorothea Lange, Gregory Heisler, Richard Avedon, Mary Ellen Mark, Stephen Shore and others. She has attended workshops by some of the best modern photographers such as Kurt Markus, Norman Mauskopf, Joe McNally, and David Turner. She graduated from American University in Washington, D.C. and studied photojournalism at Syracuse University. She holds a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Kentucky.
She has always had a sense of adventure and enjoys travel and photographing the essence of people and places she visits. In Africa that meant photographing wildlife as well as people – especially the elephants with whom she feels a special connection. Her 2020 trip to Cuba focused on the tobacco farmers in the Vinales Valley and their way of life. The pandemic curtailed travel or she would have been back in Cuba by now!
Toward the end of 2020 Pat began photographing the commercial fishing industry in Barnegat Light, New Jersey. Viking Village is a major fishing dock in New Jersey with a rich history. Boats that make up the fleet include scallop boats, long liners, and gill netters. Over the past few months her connection to the people working in this industry has deepened and her hope is to portray their lives and personalities through photos. This represents one aspect of her overall Jersey Shore Project. Updated information on this project can be found in Pat’s journal on this website.
Beach Haven, NJ
08008
Ph# (859).396.5659