ROCHESTER — When Pat York learned photography, she lost the privilege of having a photographer assigned to accompany her on her travels. And she wouldn’t have it any other way. York’s photo skills and experience have taken her around the world and into some of the most intimate moments in people’s lives.
York, who now lives in Rochester, has an exhibit of some of her work at the Rochester Art Center that opens May 24, 2024. York was a travel editor at Glamour Magazine in the 1960s when she bought a Nikon camera and three lenses. Her friend, colleague and photo mentor David Bailey joked York’s new gear was like someone who’s learning to drive buying a high performance sports car.
She traveled for six weeks with Bailey who coached her on photography. They went to Japan, Africa, Spain and Paris. “I went crazy about the camera,” she said.
“I just loved it.” ADVERTISEMENT Her editors loved the results. She would shoot her own assignments from then on, they told her.
One of the most important photographic lessons York learned early in her career came from Robert Kennedy, Sr. York was assigned to photograph a portrait of the charismatic politician and brother of the late president John F. Kennedy.
At the conclusion of the shoot, Kennedy waited outside with York for a cab to take her back to the hotel where she was staying. Suddenly, a dog ran into the road. Kennedy, ran into the road, his hand up like a traffic cop stopping vehicles, scooped up the dog and carrie.
