Clyde Butcher

Clyde Butcher
Clyde in his element
Occupation	Black-and-white Photographer
Website
Gallery Homepage

Clyde Butcher (born 1942) is an American photographer known for wilderness photography of the Florida landscape.

Background

Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Clyde Butcher led a nomadic childhood with his parents until eventually settling in Southern California at the age of 18. He attended California Polytechnic University^{[disambiguation needed ]} in 1960 with a major in architecture. While visiting Yosemite National Park in 1963, he was exposed to the work of Ansel Adams'. During Butcher's senior year of college he married his wife, Niki.

Beginnings of Photography Career

During college, rather than use drawings, Butcher presented his architecture projects by creating and photographing miniature scale models. He set the models next to small plants and trees to make them look real.^[1] After graduating college, Butcher began a career in architecture, and was responsible for a portion of the design of the Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco, California. Upon losing his job, Butcher began showing his work at local street art festivals. He soon realized that he could make more money in photography than he was making in architecture. By 1970, he left architecture for landscape photography.

Commercial Success

Eventually, Butcher ended up in a partnership that sold his images to the wall décor departments of Sears, Wards, Pennys, etc. He eventually accrued around 200 employees and an office in Akron, Ohio and one in southern California. In order to increase sales, Butcher added color photography to his repertoire. The bulk of his photography during this time took place west of the Rocky Mountains and in the Pacific Northwest. This chapter of Butcher's life was filled with strife and stress; so much so that he moved onto a sailboat along with his wife.

Move to Florida

For seven years, Butcher, Niki, and their two children lived on the sailboat moored in the harbor of Newport Beach, California. The boat had no electricity, TV or refrigeration. This experience gave the family a sense of peace and solitude while still being surrounded by the metropolitan city. Butcher's love for boating and the television program Flipper brought him to Florida. Butcher sold his business in California, moved permanently to Florida, and returned to selling his art in street festivals.

In 1986, Clyde's son was killed in a car collision with a drunk driver. Butcher retreated to the wilderness for solace and restoration. He put aside his color photography and became a black-and-white landscape photographer.

Butcher's images are known for being large-format cameras ranging from 4x5" up to 12x20", which produces images ranging from 8x10 inches to 5x9 feet.

Awards

• Ansel Adams Award from the Sierra Club, 2000 [1]
• North American Nature Photography Association, Lifetime Achievement Award in Nature Photography, 2005 [2]
• Best Florida Artist, [3] Florida Magazine Best of Florida 2006
• Wolfson Award - Visions of Florida - PBS documentary on Clyde 1992
• Heartland Community Service Award 1996
• Everglades Coalition Award 1997 (For Clyde's efforts to save the Everglades)
• Person of the Week 1997 (Presented to Clyde by Peter Jennings on ABC News)[4]
• American Planning Association - Florida Chapter Service Award 1997
• South Eastern Region Nature Conservancy Conservation Colleague Award 1998
• Florida Artist Hall of Fame Award 1998[5]
• Keeping Florida Beautiful - Adopt-A-Highway Public Service Award 1999
• Ansel Adams conservation Award 2000
• Florida Monthly Magazine - Best Florida Artist 2003
• Popular Photography Magazine - Who Will Be the Next Ansel Adams? 2004
• Wolfsom Telly Award 2004
• Top 100 Most Influential People in Florida 2004
• Best Gallery in Florida (Big Cypress Gallery) 2004
• Stars in the Arts Award 2005
• North American Nature Photography Association Lifetime Achievement Award 2005[6]
• International College^{[disambiguation needed ]} Humanitarian of the Year Award 2005

Recent major projects

January 28 - April 15 - St. Paul, MN- America The Beautiful <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America_The_Beautiful> : The Monumental Landscape of Clyde Butcher [2] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clyde_Butcher#cite_note-StPaul-1> September-October 2007 at the Muscarelle Museum of Art, America the Beautiful <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America_the_Beautiful> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscarelle_Museum_of_Art> , Williamsburg, Virginia <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Williamsburg,_Virginia> . January 9 - February 12 2009Apalachicola River: An American Treasure. Photographic exhibit and documentary film with cinematographer Elam S. Stoltzfus.St Paul Public Library <http://www.apalachicolaamericantreasure.com/index.html> April 2004 Living Waters: Aquatic Preserves of Florida. Photographic exhibit and documentary film with cinematographer Elam S. Stoltzfus[3] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clyde_Butcher#cite_note-2> 2000-2001 Visions for the Next Millennium. Traveling photographic installation. May 10 - October 16 2011 Clyde Butcher The G2 Gallery

References

1. ^ This Life of Leisure

External links

• Clyde Butcher's website
• Ansel Adams & Clyde Butcher
• "Film on Aquatic Preserves wins national award", Florida Department of Environmental Protection
• "Clyde Butcher, A Photographer In The Heart Of The Everglades", Shutterbug, February 2004
• St Paul Public Library
• Butcher, Clyde on Indexmod, an open index of fashion, design and art brands around Eurasia

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Name	Butcher, Clyde
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Date of birth	1942
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