Clyde Butcher

American photographer

Clyde Butcher (born September 6, 1942) is an American large format camera photographer known for wilderness photography of the Florida landscape. He began his career doing color photography before switching to large scale black and white landscape photography after the death of his son. Butcher is a strong advocate of conservation efforts and uses his work to promote awareness of the beauty of natural places.

Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Clyde Butcher led a nomadic childhood with his parents, until they settled in Southern California when he was 18. He attended California Polytechnic University in 1960 and graduated in architecture. While visiting Yosemite National Park in 1963, he learned about the photography studies of Ansel Adams. During his senior year of college, Butcher married his college sweetheart Niki.

During college, Butcher presented his architecture projects by creating and photographing miniature scale models instead of making drawings. After graduation, Butcher began a career in architecture. He worked with architect William Pereira on such buildings as the Transamerica building in San Francisco and worked for architectural model companies. With the downturn in the economy, Clyde lost his job and began showing his black and white images at local 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.

Eventually, Butcher had a partnership that marketed and sold his images to the wall décor departments of Sears, Montgomery Ward, and J. C. Penney. He eventually accrued around 200 employees and offices in Akron, Ohio and Southern California. In order to increase sales, Butcher started photographing with color film so his images could match the avocado green shag carpets and gold couches. The bulk of his photography during this time took place west of the Rocky Mountains and in the Pacific Northwest. To escape some of the stress of the business, he moved onto a sailboat with his wife where he lived for seven years, moored in the harbor of Newport Beach, California. The boat had no electricity or refrigeration, conditions were spartan. Living without a television on the boat gained the family a sense of peace and solitude while they could take advantage of the city.

Butcher's love for boating and the television program Flipper inspired him to explore Florida. Butcher sold his business in California, moved to Florida, and returned to selling art in street festivals. In 1986, the Butchers' son was killed when a drunk driver hit the car in which he was a passenger. Butcher retreated to the wilderness for solace and restoration. He put aside color photography and became a black and white landscape photographer using large format cameras. In 1993, Butcher purchased 14 acres in Big Cypress National Preserve in Southern Florida which is surrounded by over a million acres of wilderness. This is where he built his gallery and home. He then realized that he needed to help the public to understand the beauty of the swamp and began leading guided tours through the swamp behind his gallery in Big Cypress National Preserve. Big Cypress Gallery is open seven days a week from 10:00 5:00. In 1997, Butcher began creating very large images up to 5x9' and needed a larger darkroom. He purchased a building in an industrial park in Venice Florida where he also has a gallery. The darkroom is 2000 sq feet. The darkroom is open to the public twice a year for tours. The gallery is open Tuesday Friday from 10:00 4:00. A third gallery recently opened in the St. Armand's Circle area, off the coast of Sarasota, Florida.