| Clyde Butcher | |
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Clyde in his element |
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| Occupation | Black-and-white Photographer |
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Clyde Butcher (born 1942) is an American photographer known for wilderness photography of the Florida landscape.
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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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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