Clyde Butcher

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.

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.

Butcher's deep appreciation for the Everglades inspired him to work for the restoration and preservation of the environment. He has received recognition for his community service as well as his photography. In 1992, PBS aired a documentary about him, Visions of Florida, which won a Wolfson Award.

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.

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.

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.

Clyde Butcher (born 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.