Clyde Butcher is a graduate in architecture from the University of California Polytechnic at San Luis Obispo. His interests in spatial relationships, and presentation of architectural designs, led him into the field of photography. From these early formal interests, he became attracted to the landscape.

Mr. Butcher's award winning black and white photographs explore his personal relationship with the environment. For more than thirty-five years, he has been preserving, on film, the untouched areas of the landscape. His images are created using an 8"x10", 11"x14" or 12"x20" view camera. The large format camera allows him to express on film, the elaborate detail and textures that distinguish the landscape. The images range in size from 11"x14" to 5'x7'. They are printed on fiber base paper, and selenium toned for archival preservation.

Recent projects include work for the State's "Save Our Rivers" program, the South Florida Water Management District, the D.E.P.; Divisions of State Lands, the Bureau of Submerged Lands and Preserves, Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary; The Audubon Society, Everglades National Park, The Nature Conservancy, Rocky Mountain National Park, and The Wilderness Society.

Clyde's photography is often found in museum exhibits throughout Florida. He has recently been honored by the state of Florida with the highest award the state can give a private citizen: the 1998 Artist Hall of Fame Award. He was also chosen as "Person of the Week" on the ABC Peter Jennings evening news program, and has received the Heartland Community Service Award for his work educating Floridan's about the beauty of their state.

A collection of his work can be seen in his books: Clyde Butcher - 1995 Limited Edition Collection; Clyde Butcher: Portfolio I, Florida Landscapes; and in his biography, Seeing the Light: Wilderness and Salvation, a Photographers Tale.

Public Broadcasting has completed an award-winning ½ documentary on Clyde, Visions of Florida. A second video, Big Cypress Preserve: Jewel of the Everglades, featuring Clyde, is also an award-winning program.

A large selection of Clyde's photography can be seen at his gallery, the Big Cypress Gallery, located on thirteen acres in the center of the Everglades, mid-way between Naples and Miami on the Tamiami Trail (hwy 41), in the Big Cypress National Preserve. The gallery is surrounded by more than a million acres of National Park wetlands and cypress strands of wild Florida. An enjoyable, short, nature walk behind the gallery gives visitors an opportunity to observe the environment of Florida.