Camera Club hosts renowned photographer Clyde Butcher

The Saint Augustine Camera Club announced to Historic City News that they will hold “An Evening with Clyde” a presentation by renowned photographer Clyde Butcher, famous for his wilderness photography of the Florida landscape.

The event will be Thursday, February 5, 2015 at the University of Florida Whitney Laboratory auditorium across from Marineland. A reception and book-signing begins at 5:30 pm; the presentation starts at 7:00 pm. Tickets are $25 and are available through the SACC web site at www.saintaugustinecameraclub.com.

Clyde Butcher has often been compared to Ansel Adams, and his large-format black-and-white prints of the Everglades usually elicit a gasp of admiration from first-time viewers. The depth and detail in these works is stunning. Butcher uses film, and these photos are shot with a traditional, large format view camera, heavy models that use large negatives. He has several of these cameras, with the largest being a 12 x 20 inch model. He and his son-in-law, do all their own developing and printing.

Butcher is an ardent conservationist, and uses his work to promote the beauty of natural places and the importance of preserving them. His awards fill several pages. He has been honored by the state of Florida with the highest award that can be given to a private citizen: the Artist Hall of Fame Award. He also received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the North American Nature Photography Association.

The wilderness was his solace and restoration after his son was killed by a drunk driver. Butcher abandoned color photography thereafter and began working in black and white, elevating it to a fine art. He has completed six PBS programs on the environment of Florida, three of them award-winning documentaries. Much of his work can be seen in his numerous books.

The Saint Augustine Camera Club meets at 6:00 p.m. on the third Thursday of every month at the Watson Realty Office on US-1 South in St Augustine.