Clyde Butcher's black-and-white views of the Everglades, Florida Bay and Upper Keys -- taken with his vintage, jumbo cameras -- have made him the Ansel Adams of South Florida.

Key West's landscapes and seascapes, however, have not been the focus of his attention -- until now.

After he completes a long-term project documenting the Everglades from the headwaters near Orlando to where it spills into Florida Bay, one of his next major projects could bring him to Key West, the Marquesas Keys and Dry Tortugas next year, Butcher said.

In an unrelated project, Butcher will be in Key West on Saturday to commemorate the 25th annual National Ocean Week and the first Monroe County Reef Week celebration. His works have been on display at the Florida Keys Eco-Discovery Center at the Truman Waterfront since late February and will continue to be exhibited there through April 19.

As part of a celebration hosted by the nonprofit Sanctuary Friends Foundation of the Florida Keys, the Eco-Discovery Center will exhibit "Friends in Focus," featuring the works of Butcher, Key West-based underwater photographer Alicia Earle Renner, Keys sculptors and potters Charles Pearson and Timothy Roeder, and Islamorada painter Stacie Krupa.

Butcher plans to return to Key West and outlying keys in 2010 to photo-document the mangrove islands and resident and migrating birds, he said.

Such a trip presents several logistical challenges, as he still shoots film with large, bulky, wood cameras from the early 1900s. His negatives can be as large as 12-by-20 inches.

To capture the right lighting and conditions, Butcher and his wife, Niki, could spend as long as several weeks boating between Key West and the Tortugas. For such trips, the Butchers use a 26-foot catamaran fitted with twin 150 horsepower engines.

The ideal conditions Butcher strives for can take weeks, months and, in one case, years to capture. Butcher shot the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge and surrounding wetlands for three years before obtaining the right four hours of lighting conditions he needed, he said. He prefers to shoot in the hotter summer months when the seascapes are more serene, the clouds are fluffier and the water is more still.

"That's the difference between commercial art and fine art," Butcher said. "Art is not something that just comes together. You have to have the right conditions. For what I do, that's why you have to have a good boat."

Unlike many of his contemporaries, Butcher has not made the transition into the digital age and said he doubts he ever will. Using large negatives, Butcher does not lose detail.

"It's a completely different feel, especially with black and white," he said.

The cameras Butcher uses are simple wooden boxes with high-tech lenses -- the only modern technology he uses. The lenses are fitted to simple lens boards. He uses long exposure times, as long as six minutes, to capture landscapes.

"In an era where photography has become 'imaging' and all is driven by digital technologies, Clyde Butcher is an artist with the discipline to slow down, savor the experience, distill the essence, and then capture the play of light and substance with emotion and technical excellence," said Keys resident Stephen Frink, an award-winning underwater photographer, often cited as the world's most prolific. "The fact that his palette is South Florida's wetlands makes him a perfect fit for the 'Friends in Focus' program."

His life's work

Butcher has turned personal tragedy into an art form that has brought joy to countless fans.

Born in Kansas City, Mo., in 1942, Butcher traveled the country with his parents until attending California Polytechnic University in 1960, where he studied architecture. In 1963, he traveled to Yosemite National Park and saw his first glimpse of world-renowned outdoor photographer Ansel Adams' work on display.

After college, Butcher had begun a career in architecture. By 1970, he left architecture for landscape photography. Butcher and his wife relocated to Florida in the mid-1980s and bought Orchid Isle, a former orchid farm in the middle of the Big Cypress National Preserve in 1992.

When their son, Ted, was killed by a drunk driver in 1986, Butcher retreated to the wilderness to find inner peace. He swapped color photography for the more detail-oriented black-and-white landscape photography. His black-and-white photographs explore his personal relationship with the environment.

Butcher has been honored by the state with its Florida Artists Hall of Fame Award. He also received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the North American Nature Photography Association and was named Humanitarian of the Year for 2005 from International University. The Heartland Community Service Award was given to him for educating Florida residents about the beauty of their state. The Sierra Club bestowed him with the Ansel Adams Conservation Award, given to photographers who show excellence in photography and have contributed to the public awareness of the environment.

Butcher has become the poster child for green living and protecting the environment. Butcher said he sees global warming as the biggest threat to the Everglades, the Keys and other fragile estuaries, wetlands and coral reef ecosystems.

On a personal level, to combat global warming, Butcher has installed solar panels on his home, LED lights in his gallery and he drives a diesel Volkswagen bug that gets 50 miles to the gallon, he said.

Butcher likened Earth to a spaceship with a finite number of resources to sustain life.

"If global warming keeps going the way it is, there won't be a Keys left," Butcher said. "We have to take responsibility for our lives on this planet."

tohara@keysnews.com