[Nature Sounds]
>> Clyde Butcher: Photography comes from the heart,
it doesn't come from the brain.
I don't like places that are
messed up by man.
And so, there's no place like the Everglades.
Anywhere.
You can move a couple feet
and it's a whole different shot.
So it's basically just going out
and feeling the environment.
I think that really
comes through in the photographs
is that, hey, this is a special place.
I've been doing landscape photography
full time since 1969.
I'm using my camera for
teaching people about the environment.
One of the first cameras that
I purchased to do large prints
is this little 5x7 Deardorff.
I had to have a very large camera
to do a large print
that was good and detailed.
[Music]
The challenges of large format in Florida
are just ridiculous.
Moving the camera,
the physicalness of it.
And then, the picture
in the round glass is upside down
and backwards.
That's kind of hard for you
to get used to.
The other problem is
loading the thing.
And then, like, making a print
in the darkroom,
the first one
takes at least one day to make.
And then usually that one
[Paper Tearing]
I tear it up
because it didn't come out right.
There's a challenge
from one end to the other
in large format.
All gone.
People, psychologically, like to see detail.
And what I was trying to do
is to get people into the picture.
So, I make the picture big
and you get fairly close to it.
You have to scan it.
And when you scan it,
you get that feeling of being there.
If you do it just right,
it actually looks three-dimensional.
You feel, “Wow," you're almost like,
"Where's the gator at?”
[Laughing]
That's why it's large.
It's not the ego of making a big print.
It's the ego of bringing people
into the picture.
In 2017,
I had a stroke.
I was in the hospital for five weeks,
and I thought it was over.
I was a little depressed.
And then after I got home
and I started walking around with my walker,
I said, “I could take my camera out.”
So, I grabbed a digital camera,
put my tripod on my walker,
and I went out photographing.
And I think that really helped me
get back to where I am today,
where sometimes I think I've done
more photography
since before the stroke.
The walker has been great
for photography.
I find a great shot
and I say, "The light's not quite right.
I'll just sit here and wait."
It's really a nice place
to sit and wait for two hours.
I can't see ever not taking my walker with me.
Even if I ever get to the point
where I can run,
it's just been a great tool.
When I go out to take photographs,
I just go out to have a good time.
I go out to enjoy nature.
It's very healing.
It doesn't put you under pressure.
It doesn't ask you to do anything.
It's just there.
And it's just, you know, gorgeous.
Now, I use that same mentality
doing digital as I did film.
If I take one picture a day,
it's been a good day.
[Camera Clicks]
I think when you get to my age,
it feels good to accomplish things.
People don't realize how important it is
to accomplish something.
There's all kinds of things
that older people
have the knowledge,
the wisdom,
they waste sitting at home watching television.
You got to get out
and start doing things.
There's so many important
things to be done.
When you have something to look forward to,
it makes life more interesting.