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There’s no question that renowned photographer Clyde Butcher has attained living legend status in Southwest Florida and beyond. That was quite evident Tuesday evening, January 24, at the Marco Island Historical Museum. The sold-out crowd arrived a half hour early and hung on Butcher’s every word during an hour-long presentation about his exhibit Cuba: The Natural Beauty, in Rose History Auditorium on the museum campus.

Dubbed the Ansel Adams of the Everglades by Popular Photography magazine, Butcher has a long list of achievements. He’s received the Florida Artist Hall of Fame Award, the Ansel Adams Award from the Sierra Club, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the North American Nature Photography Association for Nature Photography. His work has been exhibited in museums in such far-flung locations as Prague, Moscow, and Los Angeles. Butcher was commissioned by the United Nations to photograph the mountains of Cuba to celebrate the Year of the Mountains.

Butcher and wife Niki regaled the Marco crowd with inside stories of their photographic trips to Cuba. The enrapt audience seemed to really enjoy the interplay between Clyde and Niki. Clyde said Niki is a big part of the program.

“We’ve discovered that she adds a lot to it,” Clyde Butcher said.

Hearing that, Niki quickly interjects.

“Okay,” Niki Butcher jokes, "anybody who has been married 60 years can interrupt her husband and get away with it.”

“Otherwise we’d have been divorced by now” Clyde Butcher says with a laugh.

After the Butchers wrapped things up at Rose History Auditorium, the program shifted to the museum, where Clyde signed copies of four of his most popular books. Butcher took time with each customer. Many seemed a little starstruck.

Among the starstruck was Austin Bell, curator of collections for the MIHS. Bell is an accomplished author who has won plenty of awards for his photography.

“I’m like a fanboy,” Bell said with a smile. 

The team at the Marco Island Historical Museum and Marco Island Historical Society were on top of their game Wednesday, executing the sold-out event at a level that should make the iconic photographer happy to return for an encore performance.

Wednesday’s appearance was actually Butcher’s first encore at the MIHM. The museum was still working through their construction punch list when Butcher first exhibited there over a decade ago.

Pat Rutledge, CEO of the MIHS couldn’t have been more pleased. She recalls Butcher’s first visit.

“You know,” Rutledge said, "what was so very special was that when the buildings were first built, and there really were no exhibits, Clyde Butcher was our very first exhibit. To have him come back now, to see what we’ve done - as well as to share what he’s done - it’s been fabulous.”

Butcher could feel the love from the Marco crowd.

“Everybody was really nice here,” Butcher said at the end of the evening. "I was here when it was just starting. And now as a real museum, it’s a really beautiful place. It’s really nice. I thought the talk went okay.”

"He said 'I remember coming here and you were still painting the walls,'” Rutledge said.  “He was right, we were still painting. The Cuba exhibit is just stunning. And he’s so engaging. We’re really lucky to have the opportunity to have him here again.”

Clyde Butcher’s exhibit, Cuba: The Natural Beauty, runs through April 29th.