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PHOTOGRAPHERS OF DESIGN

>>> Jeff Butler, Littleton, Colorado

Most architectural photographers had to jump the film-versus-digital divide at some point during the last decade. A relative newcomer to photography, Jeff Butler made the leap directly into digital when he first purchased his equipment.

"No, I never worked with film 'way back,'" says Butler, who counts homebuilders, artisans, architects and interior designers among his clients. "My first real still camera was digital."

Not long after that purchase, Butler became acutely aware of that digital divide. "I went to a local ASMP (American Society of Media Photographers) membership meeting in about 2000," he recalls. "During the lunch, everyone kept saying that nobody would ever make it in digital, that the technology would never be as good as film. After lunch, I had to show my portfolio to be considered for membership. My portfolio was on my laptop, and everyone oohed and aahed over the images. I was asked to join. I never told them that all my work was digital."

A kitchen by Priscilla Cornell Interior Design of Denver.

The largely self-taught photographer got into the business after a 20-year career in landscaping, first as a landscaper and later as distributor's rep. It was a hobby, though, that led to camera work. "I was a serious rock climber at the time," Butler explains, "and about 10 years ago, I decided I wanted to do climbing videos."

He took videography classes and purchased equipment, then wound up getting plenty of work producing corporate videos. Butler never did make any climbing videos, but along the way he started experimenting with still photography, especially architectural images. The shift from video to still wasn't that difficult, particularly when it came to understanding digital technology. "As a videographer, you had to understand how to use a computer," he says. "You had to be a geek. I caught on fast."

The Denver skyline.

In recent years, Butler's architectural photography has included both commercial and residential projects, interiors and exteriors. On bigger projects, Butler brings along an assistant. He's also comfortable working out of town—preferably, as he puts it, "on projects in Hawaii or Belize or wherever it's warm."

When he's not pursuing his commercial endeavors, Butler also does a lot of pro bono work for nonprofit organizations such as The Mobility Project, which donates wheelchairs and other medical equipment to those in need in developing countries, and the Rollin' Rockies, a Colorado wheelchair softball league. "I do photography and videos for them," Butler explains. "I really enjoy doing it." Recently, Butler received a service award from the Rollin' Rockies, given to him at home plate at Denver's Coors Field.

Via Ristorante in Denver, designed by Roth + Sheppard Architects of Denver, Colorado.

In the meantime, Butler keeps up a full schedule of architectural shoots—done digitally—and keeps abreast of the latest photo technology. "If everyone decided to switch back to film, I'd be toast…"

Jeff Butler Photography, Littleton, CO; (303) 933-8691 or www.jeffbutlerphotography.net.