Northeast Chapter ConferenceSpeakers

Owen Butler holds two degrees from the Rochester Institute of Technology's School of Photographic Arts & Sciences and has been teaching at RIT for over 40 years. Butler served as long-time Chairs of the Applied Photography Department and the Military Photojournalism program. RIT is generally acknowledged as the world's largest and most renowned school of photography. Butler studied at RIT with professors Minor White and Ralph Hattersley, and enjoyed friendships with a range of other iconic photographers, including Andre Kertesz, David Vestal, Philip Perkis, Charles A. Arnold, Jr., and W. Eugene Smith.

At RIT, Prof. Butler has taught courses and workshops in Applied Photography II, Narrative / Documentary / Editorial Photography I, Second Year Summer Transfer program, Summer Graduate Transfer program, Black-and-White View-Camera Workshop, Second Year Studio Photography, Underwater Photography, Introduction to Professional Photography, Zone System, Public Service Advertising, Photographic Communications, Navy Photojournalism Program (DOD), Digital & Electronic imaging, and Digital Book Production and Design.

Owen Butler has had 40 group and one-person shows since 1968, including the International Museum of Photography at George Eastman House, Museum of Modern Art NYC, Pratt Institute, Burden Gallery / Aperture Foundation NYC, and Museum of Image and Sound / Brazil. Owen is the founder of OB Press: a small unique digital printing organization dedicated to the printing of electronically designed and digitally printed books.

His publication credits include Advanced Black-and-White Photography: Hurbert Birnbaum and Owen Butler, Eastman Kodak Company Workshop Series; Less Than Sharp, A Moment of Vision, and Photography For Visual Communicators: Prentice-Hall.

Butler has lectured and conducted workshops as diverse as Pratt Institute, Museum of Image and Sound / Brazil, Indiana University, United States Military Academy, and Harrisburg Area Community College. Prof. Butler is a consultant for Eastman Kodak Company and Serbin Communications, and is on the Advisory Boards of Photographer's Forum magazine and Harrisburg Area Community College. In 2004, RIT announced the prestigious Owen Butler Photography Scholarship, funded to honor Owen in perpetuity by a former Owen Butler student.