VINCENT Butler is an expedition leader, archaeologist, and photographer based in Co Kildare. His book, “Sixty Photographs for Simon”, is a collection of some of the stunning images he has taken during his expeditions around the globe over the past two decades.
Vincent Butler first became acutely aware of the terrible reality of homelessness making his way along the path beside the Grand Canal in Dublin. He vividly recalled that it was bitterly cold. On the ground there was what appeared at first to be just a pile of discarded blankets, he was somewhat startled when there was movement and the outline of a leg appeared from beneath the covers. A young couple lay huddled together beneath the blankets. He was immediately struck by their vulnerability, the insecurity and danger of it all.
Earlier that same year Vincent had signed on for a charity trek to the Sahara Desert in Morocco. It was being organized by the Dublin Simon Community to help raise funds. His group of over one hundred participants trekked across the Sahara in March 2000. As an avid photographer with a lifelong interest in geology Vincent was enthralled by the elemental beauty of the desert landscape and its indigenous people.
Shortly after his return from the trek he began to toy with the idea of putting a collection of his photographs together and exhibiting them at various venues countrywide to help raise additional financial support for the Simon Community.
As a Christmas present last year Vincent’s wife Lindi gave him a highly informative book which charts the history of travel. This was the catalyst which sparked the idea of presenting a collection of his photographs in book form and so Sixty Photographs For Simon was conceived. The trek in the Sahara in 2000 was just over sixty miles long and this logistical detail is honoured in its title.
The book is an eclectic collection of images harvested from an extensive archive that Vincent has compiled over a period of two decades during work-related travel. Twenty-five countries are represented in a broad geographical sweep which encompasses the Arctic, Scandinavia, Europe, Africa, South America, Antarctica and Asia. Each of the 60 photographs is accompanied by a short text which provides succinct details about various aspects of the image.
Tim Severin, the Irish explorer made famous for his ‘Brendan Voyage’ across the North Atlantic some years ago in a skin-covered boat, very kindly wrote the Foreword.
Vincent Butler is donating all proceeds from the sale of his book directly to the Simon Communities to help them in their work with the homeless countrywide. He is hoping to raise €100,000.
Sixty Photographs For Simon is now available in independent bookshops countrywide and is priced at €20.
It is also available online from Irish Academic Press
