For twenty-five years he has climbed mountains, explored remote areas and visited native cultures across five continents, adventures shared through photography and articles in numerous regional and national publications. His latest endeavor, photographing North Carolina’s Civil War monuments, resulted in a traveling photo exhibition and North Carolina Civil War Monuments: An Illustrated History, a carefully researched book penned by Butler featuring photos of all 109 Civil War monuments raised in the Tarheel State during the century after Appomattox. A practicing physician working predominantly with underserved populations, Butler has also written Ashe County: Discovering the Lost Province (1992, out of print) and A Walk Atop America: Fifty State Summits and a Dream to Reach Them All (Parkway Publishers, 2007), both of which feature his photography.