Don Busath: Mormon Photographer
Don Busath is a professional photographer who specialized in portraiture. He was a young boy when he noticed a portrait of his grandfather who had died before he was born, and he was struck with how loved his grandfather was for his family to have spent the time and money on a professional image.
Busath’s uncle Monroe Busath sold him his first camera and he has been letting the camera speak for him since that time. While he developed his skills, he worked at Kennecott copper mine and played in a variety of dance bands in the Salt Lake Valley. He took his first commercial photography job in 1958 with Hal Rumel. He opened his own studio in 1973.
His series “Honors in the Arts” is exhibited at Abravenel Hall in Salt Lake City. The Springville Art Museum exhibited his work of sixty years in January 2011. He earned professional photography degrees including Professional Photographer of America Master of Photography, Photographic Craftsman, Certified Professional, Excellence in Imaging. He is one of a few photographers worldwide to have earned the fellowship degrees of both the American Society of Photographers and the British Institute of Photography. Some of his prints are also housed in the permanent collection of the Photographic Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame.
Although well known for his portraits, especially family groupings, he also photographed rural and agricultural landscapes. He has photographed many government officials, civic leaders, and leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, of which he is a member.
His photographs grace the pages of Temple Square: In the Light of the Seasons, Temples: A Photographic Journey of Temples, Lands and Peoples, and Ibn Tulun Mosque: Gayer Anderson Museum Book #5.
Busath retired, turning the business over to his son Drake. He and his wife, Donna—who had managed the business side of the studio, served a mission in California for the Church. Their daughter Deanne Parry is also a professional photographer.
