David Damien Parer ACS is an Australian natural history film maker, working in partnership with his wife and sound recordist, Elizabeth Parer-Cook.Salleh, Annah (9 January 2023)
David Parer and Liz Parer-Cook: the husband-and-wife wildlife documentary-making team
''

ABC News ABC News most commonly refers to: * ABC News (Australia), a national news service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation * ABC News (United States), a news-gathering and broadcasting division of the American Broadcasting Company ABC News may a ...

''. Retrieved 9 January 2023. Parer was

conscripted Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it contin ...

into the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia. It is a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army ...

to go to the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

in 1970, but he entered a Masters program to study

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

in the

Antarctic The Antarctic (, ; commonly ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the South Pole, lying within the Antarctic Circle. It is antipodes, diametrically opposite of the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antar ...

. Parer spent the summers of 1970 and 1972 in Antarctica studying

cosmic rays Cosmic rays or astroparticles are high-energy particles or clusters of particles (primarily represented by protons or atomic nuclei) that move through space at nearly the speed of light. They originate from the Sun, from outside of the Solar ...

Mawson Station Mawson Station, commonly called Mawson, is one of three permanent bases and research outposts in Antarctica managed by the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD). Mawson lies in Holme Bay in Mac. Robertson Land, East Antarctica in the Australian ...

. While there he filmed his first documentary. David subsequently joined the Australian Broadcasting Corporation ABC Natural History Unit making wildlife films, where he met his wife and fellow film maker, Elizabeth Parer-Cook, in 1977. After the Natural History Unit closed in 2007, the Parers have continued working as a freelance team.

Awards

The Parers' films have won over 130 Australian and international awards including the Golden Panda at Windscreen twice and three Emmy's. He was awarded the Golden Panda from

Wildscreen Wildscreen is a wildlife conservation charity based in Bristol, England. The charity was founded in December 1987 from a Trust law, trust which had operated since 1982, with the initial aim of encouraging and applauding excellence in the produ ...

(known as the green Oscars) for: :''Wolves of the Sea'', Gold Panda for Best Film at Windscreen 1994 :''Mysteries of the Ocean Wanderers'', Gold Panda Best Cinematography Windscreen 1994 :''Dragons of Galapagos'', Gold Panda Wildscreen 1998 He has been awarded the

AFI AFI may refer to: * Actual flip-angle imaging, a type of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) * ''Address-family identifier'', a 16 bit field of the Routing Information Protocol * AFI (band), an American rock band ** ''AFI'' (2017 album), the tenth ...

award for the best cinematography for a non-feature film four times, for : :''Edge of the Cold'', 1978 :''Bird of the Thunder Woman'', 1980 :'' The Dragons of Galapagos'', 1998 :''Island of the Vampire Birds'', 1999 His other work as a cinematographer and producer includes: :''Douglas Mawson: The Survivor'', 1983 :''The Frozen World'', 1984 :''Nature of Australia: A Portrait of the Island Continent: A Separate Creation'', 1988 :''Killer Whales: Wolves of the Sea'', 1993 :''Platypus: World's Strangest Animal'', 2003 :''Terrors of Tasmania'', 2004 :''Australia: Land of Parrots'', 2008 :''Out of the Ashes'', 2011 Many of Parer's documentaries have been narrated by noted naturalist

David Attenborough Sir David Frederick Attenborough (; born 8 May 1926) is an English broadcaster, biologist, natural historian and writer. He is best known for writing and presenting, in conjunction with the BBC Studios Natural History Unit, the nine nature d ...

. Parer received an Honorary Doctor of Science from Monash University, Melbourne 17 March 1989. Parer gained "legend status" at St Patrick's College Old Collegians' Association. He attended college there from 1962 to 1964. Parer was inducted into the Australian Cinematographers Society's Hall of Fame in 2008. He was appointed an

Officer of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

in the

2024 Australia Day Honours The 2024 Australia Day Honours are appointments to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by Australian citizens. The list was announced on 26 January 2024 by the Governor General of Australia, David Hurley. The Australi ...

for "distinguished service to wildlife cinematography, to literature as an author, and to the environment".

Family

His uncle was

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

-winning war cinematographer, Damien Peter Parer, who filmed ''Kokoda Front Line'' in 1944 in Papua New Guinea.

References

External links

David Parer websiteDavid Parer YouTube channel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parer, David Australian cinematographers Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Officers of the Order of Australia