David Parer

David Damien Parer ACS is an Australian natural history film maker, working in partnership with his wife and sound recordist, Elizabeth Parer-Cook.

Parer was conscripted into the Australian Army to go to the Vietnam War in 1970, but he entered a Masters program to study physics in the Antarctic. Parer spent the summers of 1970 and 1972 in Antarctica studying cosmic rays at Mawson Station. While there he filmed his first documentary. David subsequently joined the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's 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 continued working as a freelance team.

He was awarded the Golden Panda from Wildscreen (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 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.

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.

Family His uncle was Academy Award-winning war cinematographer, Damien Peter Parer, who filmed Kokoda Front Line in 1944 in Papua New Guinea.