Outdoor Photographer Puma Article

Join Jeff Parker for his Pumas & Peaks of Patagonia Photo Tour
I am stoked to share the great news! The April 2018 issue of Outdoor Photographer features my image of a puma from Patagonia on the cover. It also includes the article I wrote about the Pumas of Patagonia, along with a host of additional images.…
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Big Bend for the Nature Photographer

Big Bend Photo Tour with Jeff Parker
As both a nature lover & nature photographer, Big Bend National Park is one of my all-time favorite places. I lead a tour there just about every year because I really enjoy showing other photographers — and nature lovers — some of my favorite spots.…
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Time for South Texas Photography!

Green Jay in South Texas
Now that summer’s pretty much here it’s time for South Texas photography! The hotter it is the more active the wildlife grow and the better shots you’ll get. The desolate landscape of the South Texas Brush Country doesn’t look like much, but the biodiversity makes it one of North America’s best places for wildlife photography.…
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Winter Nature Activities in Texas

Finding winter nature activities in Texas may seem tough even though our Lone Star winters aren’t always cold. (In fact, as I write this at the tail-end of December the temperature is a balmy 80 degrees!). But the Lone Star actually offers plenty to do in nature this time of year.…
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Artist in Residence ~ Togiak NWR

Nature Photography 101 Workshop
I was an Artist in Residence at Togiak National Wildlife Refuge as part of the Voices of the Wilderness Program. Here are some thoughts from my time in southwestern Alaska: WILDERNESS? My first afternoon I’m with just one person: Allen Miller, a Supervisory Park Ranger.…
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Bat Viewing in Texas

Bat viewing in Texas heats up in the summer, especially in August. Bats live on every continent except Antarctica. Of the 1,000 or so unique species worldwide, 70% eat insects. In Texas, we have 32 species of bats statewide. (Learn about 10 of them here.)…
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Beauty of Bosque del Apache NWR

My wife, Mary O. Parker, and I have been thinking of the beauty of Bosque del Apache NWF. This is about the time of year when Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge begins to come fully to life. That got my wife Mary to reminiscing about the tours and visits we enjoy there.…
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Fall Foliage in McKittrick Canyon

The fall foliage in McKittrick Canyon makes a great subject for nature photography. Now that it’s actually cooler than 90 degrees here in central Texas, I can finally wrap my mind around photographing Texas in autumn. Below, you’ll find some info about one of my favorite autumn destinations.…
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Year of the Cat

Pumas & Peaks of Patagonia photo tour with Jeff Parker/Explore in Focus™
It seems that instead of “birders,” Mary and I have become “catters.” In the last 12 months, we have seen five species of big cats in the wild and I got a glimpse of a smaller one—Geoffroy’s cat—during the Patagonia trip in April.…
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Sea Turtles and Such

Sea Turtle Hatchlings Run for Water at North Padre Island National Sea Shore, Texas
I thought since mid-summer is the time for sea-turtle releases along the Texas Gulf, this would make a timely blog post. As many of you know, Mary and I have a book coming out titled, “Explore Texas ~ A Nature Travel Guide” through Texas A&M University Press.…
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Pumas in Patagonia

Jeff Parker's photo tour of Pumas of Patagonia.
“There he is!” whispers my wife Mary O. We’re near Torres del Paine National Park, Chile sitting in a van in the cold rain. Mary O. has just spotted a large male puma making his way down the hill to the guanaco kill we’ve been watching for the last hour.…
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Big Bend Photo Tour ~ Trip Report

This year’s Big Bend Photo Tour took place over the second weekend in April 2015. I have never seen the park so green nor have I ever witnessed the profusion of wildflowers that we had. We couldn’t have timed the tour better!…
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Why I Love the Desert

Recently, I meandered my way to and from the NANPA Summit, which was held in San Diego in February. My route took me through the backcountry of San Diego, the deserts of southern-California, and much of the Southwest. The journey, combined with my growing excitement about next month’s Big Bend Photo Tour, highlighted how my favorite places -— tropical rainforests and deserts —- are pretty much opposites.…
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Best Nature Destinations near El Paso

I’ve been working steady getting images ready for the book that Mary and I are doing for Texas A&M University Press. It’s tentatively titled “Explore Texas — A Nature Travel Guide” and will be out in spring 2016. I thought I’d share some of the best nature destinations near El Paso that we’ve featured in the book.…
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Whooping Crane Photo Tour ~ Trip Report 2014

We were blessed with good weather for the 2014 Whooping Crane tour. With an ice storm Friday morning and another the next Tuesday we really lucked out even if it was a bit chilly on Saturday morning. This year’s group was interesting in that 3 of the 5 participants were retired Air Force pilots.…
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Air Travel with Photography Equipment ~ Tips

In the past few weeks I have had several people ask about air travel with photography equipment. I don’t know what has prompted the sudden interest, maybe folks are making plans for summer trips, but traveling with photo gear has been a hot topic.…
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Costa Rica ~ Photographing the Frogs

I’ve been busily going through the images created on our recently-completed Costa Rica Photo Tour. One of the surprises of the tour was just how much fun I had photographing Costa Rican frogs! It seems everything is more exuberant and colorful in the tropics, especially them.…
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Magical Costa Rica

Magical Costa Rica captured my imagination the very first time we traveled there. I had been to a cloud forest in Mexico as an introduction to the tropics. That was magical in its own way as I had never experienced the lush profusion of a cloud forest.…
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Big Bend in the Snow

Nugent Mountain in Big Bend, by Jeff Parker
Big Bend National Park is one of my favorite places. When I heard there was a snow storm forecast for west Texas, I started making plans for a quick trip out to photograph Big Bend in the snow. Since that doesn’t happen often there, I had never had the opportunity to experience this phenomenon.…
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