A remarkable life behind the lens

During the last decade of his life, award-winning photographer Gary Parker called the McKenzie River Valley home.

But behind the local resident was a remarkable career that stretched from the newsrooms of major newspapers to Silicon Valley advertising studios – and included a Pulitzer Prize, national photography honors and a passion project that helped change how people saw and understood those with dwarfism.

That career, and the man behind the camera, are being celebrated in an exhibit on display through September at the Vida McKenzie Community Center.

Parker, who died Jan. 5, 2026, at age 75, moved to the McKenzie Valley with his wife, Kimberly, in 2016. The exhibit brings together examples from across his long career, offering Valley residents a glimpse of the breadth of work produced by the photographer who chose the McKenzie as his final home.

Parker began his career as a photojournalist at the Charlotte Observer in North Carolina during the 1970s, earning several awards for his photography. He later became a staff photographer for Time Warner before being recruited by the San Jose Mercury News, where he also helped teach lighting techniques to the newspaper’s photography staff.

His honors included sharing in the Pulitzer Prize awarded to the Mercury News for its coverage of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Parker was twice named National Newspaper Photographer of the Year and was named Southern Photographer of the Year in 1981.

But Parker’s photography was not defined by awards.

Whether covering news, creating an advertising photograph or photographing an individual, he had a knack for finding the unexpected moment – sometimes humorous, sometimes poignant – that told the story.

A former record-setting track and field athlete, Parker brought energy and a competitive streak to his profession. He combined carefully constructed lighting with an instinct for recognizing moments as they happened, an approach he called “Calculated Spontaneity.”

Parker met his wife, Kimberly, while on assignment in 1994. A year later, they established Parker Photographic Productions, specializing in pet advertising and corporate photography in Silicon Valley.

His commercial photography earned international recognition, including a Lürzer’s Archive award for advertising photography in 2006.

Parker was also known as a teacher and mentor. He lectured nationally on lighting, creativity and photography and freely shared his experience with younger photographers who wanted to learn the craft.

Some of his most meaningful work, however, was done without a commercial client.

Parker devoted years to photographing members of Little People of America, creating portraits of hundreds of people with different forms of dwarfism. The work appeared in magazines and television projects, including programs produced for TLC.

He also used his website to introduce those photographs to a much larger audience and to help parents of children with dwarfism connect with the Little People of America community.

During the early 2000s, the website received more than a million visits, helping Parker pursue one of his personal goals – demystifying dwarfism and encouraging people to see the individuals behind the physical differences. The dwarfism section was removed from the website in 2016 because of unauthorized use and piracy of the photographs.

That combination of technical skill, curiosity about people and enthusiasm for life followed Parker throughout his career and eventually to the McKenzie River Valley.

The exhibit in Vida reflects that journey – from a young newspaper photographer capturing history as it happened, to an accomplished commercial photographer, mentor and advocate, and finally a member of the McKenzie Valley community.

For all the complicated lighting, demanding assignments and professional accolades, Parker kept one rule remarkably simple.

On a Gary Parker photo shoot, “You must have fun.”

The Gary Parker exhibit will remain on display through September at the Vida McKenzie Community Center.

More of Parker’s work can be viewed at garyparker.com and catdogphotography.com.