Peter Koch, The Legacy of a Photographer, Naturalist, and Explorer in the Big Bend of Texas

Thursday, April 16
5:30 p.m.

$10 for Members
$15 for Non-Members 

As the previous Big Bend National Park artist-in-residence and grandson of renowned photographer and naturalist Peter Koch, Tim Cooper will share stories of his family's legacy with Big Bend through photography. Peter Koch, a successful photojournalist and naturalist filmmaker, found his personal El Dorado in the earliest days of the Big Bend National Park, months after the park opened. Cooper will explore Koch's remarkable journey and the adventures that played a crucial role in shaping our understanding of Texas’ Gift to the Nation at a time when color photography and photo technology was changing rapidly. The talk will feature newly restored midcentury Kodachrome slides from Big Bend and the work he inspired in Cooper. A selection of Koch's personal cameras will be shown. Peter Koch was a contemporary of EE Townsend whose personal items are featured in the special exhibit “From the Vault” on display from November 14 through April 12, 2026.