Born in Hong Kong, Palmer grew up in England, served as an officer in the Royal Navy for seven years, and immigrated to the United States in 1972.

[citation needed] After his immigration to the United States in 1972, he worked as chief energy advisor to Senator Charles H. Percy.

He publishes articles regularly (including a bimonthly column for Realscreen Magazine) and currently serves on the boards of fourteen non-profits.

[citation needed] Since the early 1980s, Palmer has been actively involved in film and television production, specializing in environmental and wildlife filmmaking.

[3] In August 2004, Palmer joined the full-time faculty of American University as Distinguished Film Producer in Residence.

[4] His book, Shooting in the Wild: An Insider's Account of Making Movies in the Animal Kingdom was published in 2010 by Sierra Club Books and has received critical acclaim for being "a sharp and searching assessment of the contemporary wildlife media universe from someone who loves the field and wants to see it live up to its promise.

His book was recently made into a public television documentary entitled "Shooting in the Wild", and was narrated by Alexandra Cousteau.

In 2012, he was named the recipient of the Ronald B. Tobias Award for Achievement in Science and Natural History Filmmaking Education.