Gonzalez joins Smoke Signals staff

By Danielle Frost

Timothy Gonzalez, a 28-year veteran of Oregon photojournalism, joined the staff of Smoke Signals on Tuesday, Sept. 11.

Gonzalez is from the Los Angeles area and has called the Pacific Northwest home for the past 28 years. He began his photojournalism career at the Half Moon Bay Review and the San Mateo Times, capturing images from the 1989 San Francisco earthquake, in addition to sports photography and then-vice-president of the Philippines dining in an area restaurant.

He earned a degree in physical education from California State University Hayward in 1984 and studied three years of photojournalism at San Francisco State University from 1986-89.

Gonzalez was subsequently selected from applicants across the country to participate in the prestigious Eddie Adams Workshop II, where he worked with nationally known photographers and photo editors.

Gonzalez moved to Salem in 1990 to begin a 24-year photojournalism career with the Statesman Journal, where he covered the Portland Trail Blazers, Division I college football, the Thurston High School mass shooting and then-Sen. Barack Obama’s visit. He left in 2014 to pursue freelance photography, shooting Oregon State University football and basketball games for The Associated Press.

Gonzalez also had a photograph of a Woodburn farm worker featured in the book and nationwide traveling exhibition “Americanos: Latino Life in the United States.”

“Replacing Michelle Alaimo, who worked for the Tribe for more than 10 years, was a difficult task, but I think the Tribe was very fortunate to find someone of Tim’s experience and talent who lived nearby in Salem,” Editor Dean Rhodes said.

Alaimo left Tribal employment on Friday, Sept. 14, to take over a pet-sitting business and be closer to family in Hilton Head, S.C.

“The interview panel was duly impressed with Tim’s demeanor and portfolio of photographs, and I am confident that he will be a worthy successor to and uphold the photographic quality established by Michelle Alaimo over the last decade,” Rhodes added.

In his spare time, Gonzalez said he enjoys spending time with his dogs, Quinn, Bob and Chewy, and cats, Zane and Benjamin.

“I’m looking forward to getting to know a community that I’ve only had small interactions with so far photographing Contest Powwows,” he said. “Being able to work with people at the Tribe and getting to know more about the culture and traditions will be intriguing.”

Gonzalez can be contacted at 503-879-1961 or timothy.gonzalez@grandronde.org.