Tim with refugee children in Tuzla, Bosnia

Tim Baker has photographed news, features, travel, sports, corporate reports, advertising, and portfolio fashion for a wide range of U.S. and international clients and publications. These projects and his keen interest in travel have taken him to 80 countries on all seven continents, including Antarctica—where he spent five months as an expedition photographer for Greenpeace—and Fiji—where he lived on a 90-foot-yacht as a photo instructor for the owner and crew.  His most recent videography assignments have been for Conde Nast Traveler, filming behind the scenes at the haute couture fashion shows in Paris, Mayan ruins in Guatemala, and safari lodges in South Africa.

Baker is a former Supervising National Photo Editor for the Associated Press in New York City, where he oversaw photo coverage of breaking news and events nationwide for member newspapers, TV networks and Web sites.

From 1996 to 1999, Baker lived in Europe as the Photo Editor for the European edition of Stars & Stripes, the daily newspaper of the U.S. Armed Forces.  When he covered the Kosovo crisis he was interviewed by Ted Koppel on “Nightline” about the three American soldiers who were taken prisoners of war on the Serbian border.  Baker was with the soldiers just hours before they were captured; his photos were used on “Nightline” as well as in publications worldwide.

Before moving to Europe, Baker lived and worked in New Zealand.  As the Photojournalism Lecturer at the Auckland University of Technology, he developed and implemented first-ever photojournalism courses as part of the journalism-degree and continuing education programs at the University’s School of Communications Studies. 

From 1986 to 1990, Baker was the Director of Photography for The Press Democrat, a New York Times-owned regional daily newspaper in Santa Rosa, California.  He coordinated national award-winning photo packages on the Alaskan Oil Spill, the Soviet Union, Nicaragua, the Pope’s visit to San Francisco, and the 50th Anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge.  Baker began his Press Democrat career as a staff photographer, covering daily local news and major national events including five World Series and three Super Bowls.   He also covered the 1989 San Francisco Earthquake and assisted in the production of 15 Seconds,  a critically acclaimed book documenting the quake.  Of 109 photos chosen for the book—from thousands of images submitted by hundreds of photojournalists—six were Baker’s, including the title page and the back cover.

As a 14-year-old boy in Petaluma, California, Baker sold his cow for his first camera.