An acclaimed photojournalist, raised in Keizer, shared his work and life story at the Keizer Heritage Museum on Tuesday, May 20.

Gregg Newton began his career at McNary High School, taking photos for the school paper. 

“I love talking to people, particularly the younger generation,” Newton said as he prepared for the slideshow.

Tammy Wild, the volunteer historian at the museum, organized the event.

“It’s just fascinating to see his pictures and hear about all of his experiences,” she said.

The showing was held in the Keizer Homegrown Theatre. 

About 30 people came to Newton’s hour-long presentation. 

The crowd remained highly engaged in his photos, shown chronologically from when Newton worked at The Piper – McNary’s school paper – to his most acclaimed work later in his career.

People gasped while Newton worked through his career highlights, including a photo of former revolutionary Fidel Castro sampling an octopus in Spain.

“To hear from somebody who’s been in the same room as some of these people…it’s pretty cool,” Wild said.

Newton, now living in Florida, was Keizer for the first time since 2008, visiting family and old friends. McNary alumni flocked to the theater to hear about Newton’s life.

“It’s kind of like a school reunion,” Wild said, who graduated in the photographer’s class.

Raffle winners took home prints of Newton’s work, including a panoramic shot of the “Christ the Redeemer” statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Newton grew up in Keizer and graduated from McNary in 1982. 

The Statesman Journal hired Newton as an intern after high school, marking his first full-time job in the industry. 

After spending time abroad, he attended Oregon State University. The Reuters news agency hired Newton in 1989.

He remained with Reuters until 2002, when he suffered a sudden work accident. This left him on disability for several years while he regained his health.

Since returning to the field, he’s done commercial work with companies like Disney.

Looking back over his career, Newton said capturing John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth, returning to space in 1998 was a favorite. Reuters instructed Newton to capture the crowd watching the rocket at Cocoa Beach, Florida – around 20 miles from the launch site. 

But he had a better idea.

Dog-paddling into the surf with his camera, Newton captured his most acclaimed photo: two bodyboarders watching the rocket veer into space. 

“I ruined the camera, but that made a pretty cool picture,” he said. The photo received two pages in Time magazine the next day.

His advice to students is to keep practicing. Newton took one formal photography class during his life – a photo developing course at McNary.

“Everything else was repetition,” he said. “Just go out and shoot…follow your dream.”

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