A personal challenge to photograph 100 artists on Whidbey soon evolved into a project to be shown in galleries around the island.
Greenbank resident David Hundley’s striking black-and-white photography is on display from now until Jan. 2, 2026 at the Pacific NorthWest Art School in Coupeville. The opening reception runs 2–5 p.m. in the school’s gallery on Nov. 1 and includes an opportunity to meet the artist himself.
Hundley drew inspiration from a gallery in Texas that was doing a show featuring people in a style that he admired. So he started taking portraits a few years ago and used his position as the Whidbey Island Arts Council president to garner more participants.
“The floodgates just kind of opened up,” he said. “Everybody wanted to be part of it.”
He intentionally left the definition of “artist” broad. A doll maker, a theater director, a puppeteer and many musicians were just a fraction of those who met Hundley in his studio. Some brought props to accompany their photoshoots, while others gazed soulfully into the lens of Hundley’s digital camera, a Nikon Z9.
“Every person is different,” he said. “Their clothing, their skin tone, the props they have.”
Hundley has been doing photography since his college years, back when dark rooms were a common feature of the profession. Now, with digital photography, it’s more convenient to take multiple photos and to properly store them in a digital format.
He’s been influenced by photographers Philippe Halsman, Ansel Adams and Annie Leibovitz, the latter of whom he met and considers to be a cordial friend to this day.
Hundley acknowledged that the 100 Artists is far from a definitive list.
“Instead, it is a cross-section, a snapshot, a glimpse into the many ways art takes root here,” he noted in his artist statement on the project.
Rather than photographing them in their natural environments – their own studios – Hundley wanted their personalities to come out against the dark backdrop of his studio.
Previously, Hundley worked in Paris as a freelance photographer and as a senior staff photographer for a packaging and design firm. In retirement, and especially since moving to Whidbey in 2019, he’s gotten more into fine art photography, with abstracts and abandoned things on the island. Photos of people are trickier when multiple personalities are involved.
He’d like to find a permanent home for his 100 Artists. It was on display earlier this year at the Frank Rose Gallery in the South Whidbey Community Center, and after its run at the Pacific NorthWest Art School, the show might go on to a more northern location.
To see more of Hundley’s work, visit davidhundleyphotography.com.
Photo by David Hundley Daniel Gregory is a fine art and editorial photographer.
Photo by David Hundley Jing Jing Tsong, a musician, hugs her cello close.
