David Hundley Launches New Photographic Documentary Project on Whidbey Island

Greenbank photographer David Hundley has turned his lens toward the quiet backbone of Whidbey Island life, launching "100 Whidbey Island Unsung Heroes," a photographic documentary project now accepting nominations through May 31, 2026.

The project, listed on WhidbeyLocal beginning March 2, calls on island residents to identify people whose steady, unremarked contributions hold the community together. "On Whidbey Island, heroism is not always dramatic," the project statement reads. "More often, it is steady, compassionate, and deeply local. 100 Whidbey Island Unsung Heroes is a photographic tribute to those individuals whose everyday actions strengthen the fabric of Whidbey Island life."

Nominations require a subject's name, the nominator's relationship to the person, a contact for the nominee if available, and a written explanation of no more than 100 words describing why that person qualifies. Submissions go to david@davidhundleyphotography.com or through the form at davidhundleyphotography.com.

The project follows Hundley's "100 Artists" series, which he began in 2020 at his Greenbank studio as a way to build community during the COVID pandemic. Working one sitting at a time, he photographed poets, musicians, painters, sculptors, woodworkers, and fellow photographers, most of them strangers before he picked up the camera. He ended up with more than 100 portraits, all in black and white, and the collection has since shown in his studio, in Langley, and in Coupeville. He is still looking for a permanent North Whidbey home for the exhibit.

The early days of "100 Artists" were not easy. Some ignored him; others demanded to know what he stood to gain. "I had no ulterior motive. This was my gift to Whidbey Island," Hundley said. Once the project gained momentum, he said, it developed energy on its own, and the sessions at his Greenbank studio stayed pointedly apolitical. "It never came up," he said. "To a person, there was no discussion of politics."

That instinct toward community service has deep roots. Hundley's late father, Walter, was a minister, social worker, director of Seattle's Central Area Motivation Project and Model Cities Program, and Seattle's superintendent of Parks and Recreation. Hundley speaks of that legacy with evident pride.

The nomination prompt for the new project is straightforward: "Simply think about the people who have made a significant, quiet difference in your life.