The lens of Whidbey: From saving hearts to saving moments

The lens of Whidbey: From saving hearts to saving moments

Published 1:30 am Friday, March 13, 2026

For years, a stethoscope hung at his neck. Now it’s a digital camera.

David Welton, 77, is that man you see all over the place on South Whidbey Island, snapping images with an actual digital camera, not a smartphone. He reveals up at neighborhood occasions and seeks out quiet corners the place island life unfolds, unnoticed.

His photos seem in newspapers and blogs in addition to brighten island billboards and library partitions. About 60 pictures are featured in his newest present, a monthlong February exhibition on the South Whidbey Community Center in Langley.

“I documented life on Whidbey in the first quarter of the century,” Welton mentioned.

[gps-image name=”41776695_web1_L2-MAG-DavidWelton-EDH-260105-fs.jpg”]

His fascination with pictures started at age 8, after his grandmother gave him a Kodak Starflash field digital camera. He saved allowance and birthday cash for a makeshift darkroom, shutting himself within the rest room with a contact printer.

In medical faculty, pictures was a solution to unwind from the pressures of coaching. As a heart specialist in Santa Barbara, his darkroom printing periods had been continuously interrupted by hospital emergencies.

“I stepped away from it,” he mentioned. “I just did snapshots and color slides.”

Digital pictures introduced him again. “I didn’t need a darkroom anymore,” he mentioned.

[gps-image name=”41776695_web1_L3-MAG-DavidWelton-EDH-260105-fs.jpg”]

In 2005, he left California to follow at a cardiology clinic in Lynnwood. Whidbey Island provided a relaxed residence life and was a photographer’s playground.

Welton took quite a few images for the South Whidbey Record lately. His work has earned state awards from the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association.

“For someone who hasn’t made a full-time career out of it, I’m doing pretty well,” he mentioned. “It’s my mad money.”

[gps-image name=”41776695_web1_L5-MAG-DavidWelton-EDH-260105-fs.jpg”]

Photography additionally retains him match.

“To get some of the angles, you have to stoop, get up and move around. To keep up with the parade, you have to run ahead,” he mentioned. “When I go out for an assignment, that’s my daily exercise.”

[gps-image name=”41776695_web1_L4-MAG-DavidWelton-EDH-260105-fs.jpg”]

The images add up. For the current exhibit, Welton sifted by means of about 10,000 photos, narrowing them to 60 with the assistance of his son, Nathan. His spouse, Georgia Edwards, a retired oncologist, provided regular encouragement.

“The reason there are so many good pictures is because there’s so much cool stuff happening on the island,” Welton mentioned. “I love living here. People come from all backgrounds, walks of life and political persuasions. I see good in everybody, and it’s fun getting to know people.”

This, he mentioned, is how he communicates, tells tales and preserves reminiscences.

“But in the end,” Welton mentioned, “I just like to take pictures.”

This story initially appeared in Sound & Summit journal, The Everett Daily Herald’s quarterly publication.