Clinton resident David Welton’s photography was recognized as among the very best displayed at this year’s Edmonds Arts Festival, which was held last month.

Welton won first place in the photography division of the Juried Gallery for a moment he captured of two little girls playing on the viewing deck of a Washington State ferry.

This is the fourth time Welton has entered work in the annual festival. He said his photos have always been accepted in the competitive event, which is one of the three largest in the Northwest.

“I won third place in 2008. This shows consistency,” said Welton, in an email to the South Whidbey Record. “Artists take risks when they put work on display; not everyone will like it and some will hate it. It means that maybe I am a pretty good photographer after all.”

The image was taken on Welton’s evening commute this past September. The girls, Kayla and Araya Johnson, were “playing and feeling very elegant in their dresses.”

“The photograph symbolizes a carefree joyful childhood, in the supportive Whidbey Island environment,” he wrote.

“I am just an amateur photographer who sells an occasional photo or does an assignment, but have been shooting since I was 8,” Welton said.

His work was on display with about 450 pieces from local and national artists.

Welton is a well known photographer on Whidbey Island and his work often appears in the South Whidbey Record.

Welton has shows on the island at the Bayview Senior Center and Useless Bay Coffee Company with an ongoing display at Sweet Mona’s in Langley, and Clinton scenes at Anchor Books.