For more than 40 years, photographer Randy Tunnell has been a respected member of the Monterey Peninsula publishing and advertising community. His beautifully crafted images have appeared in virtually every Carmel-area publication and his more anonymous commercial work is viewed by thousands every day.
In December of 2018, Tunnell embarked on a project to photograph as many Monterey County faith leaders as possible.
“I don’t do a lot of self-initiated projects,” he says. “I enjoy photographing people the most. For many years, I’ve photographed politicians, chefs and other people in the limelight. Faith leaders are not that celebrated, and they do a lot of good work in their communities.”
The result is “Facing Faith,” a collection of portraits representing a cross-section of religious faiths. It became a project of personal discovery for the photographer.
“I’m essentially a non-believer,” he says. “But the journey I took meeting these people and photographing them impacted me in a personal and emotional way—not a change in my belief system, but a greater appreciation for the human condition. I believe this has impacted me in some way, primarily in an appreciation for the power and personality of these individuals and the many people that depend on them.”
Tunnell asked each subject one question: “Which of the basic tenets of your faith resonates the most for you personally?” Their answers accompany each photograph.
Born and raised in Monterey County, Randy Tunnell is one of the area’s busiest freelance photographers. Randy has photographed hundreds of special events, including political events, sporting events, product launches and press conferences. He has had portrait sessions with many household-name politicians, performers, athletes,
doctors, street poets and almost any title you can think of.
Randy has worked and lived in several other markets including Las Vegas, San Francisco and Chicago. He currently lives in Carmel with his wife and two teenagers and enjoys servicing a variety of photography clients on the Monterey Peninsula and throughout the United States.