Hugh Holland became famous with his photo series, which were created in the 1970s and 1980s and documents the emerging skating scene of the US West Coast.
In 1968, Holland bought a camera, set up a darkroom at home and autodidactically applied his knowledge.
The photo series - in which he worked for a total of 3 years - was made out of pure coincidence: in 1975, Holland came across a group of young skaters during a car trip. Fascinated, he took out his camera and photographed the boys with their daring moves. Due to his enthusiasm for this counterculture, Holland was quickly absorbed into the skating scene. At the same time, skaters were not interested in him as a pure sport, but the photographer recognized that they were simply creating exciting motifs.
The skaters have evolved from the subculture of the surfers and backyards and asphalts have become their new battlefields. The boys between the ages of 13 and 20, neither wearing helmets nor arm or knee protectors, ran barefoot and with their brave tricks, put an end to the gravitation. Holland unfortunately lost interest in the scene when the skaters started wearing protective clothing and the logos of their sponsors in the late 1970s.
Holland does not regard himself as a pure skater photographer and rejects this designation. But he is sure that during these three years he has learned to press the trigger at the right moment.
