In the third of our new on-going programme of online exhibitions, we present a selection of the work of self-taught photographer Hugh Holland, who began experimenting with photography in the late 1960’s but didn’t discover his definitive subject until his move to Los Angeles from his native Oklahoma. He began documenting the burgeoning skate phenomenon in 1975 after becoming instantly captivated through a chance encounter with a group of skateboarding kids whilst driving up Laurel Canyon Boulevard.

Holland’s seminal images document the classic era of the early skateboard scene in California in the mid-1970’s, with many of the images featuring the now legendary names of the sport, such as Jay Adams and Stacy Peralta. Although older than most of his subjects, Holland’s enthusiasm for the energy of the skate scene quickly gained him acceptance and every spare moment was spent capturing the daily social interactions of groups, such as the notorious Z-boys from Santa Monica and Venice and the skaters of Kenter Canyon, Paul Revere and Brentwood.

Holland’s colour images are exceptional and very unique amongst skate photography. Shot with a special colour film and often taken during late afternoon, everything is bathed in the golden light of the low-lying late-afternoon sun. His images have been collected in a celebrated book, Locals Only, and these are the first new images issued since its publication in 2011. To see more of Hugh’s work, and for sizes and prices, please click here.

A number of signed, limited edition prints of these works are now available to purchase.