An Exhibition of Charlie Samuels’ Unseen Photos: HAROLD 89

A peek behind some of the now recognizable images created to honor Harold Hunter Weekend and to raise money for HHF.

A young Harold Hunter was skating all over New York City in the summer of 1989. It just so happened that Harold had his own photographer around for the entire summer, so no location was off-limits. Although it probably didn’t seem like it at the time, the photographs taken by Charlie Samuels in 1989 helped to establish Harold as one of NYC’s favorite skateboarders and a lasting influence on the scene in the five boroughs.

The Harold Hunter Foundation was established in his honor as a non-profit network for the entire NYC skate culture following Harold’s unexpected death in 2006. The Harold Hunter weekend is being held in New York City for the fifteenth time this Thursday, June 23. A number of skate, art, and music events are being held all over the city over the course of a few days to honor Harold’s legacy and HHF.

Charlie Samuels and Element are holding a special photography exhibition called HAROLD 89 as a part of the celebration, and Charlie will display 45 “mostly unseen images” of Harold from those 1989 sessions at the Elm Foundation/The Boiler Room in Brooklyn.

We were fortunate to nab Charlie during his pre-event preparation to lift the veil on the four exhibit photographs that will be put up for live auction during the show, with the revenues going to HHF. It is always interesting to hear minor tidbits from those who were present when particular moments were filmed, and Charlie always has some interesting things to share. We can discover the mood of the session, the nature of the traffic, and the demographics of the onlookers that witnessed skating history. Working with Charlie on this event and learning tidbits of information about the images and video is definitely an honor.

These images have all been produced as extremely limited 20″ x 30″ prints for the exhibition and will be put up for auction both offline and online.

“I was itching all summer to put the Twin Towers in the background as we were skitching cabs all around town – then I saw them over my shoulder. Your standard ‘long lens compression scramble-to-the-top of a box truck deal, then hope for the best type of shot.”

“Us skaters thrive on challenges so, naturally, it’s a blast to skate where we aren’t welcome. The financial district in ’89 fit that bill real well. Besides, downtown had good riding rails and my favorite backdrop: the Twin Towers. This was the first skate spot we hit that had both. Most of the frame was in shadow so I broke out my lights.

The “acrobats” horrified the suits. Harold doesn’t give a damn. He was incredibly assured and zen-like, sliding the rail as they attempted to pass our makeshift outdoor photo studio. “I had to make this shot work.”