Photographer Greg Hunt's first solo exhibition in Japan. More than twenty years of photography, skating, and Jason Dill. | feature

Photographer Greg Hunt's first solo exhibition in Japan.
Photography and skating, with Jason Dill, over twenty years.

Greg Hunt, a former rider for the skate company STEREO in the 1990s, is now a filmmaker and photographer who has been capturing the true faces of his best friend since his teens, Jason Dill, and other skaters in the first book of his career, Ninety-Six Dreams, Two Thousand Memories, released in 2018. The book, "Ninety-Six Dreams, Two Thousand Memories," which captures the true faces of Jason Dill, his best friend since his teenage years, and other skaters, became an instant hit and is now hard to find. The Japanese edition of the book will be released on Wednesday, November 25. The book's Japanese edition will be released on November 25 (Wed.), preceded by the first solo exhibition in Japan at "BEAMS T Harajuku," an advance release of the photo book, and the release of the clothing line on November 20 (Fri.). We asked Greg himself what each of these events is about and what he has been up to so far.

Text_Atsutaro Ito

Edit_Shuhei Wakiyama

I genuinely felt the urge to shoot Jason.

You were good friends with Jason Dill at the time, weren't you?

Greg: Of course. We had been hanging out together since we were both active skaters, and when I started photography, I naturally started taking pictures of him. In 2003, I got a job shooting skate films in L.A. and met Jason again.

So it's been a while since we've seen each other again.

Greg: It had been a long time and it was a surprising reunion (laughs). What was surprising was that Jason had become so fascinating as a subject. I genuinely felt the urge to photograph him. I had been taking pictures of Jason before and after that, but it wasn't for work or because someone asked me to, but because I genuinely wanted to. He is my friend, and he is very interesting and attractive as a human being.

There was a gap between the reunion and the release of the photo book.

Greg: After our reunion, I spent a lot of time with him shooting footage for "Mind Field" for ALIEN WORKSHOP from 2005 to 2008. After that, we spent a lot of time together, even going on tour with Vans. In 2016, after things had settled down for a while, I was looking back at the past photos and talking with Jason about what we could do with them again, and the idea of making a photo book was born.

What is it about Jason Dill, from Greg's point of view, that attracts you to him?

Greg: It's what we call photogenic, but it's hard to explain in words. But we all know that, don't we? Jason is fascinating. He also treats my photos with respect, which makes the shoot go smoothly and in a good mood, so it's comfortable for both of us. I'm shy and tend to worry about details during a shoot, but with Jason I feel relaxed and comfortable. I think the trust that exists between us because we are such good friends is expressed in our photographs.

Greg has photographed not only Jason Dill, but also Anthony Van Engelen, Omar Salazar, and other famous skaters. In the past, he provided the photographs for the cover of Tommy Guerrero's first album "LOOSE GROOVES & BASTARD BLUES".

Is there anyone other than Jason Dill that you find attractive?

Greg: I don't want to pick out anyone in particular or compare them to anyone else, I've photographed a lot of different people over the past 20 years and they've all been fascinating. I don't think it matters what the subject is like or what they are doing, it is more important that they are interesting as a subject, whether they make a good photo or not, or whether they are a friend.