Originally Harsley worked in street photography, events and portraiture. He has photographed John Coltrane and Ray Charles at the Apollo, Sarah Vaughn at Birdland, Muhammad Ali, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Shirley Chisholm’s nomination for President.He photographed activists Harry Belefonte, Coretta Scott King, Paul Robeson Jr and Angela Davis when they met for the first time at a benefit in 1972. A Harsley photo of Muhammad Ali adorned Darren Walker's office in 2019.
