All Of It with WNYC – "Village Voice Photographer James Hamilton"

Host: Kate Hines (in for Alison Stewart)
Guests: James Hamilton (photographer), DW Young (director, Uncropped)
Date: May 3, 2024

Episode Overview

This episode of All Of It centers on the life and legacy of James Hamilton, a legendary photojournalist best known for his work at the Village Voice, but whose camera has captured everything from underground punk scenes and war zones to iconic celebrity portraits. The discussion coincides with the release of Uncropped, a documentary directed by DW Young about Hamilton’s expansive four-decade career. The conversation delves into Hamilton’s craft, approach to storytelling through images, his New York roots, and formative assignments at home and abroad.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Genesis of the Documentary

• DW Young’s First Encounters with Hamilton’s Work
  • Young recalls not having a specific moment of discovery but recognizing having seen Hamilton’s imagery across many publications (03:34).
  • Notably recalls a Spin cover featuring Sting that stood out from his childhood:
    "Oh, I’ve totally remembered that cover." (03:47)
• Idea for Uncropped Originated with Producer Judith Mizracki
  • During lockdown, Hamilton joined Facebook and began digitizing and posting archival work.
  • Judith, who was once Hamilton’s photo editor at the New York Observer, was captivated by the breadth of newly shared images and pitched the idea of a documentary (04:15–05:15).
  • DW Young:
    “It was really meeting with James, talking to him about it and hearing what he had to say in the stories and kind of behind it all... we got along... he was open to progressing from there.” (05:35)

Hamilton’s Photographic Journey

• Early Career and the Village Voice
  • Hamilton freelanced for the Village Voice before becoming staff photographer; he describes being on staff for five major publications as a gift (08:29-09:25).
  • "To be working that much and not have to hustle... I was salaried. So I was working every day for basically 40 some years." (08:55)
• The Unique Culture at The Village Voice
  • Emphasis on creative freedom, collaboration, and the paper's blend of journalism and art. Hamilton invented his own assignments and editors encouraged exploration (10:15).
  • Richard Goldstein, former editor and collaborator, describes The Voice’s ethos:
    "You could be as artful as you wanted to be, but it had to work as journalism, too. You could be as journalistic as you wanted to be, but it had to work as art." (09:46)

Memorable Assignments

• Reporting in China during the Tiananmen Square Protests
  • Hamilton recalls his most memorable assignment: covering Tiananmen Square, breaking into a makeshift morgue to document casualties, with student activists smuggling him through the city by bike for access (11:20, 13:11).
  • "They immediately started kneeling down and unzipping body bags for us to give us evidence. And I had to use a flash... I managed to get a bunch of pictures and we spirited that film out of the country with some couriers." (13:11)
• Foreign Correspondence
  • Assignments included covering the Philippines’ political upheaval and the war in Ethiopia (15:03–15:26).
  • “We were under fire constantly, and I had never been in an experience like that.” (15:24)

New York City: Portraits, Street Life, and the Archive

• A Diary of New York:
  • Hamilton positions his work as a “diary” of New York, capturing both famed personalities and anonymous city dwellers with equal humanity (16:16).
  • Wes Anderson, filmmaker and friend, describes Hamilton’s continuous documentation:
    "Every day I receive a photograph from James... it's an incredible ongoing document of the times and places of his life." (15:47)
• The Impulse to Document
  • Art school beginnings at Pratt led to working for a fashion photographer; discovered his true passion walking the streets, camera in hand (16:37–18:24).
  • "Make pictures and basically record…document my life in New York through pictures in the street. Really." (17:24)

Collecting and the Physical Archive

• The Collector’s Eye
  • Hamilton is an avid collector, primarily of movies (thousands) and photobooks (19:13–19:42).
  • DW Young notes the parallel between their mutual affection for historical objects:
    “The Village Voice and these other publications have now become historical objects as printed matter... not really digitized and available as archives…” (18:45)

The Evolution of Street Photography

• Challenges in the Digital Age
  • The prevalence of camera phones and a new guardedness around photography has changed candid street work (20:03).
  • "People think that people are, in a way, more guarded because they don't know what's going to happen to that image... So people are very wary of cameras in the street now, especially a real camera rather than a phone camera." (20:30)
  • Hamilton still prefers film for its process and would shoot it “if he could afford it.”

Style, Approach and Legacy

• Hamilton’s Approach with Subjects
  • Hamilton spends more time talking with subjects than shooting, creating comfort and trust (22:36).
  • “I actually talked to people much more than I took pictures. So I think that helped a lot with just easing the situation…” (22:36)
• DW Young on Learning from Hamilton
  • The director found Hamilton’s ethos and image-making inspiring.
  • “Spending that much time with James’s work, you can’t help but learn a lot…James’s work ethic, his ethos... is, I think, very compelling.” (21:19, 21:52)
• Quiet Observational Style
  • Hamilton is described as seamlessly moving into a scene, observing before shooting:
    "...not a lot of fuss, and you’re quiet and thoughtful... just being the observer who then documents was really interesting." (22:22)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 03:34 – DW Young recalls first seeing Hamilton’s work.
• 04:15–05:15 – Genesis of the documentary Uncropped.
• 08:29–09:25 – Hamilton on working at the Village Voice.
• 09:46 – Richard Goldstein on art and journalism at The Voice.
• 11:20, 13:11 – Hamilton describes covering Tiananmen; the morgue story.
• 15:03–15:26 – War reporting in Ethiopia.
• 15:47 – Wes Anderson on Hamilton’s daily photographic “documents.”
• 16:37–18:24 – Hamilton’s path from Pratt to street photographer.
• 19:13–19:42 – Hamilton’s collecting habits.
• 20:03 – The challenge of candid street photography today.
• 21:19, 21:52 – Young on what he’s learned from Hamilton.
• 22:36 – Hamilton on making subjects comfortable.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• James Hamilton:
  "We could invent our own stories, for one thing, which was fantastic. Whenever I wanted to meet somebody, I would basically invent a story or talk to an editor and say, why don't we do a piece about this person or that?" (10:15)

• Richard Goldstein (clip):
  “It’s this merger of art and journalism where one was not in charge of the other, but rather they were in constant clashing, constant dialectic... it had to work as journalism, too… as art.” (09:46)

• James Hamilton:
  (On Tiananmen images) “They immediately started kneeling down and unzipping body bags for us to give us evidence... I managed to get a bunch of pictures and we spirited that film out of the country…”* (13:11)

• Wes Anderson:
  “Every day I receive a photograph from James, and I put it in a special file, Hamilton’s. And it’s an incredible ongoing document of the times and places of his life.” (15:47)

• James Hamilton:
  (On subjects fearful of cameras) “People are, in a way, more guarded because they don’t know what’s going to happen to that image. It might wind up on the internet… So people are very wary of cameras in the street now, especially a real camera rather than a phone camera.”* (20:03, 20:30)

Conclusion

Uncropped captures the life and lens of James Hamilton—a photographer whose quiet approach, keen artistic instincts, and passion for authentic documentation have made him a vital chronicler of both New York City and global events. Through conversation with director DW Young and reflections from collaborators, this episode celebrates Hamilton’s rare ability to blend journalism and art, and offers insight into both his craft and the changing landscape of photography.