Coney Island USA Presents:
James Hamilton Uncropped: The Exhibition
Join us in the Freak Bar Gallery for a spectacular, career-spanning presentation of the work of internationally acclaimed photographer James Hamilton. During his decades-long reign as staff photographer at the Village Voice and other publications, Hamilton took pictures of hundreds of subjects, pop culture celebrities, actors, musicians, politicians, creating some of the most memorable images of the past 50 years. But he always returned to Coney Island, one of his first, and best loves, even climbing onto the Cyclone tracks to capture the onrush of the immortal coaster. This is a rare opportunity to see a wide range of work that made Variety Magazine ask about Hamilton: “is he the greatest New York Photographer Ever?”
Opening Night Celebration: Friday, August 7, 2026 6:00pm-11:00pm
SPECIAL ADDED ATTRACTION: 8:00pm Free screening of the 2024 documentary ‘Uncropped’ which focuses on James Hamilton’s photography career. Praised by the New York Times as “great and memorable” and featuring appearances by such luminaries as musician Thurston Moore and filmmaker Wes Anderson, the film will play in the Sideshows by the Seashore Theater followed by an interview and question/answer session with James moderated by writer (and long-time Hamilton confederate) Mark Jacobson.
About James Hamilton: James Hamilton was born in 1946 and lives in New York City. He has been a photojournalist since 1966 and was the staff photographer for five different publications: “Crawdaddy!” (the first rock publication), “The Herald” (a weekly NYC newspaper), “Harper’s Bazaar” (portraits and national events), “The Village Voice” (twenty years), and “The New York Observer” (fifteen years). He also free-lanced for many publications such as “Rolling Stone”, “Vanity Fair” and “New York Magazine”. Hamilton photographed war and unrest in areas across the globe, including Central America, Ethiopia, the Philippines during the overthrow of Ferdinand Marcos, and China during Beijing’s Tiananmen Square massacre. He has worked as a still photographer with directors George Romero, Wes Anderson, Noah Baumbach and others. In the 1970’s he documented both the gangs and the amusements of Coney Island. In 2008, a book of his music photos, “You Should Have Heard Just What I Seen”, was edited and published by Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore, and in 2023 a documentary called “Uncropped” was made about his life as a photographer.
James Hamilton Uncropped: The Exhibition will be on display in the Freak Bar Gallery until October 11.