James Hamilton started out as a painter, but thanks to a summer job at the studio of Alberto Rizzo, a pioneering photographer, he decided to switch his medium from the canvas to the camera lens. Hamilton embarked on a photography career that led to stints at Crawdaddy! (a rock-music publication) and Harper’s Bazaar. In 1974, he landed at The Village Voice, where he developed a reputation for capturing the energy of Manhattan’s city streets and their notable inhabitants. He made portraits of Jack Nicholson, Meryl Streep, Lou Reed, and Patti Smith and photographed film sets for George Romero and Wes Anderson. D. W. Young’s documentary Uncropped surveys the compelling life and work of Hamilton, and the indelible mark he’s left on New York City’s cultural history. —Jack Sullivan