The picture features the late barber Jerry Cottone and his client. The first is a shot that is framed on Hammer's wall at home.
Syndicate barbershop full#
Looking back at his full collection, Hammer said two photos stand out. He referred to "small town U.S.A." as "the jackpot" because the people were so welcoming and a lot of the shops hadn't changed their signature styles in over 50 years. So, I stopped doing research and just started driving," Hammer said.Īs Hammer bounced from state to state during the formation of his first book, he saw America from the locals' perspective. "After awhile it became obvious that in order to find what I was looking for, they had to be shops in small towns that don't exist on places like Facebook or Yelp. He soon learned that researching online wasn't going to bring him to the shops he wanted to capture. "It's taught me a lot about America and the people who live here."Īfter visiting Spanish Harlem, Hammer knew his mission but had to choose where to begin. "To say I have seen a lot and learned a lot is an understatement," Hammer said. The first focuses on older hidden gems, while the second includes new-age barbershops as well. In turn, he released not one but two photo collections of the shops, "Barbershops of America" and "Barbershops of America: Then and Now". Photo via Instagram / in 2018, Hammer has traveled over 85,000 miles and seen just about every barbershop the United States has to offer. "I decided that the project as a whole would not be complete until I documented shops in all 50 states, and a book was the only way of preserving their memory," he said. Thus the idea of expanding his search throughout America and compiling a barbershop photo collection into a book was born. Not just to the barber, but to the generations of customers who have been going there, and to the communities they are in," Hammer said. At that point I knew how important these old places are. (Photo via Instagram / whole life had become that shop and it was about to be taken away from him. It was then that Hammer realized his purpose in documenting barbershops. Hammer said Caponigro was visibly distraught at the thought of losing everything he had built for the past six decades. Unfortunately, a proposed Chinese takeout restaurant was taking its place because the new owners were willing to pay a higher rent. Yet, when Hammer stumbled upon the two in 2011, the generations-long community staple was preparing to close its doors. However, it wasn't until he took to the streets of Spanish Harlem in New York City, where he met an old Italian barber named Claudio, that he truly found the inspiration for his project.įor 60 years, Claudio Caponigro ran his barbershop at the Spanish Harlem location. Taking to Arizona and New Mexico for the next year, Hammer, 38, began his journey capturing the local charm of barbershops throughout the United States. In 2010, he decided he wanted to see what America was like behind the glitz and glam.
With its fast-paced nature, California was no longer cutting it for San Diego photographer Rob Hammer.
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