2024 05 20

The moon above my backyard bald cypress tree. Chicago, Illinois. April, 2024. © Clayton Hauck

My bald cypress tree… Can a tree really belong to someone? I think not. But I do love and care for this tree as if it was my own child. Watching Baldee grow up has brought joy to my life. I kid (a little) but being a man without a human kid or (currently) dog or cat or hampster to care for, you take the love where you can get it.

Anyway. It’s Life Update Monday!

Life Updates:

• Becoming a “portrait photographer” is way more challenging than I ever would’ve guessed. Convincing people to pay you money for them to come to your studio to stand in front of your camera is no easy task.

• That said, I’m learning and making progress and having some fun with it as well! Ted Talk coming soon…

• …actually, I’ve been kinda wanting to write more honest thoughts about the backside of the photography business. Numbers, paperwork, production, etc. Is this something anyone wants to see? Am I just opening up a can of worms I will regret? Leave a comment!

• Blog comments: nobody leaves them and it’s making me feel like I’m speaking into the void. I understand why nobody blogs anymore and everyone tweets or X’es or whatever-you-call-it-now. Instant gratification is a nasty beast.

• I’m photographing two projects this week that should be both challenging and interesting. One is motion! One is studio cocktails in a style I’ve not previously explored. I’m also exploring different lighting approaches in both (namely, continuous lights vs strobes).

• The studio is a full-time job and something I should also write a bit more about. Lots of lessons learned over the last 2-3 years. The last few months it has been cashflow positive, which is obviously nice but is not always the case (nor was I expecting it to be, however, I was expecting it to be easier in almost every other way than it has been).

• Weather is nice. I’m jinxing it but why haven’t there been mosquitos yet??? Did we bioengineer them away? The last few years in Chicago they’ve been terrible and so far this year I’m not sure I’ve even seen one. I’m sure they are coming, but damn, it’s been real nice.

• Printing! I haven’t had time to get too into it yet, but, damn! The first few prints I’ve made (I’ve only been testing paper samples so far with the same image) have really lit a fire under my ass. I’m optimistic it will unlock a whole new perspective on what photography even is, to me. More on that soon.

-Clayton

2024 05 19

An Alvaro Ilizarbe art installation at the Fashion Outlet Mall in Rosemont, Illinois. November, 2023. © Clayton Hauck

Here’s another view of Alvaro Ilizarbe’s amazing art installation at the mall, which I mentioned yesterday. It’s hard to tell in this image since there is no point of reference, but the painting here is like 30ft high and the overall area he painted in the mall is pretty big and much of it is on the ceiling, which he painted while laying down horizontally atop a huge metal scaffold. I’m still impressed when I see this in person and offended by all the shoppers who whizz right past it on their way back to the parking lot. But that’t the case with all the art in this mall — out of context, things take on a different meaning and hold different value. If 40% Nike Outlet discount codes were embedded into this art piece, it’s likely people would all of a sudden become far more interested in it.

Now, I use this image as one of over 400 and rising in rotation as backdrops of my Keep it 100 portrait sessions.

-Clayton

2024 05 18

Mall selfie. November, 2023. Rosemont, Illinois. © Clayton Hauck

Hello. It’s Saturday and I’m working. Gotta pay these studio bills one $100 portrait session at a time. I’m good at business!

This photo was made at the Fashion Outlet Mall in Rosemont, Illinois while my car was charging. The art is by the amazing artist Alvaro Ilizarbe. I was commissioned to document the art installations at this mall a decade or so back and spent a few days hanging with Alvaro up on the scaffolding while he hand painted this entire piece. It is incredible and worth a trip to the mall just to see it.

-Clayton

2024 05 17

Parking lot cat. Rockford, Illinois. March, 2024. © Clayton Hauck

Putting yourself out there as an artist is rather daunting. I’ve long preferred the more transactional method of calling myself an editorial and commercial photographer. I have what someone wants (a skill in making nice images) and they have something I want (money, and sometimes exposure). It’s a deal! Although, the money side of the deal is proving to be increasingly challenging these days, which is a topic for another day. In part because of the increasingly changing photography landscape (more supply, less demand) and in part because I’m getting older and wanting to focus more on things I want to focus on, I’ve been turning a bit more towards calling myself, and acting like, an artist.

While this artful pivot is still a slow-moving work-in-progress, I’m finding my brain is becoming a bit more in tune with the things needed to move down the path towards art. Things that a younger me would decide are deal-breakers, an older me sees more as fun challenges and absurd realities that can further fuel my drive to create things. I realize I’m being quite vague here, however, most of what I’m referencing boils down to sales. Things I rather dislike about my current reality in the commercial photography world (selling yourself by any means possible) are also things that successful (not always good) artists also understand and excel at. Always Be Closing.

I have no idea if I’ll ever become a successful artist, as taking myself seriously enough is a challenge I may never overcome. Pricing an image or art piece at $10,000 because it’s worth it is something I find much harder to do when the prospective buyer is the general public, as it immediately rules out 99% of the population and means your buyer will be a rich collector or investor type, and I fancy myself more a man of the people. Defense Mechanism Alert!

But who am I kidding, really? I currently sell my images for $10,000 to corporations, who can afford it, while thinking this is a more justified and acceptable path. Is it?

via Allison Schrager’s Known Unknowns substack:
Becoming a successful artist these days takes jumping through a series of hoops: the Yale MFA, showing at the right galleries, and—if you are lucky—being featured at events like the Biennial. It is hard to imagine that anyone who works at any of these places would indulge an artist who doesn’t adhere to the doctrine.

But that is also the case for many of our most elite institutions, in consulting, media, academia…—pretty much everywhere. And the result is more predictability and less creativity. Don’t take this as an anti-woke rant. Some of the institutions I have in mind are not woke by any stretch, but they still demand a certain type of employee who went to a certain type of school and is conformist in nature. And this really matters in a winner-take-all economy, because climbing to the top of these institutions, or affiliation with them, is important, at least more important than it used to be. No wonder productivity is down.

I liked this quote above from Allison because it showcases how the art world is largely structured and guarded just like any other line of work. This idea is originally what kept away from the art world but these days is more so pushing me towards it.

My 40’s will be interesting as I have no idea where I will be in another ten years. The landscape may change so much I’ll be forced to move to a trade (certified arborist, here I come!) and leave photography altogether; or perhaps we’ll all be living easy off our universal basic income checks. But for now: Fine, art.

-Clayton

2024 05 16

Cat on stairs. Nashville, Tennessee. May, 2024. © Clayton Hauck

A photo a day keeps the doctor away.

Have I said this before? Probably so. It’s getting to be the time in this daily brain dump where I start repeating myself without even realizing it.

Anyway, I did just notice that there is a severe lack of cats featured on this here photo blog, so needed to address this dire situation.

-Clayton

2024 05 15

Charlie poses during one of my Keep it 100 sessions at the studio. December, 2023. Chicago, Illinois. © Clayton Hauck

Just a quick update today as I’m still buried in work with no time for bloggin’

I’m offering my Keep it 100 $100 portrait sessions at the studio this week. If you’re in town and need some new photos of yourself, book a session and come see me!

-Clayton

2024 05 14

Super grainy image of a green-lit tree at night with some stars and planets and sensor artifacts. March, 2024.Wheeling, Illinois. © Clayton Hauck

Kyla has a book coming out which is very exciting news! She has become one of my favorite thinkers on economics and our modern media-saturated life. I share this video because this piece arrived in my inbox a few days ago via her substack and I really enjoyed reading it. Then, today, the video version of it appeared in my youtube feed and it reminded me about how I love that she makes her content available on all the major platforms. It’s a ton of work, but these days this is what you basically have to do if you want to be noticed. Posting to your daily weblog isn’t going to move the needle! … perhaps I should turn my daily weblog post into a daily vlog post, as well … maybe.

I love what Noah Kalina has been doing on his channel lately. But yeah, yet another fulltime job on top of the ones I already have probably isn’t in the cards. Maybe we start small.

-Clayton

2024 05 13

Buddy the dog being timid at the bar. Chicago, Illinois. October, 2023. © Clayton Hauck

It’s common sense, but interesting to me, how without experiencing something firsthand you tend to not notice it happening all around you. I’ve never been a dog owner in my forty plus years on earth and it was only recently that I learned, while watching dogs for friends, that a dog will tuck its tail firmly between its legs when sensing trouble. This is not a profound realization by any stretch, but now that I know it, I notice it all the time.

It was never a goal to make this blog a personal life update space, but perhaps a weekly check-in might be useful? Let’s give it a shot, since I don’t have anything else lined up.

Life Updates (in no particular order):

• My buddy (and owner of Buddy the dog) Mr. Kenneth Yoder is screening his feature-length documentary tonight at Consignment Lounge. It’s picture lock, he claims, so maybe this beast is finally in the can. I give him shit, because the project has dragged on for years, but I am super proud of him! (UPDATE: he really elevated this thing from the working edit I saw last year. Nice work, dude! You made something really worthwhile)

• I might (might!) be venturing down the path of becoming a documentarian myself. More on this later.

• Planning a wedding is stressful.

• I now own a “pro” printer and will be spending much time in the coming weeks learning to make (and possibly even sell?!) really quality photo prints.

• Planning a wedding is expensive.

• I’m doing a photo show in my studio with a cool photographer later this year. More info on that as it becomes official.

• I’m planning to document both the DNC and RNC, for myself, both in words and images. I have no special access and this might be a challenge. Also, if a fancy commercial project comes up, I’ll prob skip it and take the money. Sorry, it’s politics.

• Planning a wedding is time consuming.

• I have another great idea for a group photo show I’m hoping to host at my space later this year. More on that later.

• I now have some prints showing at the Kimball Arts Center, where my studio is located.

• Even when you “win” in the stock market, you often lose. I’ve been buying stock in this website (Squarespace) because I think longer term the company will be at least 5x what it’s currently valued at. Apparently, a private equity firm agreed with me and bought the company for slightly more than its current valuation, meaning I will no longer have access to further financial gains via an increase in stock price. Back to bitcoin, I go.

• Planning a wedding sucks, but the wedding will be awesome and my partner is even more awesome, so it’s all worth it!

-Clayton

2024 05 12

Flowering tree in spring. Vincennes, Indiana. April, 2024. © Clayton Hauck

Happy Mothers Day! Apologies for posting late, mom. Yes, everything is fine… I’m just falling behind on my blog post scheduling. Hope you had a great day, moms!

-Clayton

2024 05 11

My new Contax T2 next to a Tesla Cybertruck. Effingham, Illinois. April, 2024. © Clayton Hauck

A photo a day keeps the doctor away?

Here’s the camera that has produced my first film photos in a decade. It’s likely also the very first picture of the beautiful Contax T2 next to the beast otherwise known as the Telsa Cybertruck. This was my first spotting of one in the wild, which happened, oddly, in Effingham, Illinois.

Keep on truckin’.

-Clayton

2024 05 10

Old van that sits by my house collecting parking tickets. Chicago, Illinois. March, 2024. © Clayton Hauck

Someone posted that Steve Albini had more effect on Chicago than most mayors do, and that’s probably true. I never knew Steve, never met him, was aware of his existence and importance but vastly under-appreciated it until yesterday, when he sadly died far too soon. The entirety of my social feeds were flooded with Albini stories and memories, which was a joy to take in.

Albini most recently lived in the Ravenswood Gardens neighborhood. He told the Columbia College blog “In the Loop” why he stayed in Chicago in a 2017 interview:

“There’s not a lot of bloodthirsty competition in Chicago. In places like New York and L.A. the cost of living is so high and the the notion of ‘industry’ is much more cemented. In L.A. there is a pop music industry, in New York there is a pop music industry, and there’s competition to be part of that. The competition to beat other people to the brass ring or whatever, and I never get that feeling in Chicago.” 

I loved this take about why Steve chose to stay in Chicago after finding fame in recording massively successful rock albums and I think it helps summarize why Chicagoans hold Steve in such high regard. He was a complex figure who did not take bullshit from anyone and was not afraid to call people out for anything he deemed wrong, which is not a personality type that tends to do well within the power structures of big time America among the coastal elites.

If you, like me, were not well versed in Albini and his brain, do yourself a favor and dig into him some more. Listen to his albums. Read some of his thoughts.

This Baffler piece, for example, written in 1993 is an epic takedown of the extreme power structures which built up around mainstream music, designed to suck as much money out of the artists as it possibly could. His writing style is direct, strong, and punchy! 😛

The official Nirvana twitter account posted the 4-page letter he wrote to the band before recording In Utero with them and it’s an incredible read illustrating a wonderful piece of history. Check it out via the tweet linked below.

Steve Albini. pic.twitter.com/DzYjvJykdx

— Nirvana (@Nirvana) May 9, 2024

Rest in noise, Steve. Thanks for being you.

-Clayton

2024 05 09

Woman finds the light in downtown Chicago, Illinois. April, 2024. © Clayton Hauck

I’m taking a break from listening to Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” diss track on repeat to post this blog entry. The song is incredible and so full of detail, things are still emerging after a few dozen listens. My dumb brain, prone to overthinking, at first interpreted the “A-minor” line as an insult that Drake likes to use the same key all the time (yeah, I’m dumb, and also not really familiar with Drake’s music). Then, when it clicked, the song sizzled a little bit more! It’s a layered art piece that evolves over time and seemingly has the whole world talking about it.

…Further detail about this line from genius:

Lastly, on a piano, both the A-Minor chord and scale don’t have any black keys, only white ones. Additionally, the A-Minor scale is considered to be the easiest scale to learn as a beginner in music theory.

At the very end of the line, the main beat cuts out and switches to a jazz tune for a few seconds—this might be a reference to this popular tweet by comedian Zack Fox:

@zachfox: kendrick bout to call him a pedophile over some free jazz

Also, how crazy is it that this beef has already led to someone getting shot and how little people seem to care. Did the shooting even happen? I’m not sure. And if it did, it doesn’t matter. Nothing matters. There are way too many distractions and shit happening for us to collectively care about almost anything anymore, so when a song breaks through the clutter to catch the attention of the world, it’s a big deal.

Some artists are motivated by hate. It seems like Kendrick is at his best when he’s being attacked. Some of my best motivation has come from people not believing in me. It makes me wonder if this is why I’m usually drawn to darker themes and embrace negativity, acknowledging it’s real and natural, opposed to portraying the world only though a bright, colorful, and optimistic lens. When you embrace the darkness, it makes the light moments all the more profound.

Am I making any sense here? Probably not. Back to listening, I go.

-Clayton

2024 05 08

Fish, just hanging around at Warlord. Chicago, Illinois. September, 2023. © Clayton Hauck

Are you still taking pictures?

It’s something we photographers get asked, usually from relatives who don’t realize it’s a bit insulting, or perhaps can’t imagine somebody sticking with a hobby for their entire life. I’ve been doing photography as a job for about two decades. There have been long stretches of time where I wasn’t also making photos in my down time. It was my job and I still mostly loved it but I’d had my fill of it during the hours I was getting paid to make images.

I’ve long found I go through phases of interest in things. I get obsessed with roller coasters and travel the country riding them; then I get obsessed with coffee and want to open a coffee shop; then I get obsessed with cocktails and want to open a bar; then I get obsessed with geopolitics and want to become an intellectual. Typically these obsessions turn into phases and fade away in time. It’s only logical that photography, though it’s my job, will also ebb and flow in how excited I am to participate in it. Fortunately of late, I’ve found myself in an uptrend and have been motivated to make pictures, and perhaps soon video, at all hours of the day, whether it’s for myself or for a client.

There’s no shame in taking time off, doing something else, starting a new hobby. I can only image how challenging it must be for someone like Peter McKinnon, who built a massive name for himself through photography, to have to navigate what to do once the passion has worn thin and his livelihood is attached to posting thoughtful videos, and his staff is reliant on the income from posting thoughtful videos, but his thoughts are now elsewhere on things his audience may not give a shit about.

I have more complex thoughts on Peter the photographer but have no doubts he’ll find continued success because of his strength as a communicator and storyteller. He became as big as he did not because he’s an amazing photographer (not saying he isn’t!) but because he’s so great at connecting with people through his videos, like this one.

Peter, are you still taking pictures?

-Clayton

2024 05 07

Dinah in front of the camera for my Keep it 100 portrait session. Chicago, Illinois. December, 2023. © Clayton Hauck

Following my own advice from yesterday’s entry, I checked out another from Paulie B’s amazing Walkie Talkie series, this time featuring another photographer I was not previously familiar with by the name of Sara Messinger. I think the kids are alright! Beyond being introduced to another talented name, I loved the contrasting styles, approaches, and philosophies between Sara and Trevor, who was the previous subject of yesterday’s post. Throughout the entire forty-minute video, I’m not sure Sara made a single image, while Trevor finished like a dozen rolls and got into a few heated moments with strangers-who-became-subjects.

Partly why I loved this video with Sara is because she constantly reminded me of my own partner Allison, whereas I’m probably a bit more like Trevor. We all see the world a bit different and approach photography in our own ways. It’s also rather fascinating to contemplate how street photography has changed since I was their age wandering the streets with a camera. People these days are far more sensitive and aware about what might happen when a stranger makes a photo of them on the street without their consent.

That’s a deeper debate for another day, but let’s leave it there for now. Compete less; put yourself out there more; open yourself up to connect deeply with your subjects, as that’s how the magical moments are made. Thanks for your positive energy, Sara.

-Clayton

2024 05 06

Bart Simpson caught in the act at Slappy Curb. Chicago, Illinois. March, 2024. © Clayton Hauck

Caught this video over the weekend and had so many wonderful thoughts about it. Per the rules, we must discuss and share the link here. I’ll preface by saying this channel, by Paulie B, is fantastic and highly worth digging into for anyone even remotely interested in photography and definitely for anyone interested in street photography. The "walkie talkie” series has him tagging along with various street photographers and getting a peek into their process while an interview plays out alongside.

This specific episode featured a photographer I was not previously familiar with named Trevor Wisecup. His enthusiasm for the craft, perspective on life, and positive energy were all refreshing, inspiring, and had me wanting to pick up my camera and hit the streets. In general, the video reminded me of my younger self while also serving to push my current self a bit harder in the sense that, as you get older, sometimes you start to overthink things or self-doubt a bit more, or generally just lose the insane drive your younger self might’ve had.

As a lifelong Chicagoan, whenever I see videos like this I immediately regret not living in NYC. While making work of this nature is definitely possible here in Chicago (shoutout Vivian Maier) you’re going to need to put in twice as much time to get half the results as you will in a place like NYC which simply has the density of humanity needed to provide consistantly amazing street moments. Paulie B himself previously lived in Chicago and has since relocated to NYC. All this to say: I shouldn’t allow this one challenge to stop me from producing any work! Perhaps it could even allow me to think outside the box and make something more unique to me. I have ideas, they just need to be manifested, which can only happen once you leave the house. Thanks to Paulie for the endless inspiration to do just that (once I finish watching his channel, of course).

-Clayton

2024 05 05

Allison Ziemba basking in the sun. Chicago, Illinois. March, 2024. © Clayton Hauck

Happy sunday, y’all. I’ll be back next week with some new posts and hopefully dig a little deeper on some stuff if I can find more time that I had this previous week.

-Clayton

2024 05 04

A man walks down Elston Avenue. Chicago, Illinois. March, 2024. © Clayton Hauck

This blog post is being written from my studio office, which is inside the Kimball Arts Center. Before I signed the lease on this space, I spent a few years searching, scheming, and dreaming about buying a building which I’d then convert into my own space. This building, pictured here for sale off Elston Avenue, is kind of exactly what I was looking for. The problem was, anything I could find that fit what I needed was either a) well over a million dollars and out of my budget or b) so far away from anywhere I wanted to be that it didn’t make sense.

One building popped up and looked promising, however, I knew it would need some work (as they all do) so hired a brick guy to come out and look at the space with me. Upon arrival, he told me he’d crossed the street to avoid walking next to said building because the condition was so bad he figured the top might topple over at any moment. I got the point and didn’t make an offer on the $400,000 property, which seemed like a great deal at the time.

Before we got to this point, I’d gone to scout out the building and the surrounding area myself. While wandering the nearby alley, a man yelled to get my attention from a dark rear vestibule. Clearly a man down on his luck, sleeping on the floor with a wheel chair next to him, my suspicions were high but I nonetheless approached him cautiously. He asked me to help him get up into his chair. This is when I noticed he didn’t have any legs and the only way he was going to get back into his chair was with the help of someone passing by, such as myself in this moment.

What do you do at this point? Your only choices are to make some jumbled excuse and leave the man helpless on the ground or do your best to get him back up into his chair, so that is what I did. That’s the story of how I held a homeless man in my arms while trying to scout some cheap real estate to fulfill my professional photography career dreams.

Fellow photographer Noah Kalina recently joked on social media that the only ways to get rich in photography these days are to either win a copyright infringement lawsuit or buy real estate in SoHo in the 1980’s. So funny, sad, and true.

That building is still standing, however, the ornate stone crown atop the structure, which my inspector was worried would collapse, was nowhere to be seen the last time I drove past. Be careful where you’re walking.

-Clayton

2024 05 03

Slappy Curb in late afternoon sunlight. Chicago, Illinois. March, 2024. © Clayton Hauck

I’ve returned from my big job in Atlanta and am catching up on things. Maybe I’ll write more about photographing big production assignments sometime. It’s a fairly fascinating job. We took over an $800,000,000 airplane for the day, brought 40 people and a dozen trucks filled with endless stuff onto the busy airport tarmac, placed our “sun” lights onto a giant lift platform to get them high into the sky, and then ran through seven scenarios as if we were enjoying a flight 30,000 ft in the sky when in fact we were safely down on earth. While everything is being faked, I pride myself on making everything feel as real and authentic (creative director buzz word alert!) as we possibly can.

Speaking of creative directors on big production assignments: this is Zach skateboarding at Slappy Curb outside my See You Soon studio. We met last year on a big production assignment and one fun fact about Zach is he does not have any social media accounts. How amazing is that?!?

Image made from my first roll off teh Contax T2. I tried pre-focusing on the pavement, anticipating where he’d end up, which worked a bit but didn’t quite nail it. The fun thing about shooting film is these imperfections often only enhance the image, anyway.

-Clayton

2024 05 02

People are inside doing things as day turns to night. Chicago, Illinois. March, 2024. © Clayton Hauck

Me, walking into a hotel room for the first time: Oh, nice room, glad I upgraded! The view is decent but I wish the windows were bigger. Why is the sink not draining fast? Why does the sink’s faucet handle come like a millimeter from hitting the mirror? Do people not plan ahead before installing these things? Why do hotels give you giant bar soaps that you end up mostly wasting and without any sort of tray… where are you supposed to put this bar without it getting messy? Nice, one of those Martin Schoeller mirrors… I wonder what he’s up to now. There’s definitely a stain of something on the floor by the toilet. Free water… but it’s Dasani, of course. Oh great the phone is blinking so now I need to figure this out so it doesn’t blink for four days straight and keep me up at night… why are these new phones so impossible to figure out? Clearly whoever designed this thing didn’t expect anyone to use it. Gotta move this weird pillow out of the way. Why are the reading lights on? The air conditioning is kinda loud. Oh great, a text from the hotel, now, too.

Text from hotel: Welcome! Thanks for being a valued member. How is everything with the room?

Me: good, thanks.

-Clayton

2024 05 01

It’s springtime! New leaves unfurl on our European hornbeam trees. Chicago, Illinois. April, 2024. © Clayton Hauck

So I lied. Yesterday wasn’t actually our airplane shoot, it’s today. Why am I posting a picture of leaves? I’m so glad you asked! This image was made a few days ago in my backyard after borrowing my buddy Tim Blokel’s new Fuji GFX100 II to play with for a day. I’ve never used a Fuji camera in my entire life, but lately they have become the go-to camera model for commercial projects needing more resolution. Previously, we’d rent a Phase system and those are nice cameras but come with many drawbacks, so I’m always tentative to use them unless I know we don’t need speed (which, lately, never seems to be the case. More shots, less time, faster actions, people moving, etc, etc).

All that said, today’s shoot seemed like the perfect opportunity to use the new Fuji system, which I’m very excited about! The image above is cropped in a ridiculous amount as those leaves were something like 20 feet over my head, but the massive resolution of 102 megapixels allows great flexibility in post production. Anyway, I swear this blog won’t be turning into an equipment review site, I just wanted to mention the camera since it feels like it may become a new tool in my camera rotation going forward.

-Clayton