Clayton Hauck Clayton Hauck

2024 08 28

Squarespace just sent me an email saying that prices are going up. Immediately, then, the whole gallery page got fucked up because of bad hotel wifi. Iā€™m starting to think that doing a big blog website on the squarespace platform was a bad idea, esp if this project continues for a number of years. Iā€™ll be stuck! My big idea was to get off of social media and create a website I could control myself, however, I likely made a poor decision in choosing the convenience of the squarespace platform over the freedom of doing it myself on my own server with my own back end, Wordpress, or whatever.

You live, and you learn, and sometimes you forget and need to re-learn. But usually all of your money eventually ends up in the hands of the tech companies.

Iā€™ll get back to posts with more purpose asap! Busy photographing on the beach and boardwark the next two daysā€¦ going to be an exhausting shootā€¦ need to use that sunscreen! Will get more into that, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh once I have a bit more downtime. Maybe.

-Clayton

Quant house. Atlanta, Georgia. May, 2024. Ā© Clayton Hauck

Squarespace just sent me an email saying that prices are going up. Immediately, then, the whole gallery page got fucked up because of bad hotel wifi. Iā€™m starting to think that doing a big blog website on the squarespace platform was a bad idea, esp if this project continues for a number of years. Iā€™ll be stuck! My big idea was to get off of social media and create a website I could control myself, however, I likely made a poor decision in choosing the convenience of the squarespace platform over the freedom of doing it myself on my own server with my own back end, Wordpress, or whatever.

You live, and you learn, and sometimes you forget and need to re-learn. But usually all of your money eventually ends up in the hands of the tech companies.

Iā€™ll get back to posts with more purpose asap! Busy photographing on the beach and boardwark the next two daysā€¦ going to be an exhausting shootā€¦ need to use that sunscreen! Will get more into that, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh once I have a bit more downtime. Maybe.

-Clayton

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Clayton Hauck Clayton Hauck

2024 08 27

Caught a fish haul returning to dock while out scouting for our shoot. The boat set out at 3:30am and travelled seventy miles off shore. While this was a paid trip for tourists looking for a bit of deep-sea action, it was an interesting scene to encounter and got me thinking about how vastly complex our world is, and how typically these days most of our food ecosystem takes place behind the scenes and out of sight. We choose a number or place an order and minutes later, a hot fresh plate is waiting. I just had a chicken sandwich for dinner, and while seeing a few dozen dead fish on the dock is one thing, I canā€™t imagine what the equivalent scene would look like down the road at the chicken factory.

-Clayton

The end of the line for ole fishy. Ocean City, Maryland. August, 2024. Ā© Clayton Hauck

Caught a fish haul returning to dock while out scouting for our shoot. The boat set out at 3:30am and travelled seventy miles off shore. While this was a paid trip for tourists looking for a bit of deep-sea action, it was an interesting scene to encounter and got me thinking about how vastly complex our world is, and how typically these days most of our food ecosystem takes place behind the scenes and out of sight. We choose a number or place an order and minutes later, a hot fresh plate is waiting. I just had a chicken sandwich for dinner, and while seeing a few dozen dead fish on the dock is one thing, I canā€™t imagine what the equivalent scene would look like down the road at the chicken factory.

-Clayton

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Clayton Hauck Clayton Hauck

2024 08 26

This picture is only interesting because it was taken in July. To me, a humorous observation, does not translate to you, an unknowing viewer, without a written explanation of why the thing is worth looking at. This is, I think, an unbreakable rule of how to make good art: the art has to be immediately understood at a fundamental level by the observer. Sure, the interpretation may vary but there canā€™t be a blog blurb explaining why itā€™s worth looking at. Photo fail.

I was busy working all day today in Ocean City, Maryland so didnā€™t have the time for a more robust post. I did, however, ride a roller coaster as part of my work, so a decades-long dream has been fulfilled; since my days working as a ride operator at Six Flags Great America, I have not been paid to ride roller coasters. Until today.

-Clayton

Christmas in July. Chicago, Illinois. July, 2024. Ā© Clayton Hauck

This picture is only interesting because it was taken in July. To me, a humorous observation, does not translate to you, an unknowing viewer, without a written explanation of why the thing is worth looking at. This is, I think, an unbreakable rule of how to make good art: the art has to be immediately understood at a fundamental level by the observer. Sure, the interpretation may vary but there canā€™t be a blog blurb explaining why itā€™s worth looking at. Photo fail.

I was busy working all day today in Ocean City, Maryland (have you been here?!) so didnā€™t have the time for a more robust post. I did, however, ride a roller coaster as part of my job, so a decades-long dream has been fulfilled; since my days working as a ride operator at Six Flags Great America, I have not been paid to ride roller coasters. Until today. Life win.

-Clayton

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2024 08 25

Iā€™m sitting at a bar in Pittsburgh eating a breakfast burrito, attempting to get a quick post up. Anytime Iā€™m in Pittsburgh, I wonder why I donā€™t live in Pittsburgh. Itā€™s an incredible place for a guy like me. What this means, exactly, deserves a longer post. My last night in Cleveland (I crashed a party at BurkleHagen) deserves a longer post, too. Iā€™ll get to it. Maybe.

I liked this image because Iā€™d thought the bird had a worm in his mouth. When I went to edit it, I zoomed in and realized itā€™s just a gull and now I like the image much less.

I suspect this is why I donā€™t actually live in Pittsburgh. But you donā€™t know until you zoom in and see all the detail, which is hard to do on just a few quick visits.

Next stop: Baltimore

-Clayton

Bird on roof. Does he, too, enjoy a nice sunset? Chicago, Illinois. July, 2024. Ā© Clayton Hauck

Iā€™m sitting at a bar in Pittsburgh eating a breakfast burrito, attempting to get a quick post up. Anytime Iā€™m in Pittsburgh, I wonder why I donā€™t live in Pittsburgh. Itā€™s an incredible place for a guy like me. What this means, exactly, deserves a longer post. My last night in Cleveland (I crashed a party at BurkleHagen) deserves a longer post, too. Iā€™ll get to it. Maybe.

I liked this image because Iā€™d thought the bird had a worm in his mouth. When I went to edit it, I zoomed in and realized itā€™s just a gull and now I like the image much less.

I suspect this is why I donā€™t actually live in Pittsburgh. But you donā€™t know until you zoom in and see all the detail, which is hard to do on just a few quick visits.

Next stop: Baltimore

-Clayton

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Clayton Hauck Clayton Hauck

2024 08 24

Iā€™ve been busy lately. A bit too busy to keep up all my side projects, like this here blog. Iā€™m noticing that lately Iā€™m writing more and more about me. Why Iā€™m doing this or thinking that. While I guess this is fine, it wasnā€™t the main intention of the project. Becoming a better writer was a core objective, so I guess if writing about myself is what helps me do thatā€”fine.

Yesterday, we got word that we didnā€™t book a large project that my intuition had me feeling good about. At first, my intuition said we werenā€™t really in the mix, but if I wrote a really good treatment, it might make us a contender. Sure enough, the writing nearly put us over the finish live, though we ultimately came up a bit short. Itā€™s a weird profession, commercial photography, filled with lots of politics and intangibles, but I kind of like that about it. At the end of the day, to me, the photos are what matters. But in life, itā€™s often more about how you get to where youā€™re going than anything else.

I have enough going on, like getting married in a few weeks and blogging daily, to fill my time. Filling my bank account is the part that Iā€™ll miss about this one, though the project wouldā€™ve been a challenging one, which I think I wouldā€™ve excelled at, so ultimately a rewarding one as well.

Jumping to my next train of thought I had this morning: the challenges of becoming an aging photographer. While I do think Iā€™m being awarded fewer jobs in part because Iā€™m not as young as I used to be, the struggle is more internal, for me. Increasingly, Iā€™m getting the sense that I need to find something different to dedicate the remainder of my productive life to, because photography (at least how I practice it) is physically demanding and my body will eventually call it a wrap. Because of this, Iā€™ve been more attracted to the ideas of bar ownership (probably also physically demanding, how I would approach it) or writing (letā€™s be honest, not super realistic in terms of making a livingā€”have you seen this blog?!). The obvious solution, however, has been sitting right in front of me all along: motion directing.

This morning, Iā€™m departing for Maryland (really, I should be packing right now, not blogging) to take part in a tourism production next week. Iā€™m driving, because Iā€™m a proper Midwesterner (and have a car full of gear), so Iā€™ll have a lot of time to stew on this idea of what I probably should be focusing my time and attention on. Video is what got me into this line of work in the beginning. Iā€™d always wanted to direct and make movies, yet Iā€™ve spent the last two decades avoiding video production as much as I possibly can! Figuring out what is at the core of this Resistance (imposter syndrome, laziness, social anxiety) will help free me to gain some newfound career freedom for my next two decades on this journey called life.

Final takeaway from this morning: I need to be more funny. Nobody, aside from perhaps my mom, has the interest in hearing me drone on about myself for this long! Yeah, Iā€™m doing this here blog solely for me, but I can at least make it a bit more entertaining. Now, I gotta go pack!

-Clayton

Living the high life. Chicago, Illinois. May, 2024. Ā© Clayton Hauck

Iā€™ve been busy lately. A bit too busy to keep up all my side projects, like this here blog. Iā€™m noticing that lately Iā€™m writing more and more about me. Why Iā€™m doing this or thinking that. While I guess this is fine, it wasnā€™t the main intention of the project. Becoming a better writer was a core objective, so I guess if writing about myself is what helps me do thatā€”fine.

Yesterday, we got word that we didnā€™t book a large project that my intuition had me feeling good about. At first, my intuition said we werenā€™t really in the mix, but if I wrote a really good treatment, it might make us a contender. Sure enough, the writing nearly put us over the finish live, though we ultimately came up a bit short. Itā€™s a weird profession, commercial photography, filled with lots of politics and intangibles, but I kind of like that about it. At the end of the day, to me, the photos are what matters. But in life, itā€™s often more about how you get to where youā€™re going than anything else.

I have enough going on, like getting married in a few weeks and blogging daily, to fill my time. Filling my bank account is the part that Iā€™ll miss about this one, though the project wouldā€™ve been a challenging one, which I think I wouldā€™ve excelled at, so ultimately a rewarding one as well.

Jumping to my next train of thought I had this morning: the challenges of becoming an aging photographer. While I do think Iā€™m being awarded fewer jobs in part because Iā€™m not as young as I used to be, the struggle is more internal, for me. Increasingly, Iā€™m getting the sense that I need to find something different to dedicate the remainder of my productive life to, because photography (at least how I practice it) is physically demanding and my body will eventually call it a wrap. Because of this, Iā€™ve been more attracted to the ideas of bar ownership (probably also physically demanding, how I would approach it) or writing (letā€™s be honest, not super realistic in terms of making a livingā€”have you seen this blog?!). The obvious solution, however, has been sitting right in front of me all along: motion directing.

This morning, Iā€™m departing for Maryland (really, I should be packing right now, not blogging) to take part in a tourism production next week. Iā€™m driving, because Iā€™m a proper Midwesterner (and have a car full of gear), so Iā€™ll have a lot of time to stew on this idea of what I probably should be focusing my time and attention on. Video is what got me into this line of work in the beginning. Iā€™d always wanted to direct and make movies, yet Iā€™ve spent the last two decades avoiding video production as much as I possibly can! Figuring out what is at the core of this Resistance (imposter syndrome, laziness, social anxiety) will help free me to gain some newfound career freedom for my next two decades on this journey called life.

Final takeaway from this morning: I need to be more funny. Nobody, aside from perhaps my mom, has the interest in hearing me drone on about myself for this long! Yeah, Iā€™m doing this here blog solely for me, but I can at least make it a bit more entertaining. Now, I gotta go pack!

-Clayton

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2024 08 23

I woke up this morning after an exhausting day of photography yesterday. My 5:30am call-time to location an hour away without traffic meant a 3:30am wake up and only a few hours of non-consecutive sleep. This sort of approach works once in a while but is impossible to sustain. I woke up this morning (luckily today is an off day which I will use to catch up on everything before leaving town tomorrow morning for another gig out east) and my phone showed me some interesting thoughts from Haruki Murakami on writing:

I get up early and focus solely on writing for five to six hours every single day. Thinking that hard and long about things, your brain gets overheated (with my scalp literally getting hot at times), so after that I need to give my head a rest. That's why I spend my afternoons napping, enjoying music, reading innocuous books. That kind of life, though, gets you out of shape physically, so every day I spend about an hour outdoors exercising. That sets me up for the next day's work. Day after day, without exception, I repeat this cycle.

Murakami is clearly dedicated to his craft and committed enough to stick to such a rigid routine. Comparing this to myself, I do agree that a large part of why Iā€™ve been relatively successful as a photographer is because Iā€™ve allocated a huge amount of my time to the craft. Day after day, year after year, relentless taking, making, editing, and looking at photos. I am not as focused as Murakami, though, and have an endless succession of new hobbies and side projects to distract me. These things likely also keep me sane and able to continue making photography my main career, but I do also wonder if they restrict me from getting to an ultimately higher place within the filed. While itā€™s nice to make a living from the craft, my real end goal is to achieve something more, and previously I was not on any sort of path to do this. Iā€™m not sure I am now either but am, at least, considering this.

He went on:

I'm a very patient type of person, I think, when it comes to that kind of process. Still, at times I do get fed up with it and hate it. But as I work away, persevering day after dayā€”like a bricklayer carefully laying one brick on top of anotherā€”I reach a certain point where I get the definite feeling that when all is said and done, a writer is exactly what I am. And I accept that feeling as something good, something to be celebrated. The slogan of AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) in the US is "One day at a time," and that's exactly what this is like. Maintaining a set rhythm, steadily hauling in one day after the other and sending them on their way. Silently continue to do this and at a certain point something happens inside you. But it takes time to reach this point.

One day at a time, Clayton. One day at a time. I am a photographer. Who also wants to be a writer, and a bar owner, and a director, and a venue manager, and a youtuber, and a podcaster, and a blogger, and a journalist, and a musician, and an arborist. I am a photographer. One day at a time.

-Clayton

Chef Christian Hunter of Atelier. Chicago, Illinois. February, 2024. Ā© Clayton Hauck

I woke up early yesterday morning for an exhausting day of photography. My 5:30am call-time to location an hour away without traffic meant a 3:30am wake up and only a few hours of non-consecutive sleep. This sort of approach works once in a while but is impossible to sustain. I woke up this morning (luckily today is an off day which I will use to catch up on everything before leaving town tomorrow morning for another gig out east) and my phone showed me some interesting thoughts from Haruki Murakami on writing:

I get up early and focus solely on writing for five to six hours every single day. Thinking that hard and long about things, your brain gets overheated (with my scalp literally getting hot at times), so after that I need to give my head a rest. That's why I spend my afternoons napping, enjoying music, reading innocuous books. That kind of life, though, gets you out of shape physically, so every day I spend about an hour outdoors exercising. That sets me up for the next day's work. Day after day, without exception, I repeat this cycle.

Murakami is clearly dedicated to his craft and committed enough to stick to such a rigid routine. Comparing this to myself, I do agree that a large part of why Iā€™ve been relatively successful as a photographer is because Iā€™ve allocated a huge amount of my time to the craft. Day after day, year after year, relentless taking, making, editing, and looking at photos. I am not as focused as Murakami, though, and have an endless succession of new hobbies and side projects to distract me. These things likely also keep me sane and able to continue making photography my main career, but I do also wonder if they restrict me from getting to an ultimately higher place within the filed. While itā€™s nice to make a living from the craft, my real end goal is to achieve something more, and previously I was not on any sort of path to do this. Iā€™m not sure I am now either but am, at least, considering this.

He went on:

I'm a very patient type of person, I think, when it comes to that kind of process. Still, at times I do get fed up with it and hate it. But as I work away, persevering day after dayā€”like a bricklayer carefully laying one brick on top of anotherā€”I reach a certain point where I get the definite feeling that when all is said and done, a writer is exactly what I am. And I accept that feeling as something good, something to be celebrated. The slogan of AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) in the US is "One day at a time," and that's exactly what this is like. Maintaining a set rhythm, steadily hauling in one day after the other and sending them on their way. Silently continue to do this and at a certain point something happens inside you. But it takes time to reach this point.

One day at a time, Clayton. One day at a time. I am a photographer. Who also wants to be a writer, and a bar owner, and a director, and a venue manager, and a youtuber, and a podcaster, and a blogger, and a journalist, and a musician, and an arborist. I am a photographer. One day at a time.

-Clayton

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2024 08 22

Iā€™m literally falling asleep as I post this. Iā€™m running on two hours of sleep. I just watched Kamalaā€™s acceptance speech. Itā€™s KamalOā€™clock. Goodnight!

-Clayton

Riding a bike down the block during a beautiful sunset. Chicago, Illinois. May, 2024. Ā© Clayton Hauck

Iā€™m literally falling asleep as I post this. Iā€™m running on two hours of sleep. I just watched Kamalaā€™s acceptance speech. Itā€™s KamalOā€™clock. Goodnight!

-Clayton

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2024 08 21

ā€œNo treeā€œ

If only life were as simple as printing out a sign and clipping it to your fence.

Iā€™m sitting on the couch watching the DNC and this photo, which I find amazing, popped into my preview. I stumbled across the sign while scooting home from a Sox game this summer. I was a bit drunk off ballpark beers and my first instinct upon seeing this, the tree lover I am, was to get a job in the city using whatever connections I could muster up, then use my newfound power to plant two trees on this fellaā€™s parkway. That will teach him, the concrete-loving son of aā€”

Anyway, back to the politics beauty pageant.

-Clayton

No tree, declares home owner. Chicago, Illinois. July, 2024. Ā© Clayton Hauck

ā€œNo treeā€œ

If only life were as simple as printing out a sign and clipping it to your fence.

Iā€™m sitting on the couch watching the DNC and this photo, which I find amazing, popped into my preview. I stumbled across the sign while scooting home from a Sox game this summer. I was a bit drunk off ballpark beers and my first instinct upon seeing this, the tree lover I am, was to get a job in the city using whatever connections I could muster up, then use my newfound power to plant two trees on this fellaā€™s parkway. That will teach him, the concrete-loving son of aā€”

Anyway, back to the politics beauty pageant.

-Clayton

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2024 08 20

I was up early this morning making editorial portraits of a band on the lakefront. We scheduled the shoot early, or at least what Iā€™d thought would be early enough for some nice-looking sunlight low enough in the sky to be a bit more subtle. Of course, I woke up at 6:45am and the sun was already shining bright through my bedroom window, telling me to get my ass to set. By the time our scheduled start rolled around two hours later, the sun was intense and high in the sky, making it a challenge to find a nice exposure for my four subjects.

My strobe was maxed out and my ISO was bottomed out, yet my aperture was far more stopped down than Iā€™d wanted it to be, making the beautiful Chicago skyline well in the distance beyond my subjects to be sharp and in focus, without anything I could do about it. I paused shooting and dug into my camera back in search of the ND filter I knew Iā€™d left back at the studio in my never-ending reshuffling of my bag to accommodate whatever next assignment Iā€™m being tasked with. Sure enough, it was nowhere to be found, however, I did have a random orange gel large enough to completely cover my lens. This gel, designed for an LED light I no longer even have, has been hiding in my bag for years without ever getting used ā€” until today!

Editorial assignments are fun because they allow me to let a bit loose and try stuff. Of all the hundreds of images I made this morning, perhaps my favorite ones are the ones made while holding a cheap, orange, plastic gel over my lens because I thought why not (and wanted to open up my iris just a tad bit more and needed all the help I could get)!

-Clayton

Driving down a rainy road. Chicago, Illinois. April, 2024. Ā© Clayton Hauck

I was up early this morning making editorial portraits of a band on the lakefront. We scheduled the shoot early, or at least what Iā€™d thought would be early enough for some nice-looking sunlight low enough in the sky to be a bit more subtle. Of course, I woke up at 6:45am and the sun was already shining bright through my bedroom window, telling me to get my ass to set. By the time our scheduled start rolled around two hours later, the sun was intense and high in the sky, making it a challenge to find a nice exposure for my four subjects.

My strobe was maxed out and my ISO was bottomed out, yet my aperture was far more stopped down than Iā€™d wanted it to be, making the beautiful Chicago skyline well in the distance beyond my subjects to be sharp and in focus, without anything I could do about it. I paused shooting and dug into my camera back in search of the ND filter I knew Iā€™d left back at the studio in my never-ending reshuffling of my bag to accommodate whatever next assignment Iā€™m being tasked with. Sure enough, it was nowhere to be found, however, I did have a random orange gel large enough to completely cover my lens. This gel, designed for an LED light I no longer even have, has been hiding in my bag for years without ever getting used ā€” until today!

Editorial assignments are fun because they allow me to let a bit loose and try stuff. Of all the hundreds of images I made this morning, perhaps my favorite ones are the ones made while holding a cheap, orange, plastic gel over my lens because I thought why not (and wanted to open up my iris just a tad bit more and needed all the help I could get)!

-Clayton

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2024 08 19

Itā€™s DNC Day One in Chicago. This town has a storied history with political conventions, having played host to more future presidents than any other American city by far. Once the shit hit the fan in sixty-eight, the parties have mostly steered clear of the windy city, aside from one mostly non-exciting affair nominating Bill Clinton to a second term in office.

This year, we may have a more historic convention should Harris go on to become the first female president of these fine states. Gerald Ford largely predicted the outcome playing out today, which is both impressive and a reminder that while this country is a democratic one, our choices are in fact quite limited and managed by those in power.

Stay safe, Chicago. And stop by my space tonight for some hot political fun!

-Clayton

The Chicago Picasso. July, 2024. Ā© Clayton Hauck

Itā€™s DNC Day One in Chicago. This town has a storied history with political conventions, having played host to more future presidents than any other American city by far. Once the shit hit the fan in sixty-eight, the parties have mostly steered clear of the windy city, aside from one mostly non-exciting affair nominating Bill Clinton to a second term in office. But this is also the town that invented the smoke-filled back room deal and you just know things are indeed happening in many rooms this week.

This year, we may have a more historic convention should Harris go on to become the first female president of these fine states. Gerald Ford largely predicted the outcome playing out today, which is both impressive and a reminder that while this country is a democratic one, our choices are in fact quite limited and managed by those in power.

Stay safe, Chicago. And stop by my space tonight for some hot political fun!

-Clayton

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2024 08 18

Listening to Daniel Johnston right now. Going to attempt some free writing.

I feel like my photographic style is a lot like Daniel Johnstonā€™s music in the sense that we donā€™t really know what weā€™re doing, weā€™re not too polished, weā€™re operating on feel, and we embrace mistakes. Sometimes the mistakes are better than the intentions. Iā€™ll often go into an assignment and just set lights up and allow my intuition to take over. Iā€™ve always wished I could play music, but I canā€™t, or at least Iā€™ve never tried to seriously, but I imagine a good musician approaches performing like thisā€¦ they just sort of know what to do. Itā€™s intuitive. Dave Grohl was on an SNL rerun last night and all I could think about was how he seemed like a guy playing a rock star. The music felt performative and forced. The songs were good, sure, but it ainā€™t Nirvana. Imagine, however, being the guy who has to live up to Nirvana your whole life. With that head of hair, Iā€™d probably be doing exactly what Dave Grolh is doing.

I was given drugs once and told to give them a chance. I ended up listening to Daniel Johsnton the entire night. On repeat, over and over and over again. I didnā€™t sleep. I couldnā€™t sleep. The sun came up and I got myself out of bed and walked down to the bar and wondered what had just happened. The intangibles in life are what Iā€™m attracted to. Why does this shadow look interesting on the alley wall? Why are all of the best artists the ones that mostly go unnoticed by the rest of us? David Dondero and Lydia Davis and Bobby Conn and John Bellows and Tim Davis and Tim Kreider and Storm Jameson and Blaze Foley and a million other amazing artists largely being ignored by the rest of the world.

I (this post is clearly about me) once told my good friend I ā€œwanted to be rememberedā€ which he found insane. His interpretation was like on a George Washington level. My intention was like on a Dan Deacon level. Like if you know you know. The best of the best in a very specific category. Iā€™ll never forget some of those Dan Deacon sets I witnessed a few decades ago. They will stick with me until the day I die like my body odor funk and receding hairline. My wish is to create art that sticks in peopleā€™s brains and has any sort of impact. Music and writing seem like the best ways to get there, but Iā€™m a visual guy so photography is where Iā€™ve landed. Iā€™m still figuring this shit out but my instinct right now is to toss my laptop against the wall in protest of whatever-the-fuck Iā€™m even talking about so I should leave it at that, crack a cold one, and calm down.

-Clayton

An ordinary house, on a street, in Chicago, Illinois. July, 2024. Ā© Clayton Hauck

Listening to Daniel Johnston right now. Going to attempt some free writing.

I feel like my photographic style is a lot like Daniel Johnstonā€™s music in the sense that we donā€™t really know what weā€™re doing, weā€™re not too polished, weā€™re operating on feel, and we embrace mistakes. Sometimes the mistakes are better than the intentions. Iā€™ll often go into an assignment and just set lights up and allow my intuition to take over. Iā€™ve always wished I could play music, but I canā€™t, or at least Iā€™ve never tried to seriously, but I imagine a good musician approaches performing like thisā€¦ they just sort of know what to do. Itā€™s intuitive. Dave Grohl was on an SNL rerun last night and all I could think about was how he seemed like a guy playing a rock star. The music felt performative and forced. The songs were good, sure, but it ainā€™t Nirvana. Imagine, however, being the guy who has to live up to Nirvana your whole life. With that head of hair, Iā€™d probably be doing exactly what Dave Grolh is doing.

I was given drugs once and told to give them a chance. I ended up listening to Daniel Johsnton the entire night. On repeat, over and over and over again. I didnā€™t sleep. I couldnā€™t sleep. The sun came up and I got myself out of bed and walked down to the bar and wondered what had just happened. The intangibles in life are what Iā€™m attracted to. Why does this shadow look interesting on the alley wall? Why are all of the best artists the ones that mostly go unnoticed by the rest of us? David Dondero and Lydia Davis and Bobby Conn and John Bellows and Tim Davis and Tim Kreider and Storm Jameson and Blaze Foley and a million other amazing artists largely being ignored by the rest of the world.

I (this post is clearly about me) once told my good friend I ā€œwanted to be rememberedā€ which he found insane. His interpretation was like on a George Washington level. My intention was like on a Dan Deacon level. Like if you know you know. The best of the best in a very specific category. Iā€™ll never forget some of those Dan Deacon sets I witnessed a bunch of years ago. They will stick with me until the day I die like my body odor funk and receding hairline. My wish is to create art that sticks in peopleā€™s brains and has any sort of impact. Music and writing seem like the best ways to get there, but Iā€™m a visual guy so photography is where Iā€™ve landed. Iā€™m still figuring this shit out but my instinct right now is to toss my laptop against the wall in protest of whatever-the-fuck Iā€™m even talking about so I should leave it at that, crack a cold one, and calm down.

-Clayton

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2024 08 17

Another day, another busted car image. This one is maybe my favorite yet, discovered while wandering Atlanta during a half-day off while on production.

Wandering is my favorite. Iā€™ve long wanted to do a podcast called The Wanderer. Maybe it would be a video series. Maybe both. The list of things I want to do is long. Instead, I watch Bears preseason games and blog about my feelings. Canā€™t have it all.

-Clayton

Another busted car. Atlanta, Georgia. May, 2024. Ā© Clayton Hauck

Another day, another busted car image. This one is maybe my favorite yet, discovered while wandering Atlanta during a half-day off while on production.

Wandering is my favorite. Iā€™ve long wanted to do a podcast called The Wanderer. Maybe it would be a video series. Maybe both. The list of things I want to do is long. Instead, I watch Bears preseason games and blog about my feelings. Canā€™t have it all.

-Clayton

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Clayton Hauck Clayton Hauck

2024 08 16

ham! a few minutes shy of missing my first day of the year. but here we are. a photo.

-Clayton

No parking. Chicago, Illinois. (don't even get me started on the parking meter deal) July, 2024. Ā© Clayton Hauck

wham! a few minutes shy of missing my first day of the year. but here we are. a photo.

-Clayton

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Clayton Hauck Clayton Hauck

2024 08 15

Hello. Iā€™ve been quite busy lately and itā€™s largely due to my studio and photography projects taking up all of my time. Canā€™t complain, just a little note to myself to make me feel less bad about neglecting my side projects, like this here blog. Anyway, hereā€™s a dinosaur I spotted recently while working in my studio. Sometimes I donā€™t even need to leave the room and I can still make beautiful award-winning images (joke).

-Clayton

PS - Iā€™ve got some really fun events coming up at the studioā€¦ the place that is taking all of my time from me. Come out and hang, why donā€™t you?!

Dinosaurs walk amongst us, on The 606 Trail. Chicago, Illinois. July, 2024. Ā© Clayton Hauck

Hello. Iā€™ve been quite busy lately and itā€™s largely due to my studio and photography projects taking up all of my time. Canā€™t complain, just a little note to myself to make me feel less bad about neglecting my side projects, like this here blog. Anyway, hereā€™s a dinosaur I spotted recently while working in my studio. Sometimes I donā€™t even need to leave the room and I can still make beautiful award-winning images (joke).

-Clayton

PS - Iā€™ve got some really fun events coming up at the studioā€¦ the place that is taking all of my time from me. Come out and hang, why donā€™t you?!

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Clayton Hauck Clayton Hauck

2024 08 14

This is not a politics blog.

I did have some thoughts while out on a run this morning that I wanted to put into words. Previously, my thinking was that, post-disaster-presidential-debate, there was no way both candidates would not be on the ballot come November. Well, after some likely strong-arming by Democratic leadership behind the scenes, Biden did step aside, remarkably. This, obviously, changed the entire dynamic of the race in ways most of us likely did not expect. While the dust is still settling, it seems clear that Trump no longer seems like the likely winner in the upcoming election.

All that said, I just wanted to get a dated, on-the-record prediction that I now think itā€™s highly unlikely that Trump remains on the ticket. Itā€™s still far from a guaranteed outcome, but Iā€™d give it healthy odds: say, 5:1.

The most interesting outcome would be to see Trump take some kind of back-room plea deal and step aside to let Nikki Haley run atop the ticket (legalities of this may be dubious but surely theyā€™d find a way), but I doubt the Grand Old Party would allow a woman to step into the role as they likely see having a man up there against a woman as their clear advantage. Time will tell. Crazier things have happened. We still may be stuck with the orange guy for another four plus years. Iā€™m not getting too excited just yet.

This is not a politics blog.

-Clayton

Man, woman, dog. Itā€™s the dog days of political summer. Wilmette, Illinois. June, 2024. Ā© Clayton Hauck

This is not a politics blog.

I did have some thoughts while out on a run this morning that I wanted to put into words. Previously, my thinking was that, post-disaster-presidential-debate, there was no way both candidates would be on the ballot come November (see: 2024 06 28). Well, after some likely strong-arming by Democratic leadership behind the scenes, Biden did step aside, remarkably. This, obviously, changed the entire dynamic of the race in ways most of us likely did not expect. While the dust is still settling, it seems clear that Trump no longer seems like the clear favorite in the upcoming election.

All that said, I just wanted to get a dated, on-the-record prediction: that I now think itā€™s somewhat unlikely that Trump remains on the ticket himself. Itā€™s still far from a guaranteed outcome, but Iā€™d give it healthy odds: say, 5:1.

The most interesting outcome would be to see Trump take some kind of back-room plea deal and step aside to let Nikki Haley run atop the ticket (legalities of this may be dubious but surely theyā€™d find a way), but I doubt the Grand Old Party would allow a woman to step into the role as they likely see having a man up there against a woman as their clear advantage. Time will tell. Crazier things have happened. We still may be stuck with the orange guy for another four plus years. Iā€™m not getting too excited just yet.

This is not a politics blog.

-Clayton

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2024 08 13

A day (today) in the life of a working photographer:

7am wake up and get ready to tackle the day!

8:30am breakfast sandwich to go

9:30am arrive at location for editorial portrait shoot, unload, set up

10am photograph subject for editorial portrait shoot

11am break down, load car, drive to grocery store to edit photos and grab lunch

12pm check emails and make phone calls

2pm arrive at second location for second editorial portrait shoot, unload, set up

2:30pm photograph subject for editorial portrait shoot

3:30pm jump into rush-hour traffic and drive home to grab studio key

4:30pm arrive at studio to open up for a wardrobe fitting

5pm download and back-up photos, help production load in, etc

5:30pm warm up slice of leftover pizza to eat

6pm post to self-imposed daily blog before the day ends (late again!)

6:30pm write my morning pages which I neglected to do in the morning

7pm work on treatment which is due the following day

9pm help production load out and lock up studio

9:30pm stop into bar for a cold one and maybe another bite

10:30pm get back home, remove pants, clean up mess, discuss wedding stuff with partner

11:30pm more work on treatment

12am set alarm for 7am and repeat

-Clayton

A photo of pretty flowers to provide me a moment of calm. Chicago, Illinois. May, 2024. Ā© Clayton Hauck

A day (today) in the life of a working photographer:

7am wake up and get ready to tackle the day!
8am arrive at studio to load up the car with equipment
8:30am breakfast sandwich to go
9:30am arrive at location for editorial portrait shoot, unload, set up
10am photograph subject for editorial portrait shoot
11am break down, load car, drive to grocery store to edit photos and grab lunch
12pm check emails and make phone calls
2pm arrive at second location for second editorial portrait shoot, unload, set up
2:30pm photograph subject for editorial portrait shoot
3:30pm jump into rush-hour traffic and drive home to grab studio key
4:30pm arrive back at studio to open up for a wardrobe fitting, unload car
5pm download and back-up photos, help production load in, etc
5:30pm warm up slice of leftover pizza to eat
6pm post to self-imposed daily blog before the day ends (late again!)
6:30pm write my morning pages which I neglected to do in the morning
7pm emails, dms, work on confirming details of an event happening in a few weeks
7:30pm work on treatment which is due the following day
9pm help production load out and lock up studio
9:30pm stop into bar for a cold one and maybe another bite
10:30pm get back home, remove pants, clean up mess, discuss wedding stuff with partner
11:30pm more work on treatment
12am set alarm for 7am and repeat

-Clayton

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2024 08 12

Hereā€™s a lil sneak peek post. I had grand ambitions this year to work on a personal photo project, with the aim of turning the work into a photobook, coveringā€¦ Illinois. There was no specific vision or goal but more of a visual exploration of the state outside of Chicago (getting to every county outside of Cook was the rough idea). This year has been way busier than anticipated so the amount of time Iā€™ve been able to invest in this project has been far less than Iā€™d wanted. That said, Iā€™m fine with this becoming more of a longer-term ongoing project, which surely will evolve along with myself as the days and years pass.

Iā€™ll write more about this in the future but perhaps the biggest internal struggle Iā€™ve been having has been regarding what the vibe of the project should be. Do I want it to be more artistic, ambiguous, aesthetic or do I want it to be more photojournalistic, authentic, approachable? My worry is that turning this project into a ā€œtour of Illinoisā€ farmland wonā€™t be all that exciting and Iā€™m getting the sense I need to tap into the human element as much as, if not more than, the natural landscapes. This photo is beautiful and the tree is incredible, but is a book full of this kind of stuff really worth all the effort? I think it needs to evolve into something capturing a more deeper meaning.

-Clayton

The sun sets over farmland outside Onarga, Illinois. June, 2024.

Hereā€™s a lil sneak peek post. I had grand ambitions this year to work on a personal photo project, with the aim of turning the work into a photobook, coveringā€¦ Illinois. There was no specific vision or goal but more of a visual exploration of the state outside of Chicago (getting to every county outside of Cook was the rough idea). This year has been way busier than anticipated so the amount of time Iā€™ve been able to invest in this project has been far less than Iā€™d wanted. That said, Iā€™m fine with this becoming more of a longer-term ongoing project, which surely will evolve along with myself as the days and years pass.

Iā€™ll write more about this in the future but perhaps the biggest internal struggle Iā€™ve been having has been regarding what the vibe of the project should be. Do I want it to be more artistic, ambiguous, aesthetic or do I want it to be more photojournalistic, authentic, approachable? My worry is that turning this project into a ā€œtour of Illinoisā€ farmland wonā€™t be all that exciting and Iā€™m getting the sense I need to tap into the human element as much as, if not more than, the natural landscapes. This photo is beautiful and the tree is incredible, but is a book full of this kind of stuff really worth all the effort? I think it needs to evolve into something capturing a more deeper meaning.

Iā€™d love to open up more of a dialogue on this here blog so if youā€™re seeing this and have some thoughts, whatever they may be, I encourage you to jot them down into the comment section below!

-Clayton

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2024 08 11

Itā€™s Sunday. Iā€™m recovering from Saturday. Another reminder that Iā€™m too old to act like Iā€™m still in my twenties if I want to be at all productive, which would be helpful as I have things to do. Important business things.

-Clayton

Another Mr. Peepers. Chicago, Illinois. July, 2024. Ā© Clayton Hauck

Itā€™s Sunday. Iā€™m recovering from Saturday. Another reminder that Iā€™m too old to act like Iā€™m still in my twenties if I want to be at all productive, which would be helpful as I have things to do. Important business things.

-Clayton

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2024 08 10

It is the weekend and I woke up today thinking about side projects and side hustles. Iā€™ve always had a bunch of things Iā€™m interested in pursuing beyond my main job of photographer. I guess as a freelancer this is probably more appropriate. But lately Iā€™ve been getting the sense that second jobs and side hustles are becoming more of the norm than an exception. This is merely an anecdotal observation and I donā€™t have fancy facts or graphs to back this up, but Iā€™d bet many of the few people reading this would agree with me. Is this caused by people all-of-a-sudden being more well-rounded and curious or is this out of necessity as we find ourselves struggling to make a living through traditional career paths? Probably, itā€™s a bit of both, with social media opening up previously difficult channels of selling and marketing, thus enabling anyone to more or less do any business out of their own home.

What worries me is the idea that weā€™re all more or less passing around the same $100 to each other and nobody is actually building much wealth in exchange for all of the time, effort and energy they sink into their side hustles. I try to only pursue ones that will help me grow and develop as a person, not simply make a quick buck. But that, too, might be a bad strategy in the sense that not going all in on an idea will surely lead to failed execution. Filling up an Instagram shop full of stuff and then not even looking at it for six months; opening a photo studio without focusing on telling people you have a photo studio available to rent; offering fine art prints for sale without bringing them to art fairs and street fests so people actually see them and have a chance to buy them. I think maybe itā€™s time to go all in on one of these.

-Clayton

Haley forages in Humboldt Park. Chicago, Illinois. July, 2024. Ā© Clayton Hauck

It is the weekend and I woke up today thinking about side projects and side hustles. Iā€™ve always had a bunch of things Iā€™m interested in pursuing beyond my main job of photographer. I guess as a freelancer this is probably more appropriate. But lately Iā€™ve been getting the sense that second jobs and side hustles are becoming more of the norm than an exception. This is merely an anecdotal observation and I donā€™t have fancy facts or graphs to back this up, but Iā€™d bet many of the few people reading this would agree with me. Is this caused by people all-of-a-sudden being more well-rounded and curious or is this out of necessity as we find ourselves struggling to make a living through traditional career paths? Probably, itā€™s a bit of both, with social media opening up previously difficult channels of selling and marketing, thus enabling anyone to more or less do any business out of their own home.

What worries me is the idea that weā€™re all more or less passing around the same $100 to each other and nobody is actually building much wealth in exchange for all of the time, effort and energy they sink into their side hustles. I try to only pursue ones that will help me grow and develop as a person, not simply make a quick buck. But that, too, might be a bad strategy in the sense that not going all in on an idea will surely lead to failed execution. Filling up an Instagram shop full of stuff and then not even looking at it for six months; opening a photo studio without focusing on telling people you have a photo studio available to rent; offering fine art prints for sale without bringing them to art fairs and street fests so people actually see them and have a chance to buy them. I think maybe itā€™s time to go all in on one of these.

-Clayton

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2024 08 09

Quick update, as Iā€™m late to post today (busy, working, stuff, things) and dangerously close to missing my first day all year!

Potisitve: Ive been learning to print! Itā€™s been fun, and expensive, and time consuming, and easy, and hard, and fun, and I like it. Most of what Iā€™ve printed thus far is personal work which I havenā€™t shared anywhere yet. I also printed a new commercial photo portfolio, which looked great and ate up a ton of ink ($$). Hopefully it leads to a job or two to help pay for the time and expenses.

Negative: Money. Time. Just another thing to sink my limited time into for zero monetary upside (in reality, just a loss).

Positive: Iā€™m getting excited about photography from a different perspective. I want to make zines and books and prints and do shows and print other peopleā€™s work and have fun!

Long story short: as with everything, this new venture is a work-in-progress but one that Iā€™m excited about. This post has been a reminder than I am behind schedule on releasing a new print into my The Camera You Have series. I am to do this next week and I will again give one away here on the ole blog. Stay tuned!

-Clayton

Some of my limited edition prints dubbed ā€œThe Camera You Haveā€ photographed in my studio. Chicago, Illinois. July, 2024. Ā© Clayton Hauck

Quick update, as Iā€™m late to post today (busy, working, stuff, things) and dangerously close to missing my first day all year!

Potisitve: Ive been learning to print! Itā€™s been fun, and expensive, and time consuming, and easy, and hard, and fun, and I like it. Most of what Iā€™ve printed thus far is personal work which I havenā€™t shared anywhere yet. I also printed a new commercial photo portfolio, which looked great and ate up a ton of ink ($$). Hopefully it leads to a job or two to help pay for the time and expenses.

Negative: Money. Time. Just another thing to sink my limited time into for zero monetary upside (in reality, just a loss).

Positive: Iā€™m getting excited about photography from a different perspective. I want to make zines and books and prints and do shows and print other peopleā€™s work and have fun!

Long story short: as with everything, this new venture is a work-in-progress but one that Iā€™m excited about. This post has been a reminder than I am behind schedule on releasing a new print into my The Camera You Have series. I am to do this next week and I will again give one away here on the ole blog. Stay tuned!

-Clayton

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