2025 06 15
Sun sets on the flatland. Thawville, Illinois. June, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
Now that I’ve been at my Illinois Project for over a year (granted, actual shooting time has been quite minimal as I’m mostly busy fighting the fight in the big city), I’m starting to get a better sense of what it is I’m looking to do. Early images, such as this one made a year ago, while nice, are too pulled back. I’m not a landscape photographer, but I was finding myself making lots of landscape photos. I need to get in the action and find the vibes!
Yesterday, at our third Realm photobook shop popup, while surrounded by some of the best art photobooks on the market, I met a local photographer. He showed me some of what he’s been working on and I immediately found myself lost in the feelings of inadequacy. This guy’s work is very good and surely he’s well on his way to publishing a meaningful book. While that in itself is great, immediately comparing myself to him and focusing on my shortcomings is not a productive reaction. Part of what makes art great is that we all have different perspectives on the world. It’s what makes us stand out. Trying to make my images look more like his, or someone else’s, is not the right approach, in my humble opinion.
That said, there are definitely productive takeaways that can be had from these tough interactions! Two quick ones:
1) Shoot less like an editorial photogrpaher and more like an artist. I’ve been a working photographer for nearly two decades and my brain has been trained to give the client what they want. Whether it’s a large commercial project or small editorial assignment, I’m a people pleaser at the end of the day. The trouble with this is when I’m out making work for myself, I’m finding myself shooting as if I’m on assignment. I am, in a sense, on a self-assignment but I default to shooting around a scene to get all of the angles and then spending a ton of time pouring over the selects, toning & adjusting, which is very time consuming.
2) Stop comparing myself to others. I’m not the next Ansel Adams and never will be, nor do I want to be! Many people will have better work than me. It is what it is and, instead of getting jealous, I should focus on the things I can control myself. Perhaps this is an obvious one but I think it’s important to remind myself of this regularly!
I’m considering a new section on this here blog with all of my Ill Wandering posts. If it does ever turn into something (a book, likely), it would be nice to have all of these thoughts nearly organized to look back on (and probably laugh at). If that’s something you would be interested in, let me know below!
-Clayton
2025 03 16
Farm outside Ashkum, Illinois. April, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
When I began my Illinois Project (photographing the state outside of Chicago), I was smitten by scenes like this. I still find this image beautiful, but a year later, I now realize a big part of what drew me towards these images was my lack of prior experience with them. Now that I have folders full of them, the charm sort of wears off a bit and you start to understand nobody has the patience to look at more than one of these photos, if even that. Maybe I’m wrong?
I’ve continued making these photos and will revisit them in time. Peeking back at this image now, made roughly a year ago, gives me the thought that maybe there is more charm in the simplicity than I’d previously thought.
One other result from my recent foray into capturing rural Illinois is that I now completely love bare trees, where previously my brain would almost totally ignore them. Nature’s fireworks, I like to think. Only they happen at such a slow pace that most humans will never comprehend their beauty.
-Clayton