2024 08 12

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

Here’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, covering… 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 I’ve been able to invest in this project has been far less than I’d wanted. That said, I’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.

I’ll write more about this in the future but perhaps the biggest internal struggle I’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 “tour of Illinois” farmland won’t be all that exciting and I’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.

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

-Clayton