2024 11 13
No post yesterday (until now) because I decided to tell work to fuck off for a bit. I’m kind of buried with work right now, mostly self-imposed of course, and the previous night my buddy Dave invited me to see Dehd at Thalia and I decided I needed to focus on getting shit done. Fast forward 24-hours later and my wife Allison texted me to see if I wanted to go see Dedh at Thalia (they played 3 nights in a row). It was like The Universe was testing me! Of course, my instinct was to say no thanks and keep working (I was in a groove trying to finish printing and framing fifteen pieces for a show in the building that I need to hang soon). After some internal struggle, I decided I should drop my work shit and get my ass outside into the dark, rainy night.
It was the right decision, of course. The music was pretty good, the fresh air was nice, the tacos we got after the show were delicious, and letting my brain decompress for a bit was ideal. More interestingly to me, however, was that we ran into not one, not two, not three, but four people at the show who we knew. On top of that, two of them were helpful with my work I was “neglecting” (planning a holiday market at the studio), so in a weird way, I was being more productive at work while not working. The Universe was showing me the way.
Long story short, down time is non-negotiable. Get your ass out of the house regularly.
-Clayton
Strange girls. Chicago, Illinois. September, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
No post yesterday (until now) because I decided to tell work to fuck off for a bit. I’m kind of buried with work right now, mostly self-imposed of course, and the previous night my buddy Dave invited me to see Dehd at Thalia and I decided I needed to focus on getting shit done. Fast forward 24-hours later and my wife Allison texted me to see if I wanted to go see Dedh at Thalia (they played 3 nights in a row). It was like The Universe was testing me! Of course, my instinct was to say no thanks and keep working (I was in a groove trying to finish printing and framing fifteen pieces for a show in the building that I need to hang soon). After some internal struggle, I decided I should drop my work shit and get my ass outside into the dark, rainy night.
It was the right decision, of course. The music was pretty good, the fresh air was nice, the tacos we got after the show were delicious, and letting my brain decompress for a bit was ideal. More interestingly to me, however, was that we ran into not one, not two, not three, but four people at the show who we knew. On top of that, two of them were helpful with my work I was “neglecting” (planning a holiday market at the studio), so in a weird way, I was being more productive at work while not working. The Universe was showing me the way.
Long story short, down time is non-negotiable. Get your ass out of the house regularly.
-Clayton
2024 09 22
Writing is hard. I woke up this morning with a great story playing out in my head. Often, I’ll awake in the middle of the night, in the midst of a dream which seems like an amazing story, only to wake up hours later and reassess the dream in the light of day as not very interesting after all. That said, today’s story was formed in my waking moments, while fully conscious of what I was crafting. Excitedly, I rushed downstairs to my laptop and began to jot down my thoughts on the screen before immediately hitting a wall and losing all momentum. The sentences sounded fantastic in my head but proved impossible to get onto paper. Likely, my conscious brain began to over-think and harshly judge the words once they existed in the actual world, where other people might end up reading them.
All that said, I’m considering this a step in the right direction. Writing is not easy, art is not easy. I know this, but I’m optimistic that continued effort to translate these thoughts into real-life words will eventual pay off, much as my decades-long efforts into photography have given me a more comfortable approach to turning my ideas into photos.
-Clayton
Allison at the cabin in the Northwoods. St Germain, Wisconsin. July, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
Writing is hard. I woke up this morning with a great story playing out in my head. Often, I’ll awake in the middle of the night, in the midst of a dream which seems like an amazing story, only to reassess the dream in the light of day as not very interesting after all. That said, today’s story was formed in my waking moments, while fully conscious of what I was crafting. Excitedly, I then rushed downstairs to my laptop and began to jot down my thoughts on the screen before immediately hitting a wall and losing all momentum. The sentences sounded fantastic in my head but proved impossible to get onto paper. Likely, my conscious brain began to over-think and harshly judge the words once they existed in the actual world, where other people might end up reading them.
All that said, I’m considering this a step in the right direction. Writing is not easy, art is not easy. I know this, but I’m optimistic that continued effort to translate these thoughts into real-life words will eventual pay off, much as my decades-long efforts into photography have given me a more comfortable approach to turning my ideas into photos.
-Clayton
2024 09 17
Well, shucks. My streak of posting every day ended at just over two-hundred and fifty consecutive days. While this bums me out, I also picked up a wife in my absence so I am calling it a win! The week of chaos leading up to our wedding on Saturday proved too much to overcome and I decided that some things are more important than posting silly pictures to the internet.
Annoyingly, Squarespace only allows up to 250 images in the image gallery, which we have now surpassed, and I’m not sure my best solution moving forward. This further demoralized me and caused me to consider something new moving forward. No decisions have been made thus far, so I will attempt to get back into the swing of a daily post and see where life takes me as I attempt to get back into the normal routines of not being the center of attention and having a million tasks being asked of you each and every day.
Also, I’m married!!
-Clayton
Haley and Allison prior to enjoying some Gene & Jude's hot dogs. River Grove, Illinois. July, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
Well, shucks. My streak of posting every day ended at just over two-hundred and fifty consecutive days. While this bums me out, I also picked up a wife in my absence so I am calling it a win! The week of chaos leading up to our wedding on Saturday proved too much to overcome and I decided that some things are more important than posting silly pictures to the internet.
Annoyingly, Squarespace only allows up to 250 images in the image gallery, which we have now surpassed, and I’m not sure my best solution moving forward. This further demoralized me and caused me to consider something new moving forward. No decisions have been made thus far, so I will attempt to get back into the swing of a daily post and see where life takes me as I attempt to get back into the normal routines of not being the center of attention and having a million tasks being asked of you each and every day.
Also, I’m married!!
-Clayton
2024 07 21
It’s Sunday. Nobody is here on Sunday. It’s a ghost town. That said, the internet is forever so I can’t just say whatever I want to say without eventually hearing about it from someone. A big part of why I’m doing this blog is to push myself more out of my comfort zone. To not hold back. To re-acquaint myself with the feeling of putting my art out into the world for everyone to judge. Sure, it’s not going to be a banger photo every day. Sure, I’m going to sound like a maniac on occasion. I’m not perfect.
I scroll through the gallery page and what stands out to me is that there’s not enough people in my images. Likely, I’m holding back when I’m out making photos. I’ve got a bigger post with further elaboration on all of this hopefully in the works.
If you want some distraction this Sunday and are at all interested in Chicago music history, check out the video below which just popped into my feed. It’s a tour of the city with DJ Terry Hunter stopping by all the historic locations in town. Youtube is incredible… still don’t fully understand why I’m blogging and not youtubing. One of these days.
-Clayton
Allison at Maplewood, modelling for my first roll of film in a decade. Chicago, Illinois. March, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
It’s Sunday. Nobody is here on Sunday. It’s a ghost town. That said, the internet is forever so I can’t just say whatever I want to say without eventually hearing about it from someone. A big part of why I’m doing this blog is to push myself more out of my comfort zone. To not hold back. To re-acquaint myself with the feeling of putting my art out into the world for everyone to judge. Sure, it’s not going to be a banger photo every day. Sure, I’m going to sound like a maniac on occasion. I’m not perfect.
I scroll through the gallery page and what stands out to me is that there’s not enough people in my images. Likely, I’m holding back when I’m out making photos. I’ve got a bigger post with further elaboration on all of this hopefully in the works.
If you want some distraction this Sunday and are at all interested in Chicago music history, check out the video below which just popped into my feed. It’s a tour of the city with DJ Terry Hunter stopping by all the historic locations in town. Youtube is incredible… still don’t fully understand why I’m blogging and not youtubing. One of these days.
-Clayton
2024 06 19
We just wrapped a video project for 50 Best Bars featuring the cocktail menu book at The Meadowlark here in Chicago, which is a great spot I regularly do photography for. Check it out below!
-Clayton
Blurry Allison enjoys a martini at Best Intentions. Chicago, Illinois. May, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
We just wrapped a video project for 50 Best Bars featuring the cocktail menu book at The Meadowlark here in Chicago, which is a great spot I regularly do photography for. Check it out below!
-Clayton
2024 05 05
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
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 04 10
Today is the birthday of my favorite person, my partner, my soon-to-be wife, Allison! it is your birthday. Hope it’s a good one!
Allison Ziemba in our backyard. Chicago, Illinois. February, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
Today is the birthday of my favorite person, my partner, my soon-to-be wife, Allison! it is your birthday. Hope it’s a good one!
Love you so much!
-Clayton
2024 03 13
Recently, I came across a new-to-me photography podcast titled Visual Revolutionary and gave an episode a listen. This episode was a thought-provoking one with an interview of Jason Peterson in which they discussed is new agency The Times. I’m not going to dive deep into my take on what they discussed in this blog (maybe another day? Definitely a topic I’ve been stewing on a lot lately), but I did want to pass it along in case any of y’all were interested in the topic. To summarize: Jason is an Instagram-famous photographer and ad agency-executive who left the more traditional agency world to start a new leaner take on how to be a content-producing agency, which largely boils down to hiring less people, younger people, cheaper people, leaning into AI, working cheap and fast, using social media and all things digital to execute the work quicker while it’s still topical.
In keeping with the theme of The Times, I jotted down some notes as I listened to the podcast, which were then fed into ChatGPT and summarized below, for your my convenience.
The conversation delves into the operational dynamics of an agency, shedding light on its revenue model, organizational structure, and adaptation to contemporary trends. It's noted that agencies, much like lawyers, often prioritize elongating processes and expanding their workforce for financial gain, rather than solely focusing on client needs. In this particular agency, most team members, aside from one or two, are involved in production and creative tasks. The agency boasts significant assets, including a spacious production facility with comprehensive equipment, enabling agile responses to topical narratives. Notably, the speaker, Jason, previously associated with Havas, implemented a strategy of recruiting young talent from platforms like Instagram and TikTok, contributing to substantial growth. Despite resistance from traditional practitioners, Jason emphasizes the need for adaptation or replacement to remain competitive. With a relatively small team of 25 employees, the agency leverages digital platforms to reach a broader audience and emphasizes the importance of innovation over entrenched practices. Additionally, the discussion highlights the agency's integration of AI technology, such as ChatGPT for copywriting, and its exploration of AI applications in video production. Referred to as the "Content Playhouse," the agency showcases a commitment to content creation and innovation in storytelling. Overall, the conversation underscores the agency's modern, technology-driven approach to content creation and its proactive stance towards industry evolution.
-Clayton
Lone Wolf bar patrons Haley and Allison. Chicago, Illinois. January, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
Recently, I came across a new-to-me photography podcast titled Visual Revolutionary and gave an episode a listen. This episode was a thought-provoking one with an interview of Jason Peterson in which they discussed his new agency The Times. I’m not going to dive deep into my take on what they discussed in this blog (maybe another day? Definitely a topic I’ve been stewing on a lot lately which basically is boiled down to everyone now needing to do more work with less resources and compensation), but I did want to pass it along in case any of y’all were interested in the topic. To summarize: Jason is a(n Instagram-famous) photographer and ad agency-executive who left the more traditional agency world to start a new leaner take on how to be a content-producing agency, which largely boils down to hiring less people, younger people, cheaper people, leaning into AI, working cheap and fast, using social media and all things digital to execute the work quicker while it’s still topical.
In keeping with the theme of The Times, I jotted down some notes as I listened to the podcast, which were then fed into ChatGPT and summarized below, for your my convenience.
The conversation delves into the operational dynamics of an agency, shedding light on its revenue model, organizational structure, and adaptation to contemporary trends. It's noted that agencies, much like lawyers, often prioritize elongating processes and expanding their workforce for financial gain, rather than solely focusing on client needs. In this particular agency, most team members, aside from one or two, are involved in production and creative tasks. The agency boasts significant assets, including a spacious production facility with comprehensive equipment, enabling agile responses to topical narratives. Notably, the speaker, Jason, previously associated with Havas, implemented a strategy of recruiting young talent from platforms like Instagram and TikTok, contributing to substantial growth. Despite resistance from traditional practitioners, Jason emphasizes the need for adaptation or replacement to remain competitive. With a relatively small team of 25 employees, the agency leverages digital platforms to reach a broader audience and emphasizes the importance of innovation over entrenched practices. Additionally, the discussion highlights the agency's integration of AI technology, such as ChatGPT for copywriting, and its exploration of AI applications in video production. Referred to as the "Content Playhouse," the agency showcases a commitment to content creation and innovation in storytelling. Overall, the conversation underscores the agency's modern, technology-driven approach to content creation and its proactive stance towards industry evolution.
-Clayton
2024 02 25
They’re putting laugh tracks on social media videos now.
Streaming services are consolidating back into what cable television was a decade ago.
Politicians are promising to Make America Great Again, again.
New True Detective characters are saying you need to ask the right questions. Time really is a flat circle.
-Clayton
Allison on at the beach, on a super cold day when temperates approach the record low and frost bite would set in within minutes. Chicago, Illinois. January, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
They’re putting laugh tracks on social media videos now.
Streaming services are consolidating back into what cable television was a decade ago.
Politicians are promising to Make America Great Again, again.
New True Detective characters are saying you need to ask the right questions. Time really is a flat circle.
-Clayton