2024 09 28

Bare trees (and the moon). Chicago, Illinois. May, 2024. © Clayton Hauck

It’s just bare trees (and the moon), I know, but I really like this image. It’s been sitting in the folder, waiting to get picked, and today is the day. It looks best when not massively compressed for the web, of course, but here we are on the world wide web. Speaking of the web, while editing images today, The Almighty Algorithm served me yet another documentary on Chicago house music which I digested and enjoyed in similar fashion to this post from 2024 07 21.

I was never a big house head and don’t know the history as well as I should, having lived in Chicago my entire life, but I enjoy electronic music (esp classic disco), and also love history, so it’s fascinating to watch these videos on youtube which clearly have a ton of time and energy put into them with little to no fanfare. That’s sort of the thing with house music. That’s sort of the thing with Chicago. We’re out here putting in the time and effort and making things for the love of the game, and all too often are rewarded with the gift of not being discovered and not being turned into a product, remaining human (downside: not getting the cash). There’s a reason many leave Chicago in search of fame and fortune (and trying to get to the moon). And there’s a reason some of us stay here and pursue their art via blogs like this here blog.

Yes, dad, I’ll get back to photographing people again soon.

Check out the video if you have a chance. Back to work, I go. Always be grinding, if you love the grind.

-Clayton

2024 09 18

Springtime in Humboldt Park. Chicago, Illinois. March, 2024. © Clayton Hauck

This is what my laptop desktop has looked like for about a year now. Instead of locating the folder I need on the desktop, I’ll open any random folder and use the search bar to type for it instead. My schedule, and my thoughts and focus, have been all over the place. I’ve been telling myself for months now that I will get around to organizing the desktop, and the studio, and the house, and my time. Yet, here we are, still scrambling.

I think this is a nice analogy for my life and a sign that I really ought to get my priorities a bit more straight. This is not to say I need a complete change in lifestyle, but better balance would be beneficial. It’s impossible to shine when you have a million tasks in front of you, blocking your view.

We watched Civil War last night. The movie is just okay but it got me feeling nostalgic for a different era of photography and photojournalism. Shooting film and developing film yourself while on the move. The movie got me wanting to get out and make more photos. The movie also got me wanting to make a movie myself. This post reminded me that I wanted to write some thoughts about the seasons and why I prefer living in a place like Chicago, where they are clearly defined (although increasingly less so these days).

Last week, I hosted a favorite musician in my space, David Dondero, for an incredible night, which was lightly attended. On Friday of this week, I am hosting a favorite Illinois photographer Nathan Pearce, which my negative-thinking brain assumes will also be lightly attended as it’s an afternoon affair. As I’m getting older, I’m learning that dwelling on the negative things doesn’t serve much good, and while I don’t yet believe in manifesting your reality, I see the point of people who do. More importantly, however, the takeaway is that I need to improve in communicating. It’s no easy task. I’ve always been wary of anything that feels like selling, but if I want people to participate in these things I am choosing to invest my time and energy in, it’s a non-negotiable!

This post has been as scattered as my brain has been felling, so I’m glad I could give you a taste of what I live with. Hope you can make it out on Friday!

-Clayton

2024 07 13

Sun through trees. Rockford, Illinois. March, 2024. © Clayton Hauck

One of my favorite things about youtube is the small channels I randomly come across, like this one, which posted a simple video with some geographical triva and history. An older couple out and about creating content just because they find it interesting to explore and share some knowledge with the rest of us… or perhaps they are angling to be the next Mr Beast. I don’t know.

I was out in this part of the world a few years back. It was my first time exploring Duluth, Minnesota and Superior, Wisconsin. While there, I was struck by the history of the place. Clearly, this region was historically swarming with activity due to the large ports and industrial infrastructure. As I drove around, I imagined how the place had changed so dramatically since globalization took hold and how it might change back as globalizations wanes. Then, I ventured to the nearest brewery and was struck by how modern and, dare I say, hip the scene in Duluth was. Quaint, yes, but people are moving there and doing things. It’s a big world out there and there are increasingly more ways to explore it.

-Clayton

2024 06 14

Bare trees prior to the additional of leaves for added visual pleasure. Starved Rock State Park, Illinois. April, 2024. © Clayton Hauck

While browsing Hulu’s user interface to put on some background news television, it hit me that today’s news channels are essentially reality filters. Users are given a choice which filter they want to use in order to view the world in their ideal vision. This is something I already knew, but hadn’t previously thought of it like Instagram filters. Increasingly, we are using technology to warp the reality around us.

I’m someone who enjoys all four seasons, but I also understand why so many people move south to avoid them. Seasons come with drawbacks. It’s cold. It’s hot. It’s muggy. It’s buggy. It’s snowy. It’s wet. Why put up with all the inconvenience when you can simply relocate to San Diego and enjoy three-hundred-plus days of 70-degrees and sunny? They’ve even shipped in a bunch of palm trees from elsewhere to add visual appeal.

It doesn’t seem like this trend of re-shaping our personal world to better suit our desires is going to slow down anytime soon, whatever the unknown costs may be.

-Clayton

2024 06 07

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

I have a ton of photos of bare trees still in the queue, but now that it’s summer and the trees are full, it feels weird to post them. Perhaps I will hold on to them for next year and keep things more seasonally-appropriate. What this blog even is is still being considered. Is it a photo blog? Is it a words blog that is photo-centric? I’ve been thinking more about how words pair with images since the Alec Soth video I talked about a few days back. Generally speaking, I am enjoying this blog simply for the fact that it is allowing me to consider these things at all. These days, I don’t have time for watching baseball because my daily blog is keeping me in line. Also, the Chicago baseball teams aren’t helping their cause — I tuned into the Cubs vs Sox game a few nights back and it was borderline unwatchable.

Anyhoo.

-Clayton

2024 06 04

Bare trees at Starved Rock, Illinois — Massively compressed jpg for the sake of your bandwidth. March, 2024. © Clayton Hauck

This video below entered my life over the weekend and I’m really glad it did, though my bank account took a hit as a result.

Alec Soth discusses two photobooks and how words relate to their pictures within. Tim Davis’ I’m Looking Through You and Gilles Peress’ Whatever You Say, Say Nothing.

Tim’s book is incredible and has been in heavy rotation lately at the studio, however, Alec’s video sort of rudely reminded me that my habit of fully avoiding words in photobooks is something I need to address. Even as someone who fancies myself a wanna-be writer and values good writing above maybe even photography itself, my instinct is to completely cut out the words. Perhaps it’s because my brain goes first to the words and then to the images, which minimizes the visual impact. Or perhaps it’s because they typically don’t serve a valid purpose in most photobooks and I’m forcing my brain to connect solely with the images without changing their meaning. But that’s not really my choice to make! Books are put together with much work and consideration, and if the artist put the words in the book, I shouldn’t ignore them. Now, I’m excited to get my ass back to the studio and head straight for Tim’s book to take in the words he put into it to compliment the images I have already consumed.

Gilles’ book is set to arrive today. This is an insanely deep photobook project spanning 1,000 pages of images and an accompanying book with another nearly 1,000 pages of words and images. Plus it comes with a tote bag to contain everything! Normally, hearing about a project like this, I’d get super curious and then see the $456 price tag (marked down from $750 on amazon), then immediately move along to other distractions in order to turn my mind to different things; But this time Alec did such a great job talking about this book and how good it is, I mustered the courage to plop down the money and have it delivered.

Lately, I’ve been “listening to the universe when it tells me something.” This is a bit of a new approach to how I might normally operate and I’m not yet quite sure how it will play out. It’s a long-term process, afterall, but I do strongly think these small everyday decisions I am making now will compound into something bigger and more meaningful a decade from now. I bring this up because this video was the second time in a week I’d encountered a photographer whose opinion I trust mentioning this expensive book. Typically, I’d tune it out, as I’m quite stressed about money these days, however, I’m listening to the universe and the universe wants me to spend $500 purchasing this photo book.

I’ll let you know in a decade whether or not it paid off.

-Clayton

2024 04 25

Bare tree on a sunny winter afternoon, dusty Ricoh sensor for character. Chicago, Illinois. March, 2024. © Clayton Hauck

When it comes to making photos, I’ve tended to be pretty vanilla throughout my professional career from an equipment perspective. Basically, whatever the most recent pro-level Canon SLR body is on the market is what I’ve used with little to no variation, aside from mixing up my editing style. Sure, I love their cameras (reach out about about sponsorship opportunities!) and they do pretty much exactly what I need them to do, however, this was a mistake. Thankfully, I’ve been fully embracing using different tools for different jobs lately. After purchasing my first Ricoh (reach out about about sponsorship opportunities!) and basically carrying it with me in my pocket everywhere I go, my horizons have been expanded and I’ve seen the light! Even now (after over a year of constant use and abuse) that the camera has an ever noticeable layer of dust lining the sensor, forcing me to shoot everything at f2.8, I’m finding myself not much annoyed about it. The dust, while yes maybe not ideal in most situations, also adds a bit of uniqueness to each image, like the imperfections of film or making a photograph through a window or reflective surface. Basically, finding ways to turn otherwise ordinary images into something that has a bit more character.

It’s been a trend for a few years now that photojournalists covering boring political assignments will use fun optical tricks to spice up otherwise bland photos of old, white, male politicians standing on a stage in front of a mic. Using an iphone to add a mirrored reflection; shooting through sparkley stuff to add visual interest; greasing up your lens with a bit of spray tan. Soon, I imagine, you’ll see presidential press conferences (if we ever have those again) covered by the New York Times using a busted Holga (reach out about about sponsorship opportunities!) with funky light leaks because, why not? It’s different.

-Clayton