2024 11 06
Here we go again. Hold on to your butts. Last night was a gut punch for many of us, but here we are. Lots of people will have lots to say, with hindsight on their side, but I think my biggest takeaway is that we don’t have an effective opposition to Trump populism. The Democratic party is run by a largely-senile president who was pushed out of office against his own wishes and was nowhere to be seen throughout the election; along with a former president who is nowhere to be seen until it’s time to campaign for a few weeks leading up to the vote; along with a former Speaker who, while smart, is an 84-year old millionaire none of us can relate to or connect with. This isn’t the kind of leadership that wins elections and unless something changes, it will continue to happen over and over again.
Kamala was not a perfect candidate, but she ran a pretty dang good campaign, all things considered. Sure, she could’ve done many things differently, but I don’t think it would’ve changed the outcome one bit. It was an impossible task and now we live in a world where the only two female presidential candidates in our countries’ history have both been defeated by Donald Trump. It stings, bad. It’s a grim reality, but it is our reality and if we want it to change, we’ll need to stay engaged, stay focused, and stick together.
-Clayton
Today, we stare into the void. Chicago, Illinois. September, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
Here we go again. Hold on to your butts. Last night was a gut punch for many of us, but here we are. Lots of people will have lots to say, with hindsight on their side, but I think my biggest takeaway is that we don’t have an effective opposition to Trump populism. The Democratic party is run by a largely-senile president who was pushed out of office against his own wishes and was nowhere to be seen throughout the election; along with a former president who is nowhere to be seen until it’s time to campaign for a few weeks leading up to the vote; along with a former Speaker who, while smart, is an 84-year old millionaire none of us can relate to or connect with. This isn’t the kind of leadership that wins elections and unless something changes, it will continue to happen over and over again.
Kamala was not a perfect candidate, but she ran a decent campaign, all things considered. Sure, she could’ve done many things differently, but I don’t think it would’ve changed the outcome one bit. It was an impossible task and now we live in a world where the only two female presidential candidates in our countries’ history have both been defeated by Donald Trump. It stings, bad. It’s a grim reality, but it is our reality and if we want it to change, we’ll need to stay engaged, stay focused, and stick together.
-Clayton
PS - I think Jon sums it up well here, and Jonathan does a pretty entertaining job as well, below that:
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 08 10
It is the weekend and I woke up today thinking about side projects and side hustles. I’ve always had a bunch of things I’m interested in pursuing beyond my main job of photographer. I guess as a freelancer this is probably more appropriate. But lately I’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 don’t have fancy facts or graphs to back this up, but I’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, it’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 we’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 it’s time to go all in on one of these.
-Clayton
Haley forages in Humboldt Park. Chicago, Illinois. July, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
It is the weekend and I woke up today thinking about side projects and side hustles. I’ve always had a bunch of things I’m interested in pursuing beyond my main job of photographer. I guess as a freelancer this is probably more appropriate. But lately I’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 don’t have fancy facts or graphs to back this up, but I’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, it’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 we’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 it’s time to go all in on one of these.
-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