2024 09 18
This is what my laptop desktop has looked like for about a year now. Instead of locating the folder I need on the desktop, Iāll 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. Iāve 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. Itās 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 itās an afternoon affair. As Iām getting older, Iām learning that dwelling on the negative things doesnāt serve much good, and while I donāt 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. Itās no easy task. Iāve 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, itās a non-negotiable!
This post has been as scattered as my brain has been felling, so Iām glad I could give you a taste of what I live with. Hope you can make it out on Friday!
-Clayton
Springtime in Humboldt Park. Chicago, Illinois. March, 2024. Ā© 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, Iāll 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. Iāve 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. Itās 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 itās an afternoon affair. As Iām getting older, Iām learning that dwelling on the negative things doesnāt serve much good, and while I donāt 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. Itās no easy task. Iāve 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, itās a non-negotiable!
This post has been as scattered as my brain has been felling, so Iām glad I could give you a taste of what I live with. Hope you can make it out on Friday!
-Clayton
2024 08 10
It is the weekend and I woke up today thinking about side projects and side hustles. Iāve always had a bunch of things Iām interested in pursuing beyond my main job of photographer. I guess as a freelancer this is probably more appropriate. But lately Iāve 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 donāt have fancy facts or graphs to back this up, but Iād 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, itās 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 weāre 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 itās time to go all in on one of these.
-Clayton
Haley forages in Humboldt Park. Chicago, Illinois. July, 2024. Ā© Clayton Hauck
It is the weekend and I woke up today thinking about side projects and side hustles. Iāve always had a bunch of things Iām interested in pursuing beyond my main job of photographer. I guess as a freelancer this is probably more appropriate. But lately Iāve 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 donāt have fancy facts or graphs to back this up, but Iād 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, itās 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 weāre 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 itās time to go all in on one of these.
-Clayton
2024 07 02
It doesnāt always feel like it these days, but itās crazy how big our world is. What am I getting at, exactly? Iām not entirely sure. It might just be the recent feeling of helplessness at events out of my control causing a feeling of insignificance. But to get a bit more specific, the feeling Iāve been pondering a lot lately has more to do with the simple idea that thereās a lot I havenāt seen.
Iām someone who prioritizes travel and exploration. I go out of my way to change my route and see sights and visit places I havenāt yet experienced. Lately, on longer runs through my city of Chicago, Iāve been struck by how little of the city Iāve yet to experience. Even after having lived in the same neighborhood for well over two decades, there are nearby streets which have escaped my eyes. I always get a nice little jolt of joy when I realize Iām venturing down a block that is new to me. Add alleys, parks, and building interiors into the mix and itās seemingly impossible to get to every space contained within Chicago in an entire lifetime!
The other day, I was jogging through Humboldt Park, a large recreation area near our house which I thought Iād seen every inch of over the years, and I went down a path I normally wouldnāt take, which led me to discover a small playground I didnāt know existed. I felt like a kid discovering a new toy!
This morning I was browsing google maps after my sister texted me a small town she wanted to check out south of Chicago. I pin every city and town Iāve been to, and I was struck by how little of the state Iāve yet to experience myself. Even after some recent trips dedicated simply to āexploring Illinois,ā Iād guesstimate Iāve been to maybe 10 percent of its towns. Even after more than four decades living in the state, itās largely a mystery to me. Itās this simple fact which has motivated me to want to get out, explore, and photograph as much of the state as I can.
It would take a lifetime. Or, more likely, Iāll lose interest after a few years of experiencing the same run down, sleepy town after the next, the gaps filled with farmland as far as the eye can see. āIāve been everywhere, man!ā Iāll proclaim confidently, knowing that even after seeing maybe a quarter of the state, itās still more than almost any other person I encounter.
-Clayton
Running through Chicago, Illinois. May, 2024. Ā© Clayton Hauck
It doesnāt always feel like it in todayās connected world, but itās crazy how big this planet is. What am I getting at, exactly? Iām not entirely sure. It might just be the recent feeling of helplessness at events out of my control causing a feeling of insignificance. But to get a bit more specific, the feeling Iāve been pondering a lot lately has more to do with the simple idea that thereās a lot I havenāt seen. FOMO, perhaps ā gotta catch āem all.
Iām someone who prioritizes travel and exploration. I go out of my way to change my route and see sights and visit places I havenāt yet experienced. Lately, on longer runs through my city of Chicago, Iāve been struck by how little of the city Iāve yet to experience (Iāve internally dubbed my runs as āexploration,ā which helps convince my silly brain to do them surprisingly well!). Even after having lived in the same neighborhood for well over two decades, there are nearby streets which have escaped my eyes. I always get a nice little jolt of joy when I realize Iām venturing down a block that is new to me. The simple things. Add alleys, parks, and building interiors into the mix and itās seemingly impossible to get to every space contained within Chicago in an entire lifetime!
Soon, I will attempt to hit every bar on one street in Chicago as a fun little side quest. Even this one street, with something like sixty different establishments, will be challenging and likely take years to accomplish!
This morning I was browsing google maps after my sister texted me a small town she wanted to check out south of Chicago. I pin every city and town Iāve been to, and I was struck by how little of the state Iāve yet to experience myself when you really zoom in on the territory. Even after some recent trips dedicated simply to āexploring Illinois,ā Iād guesstimate Iāve been to maybe 10 percent of its towns. Even after more than four decades living in the state, itās largely a mystery to me! Itās this simple fact which has motivated me to want to get out, explore, and photograph as much of the state as I can, eventually working towards a photobook or some encompassing project.
It would take a lifetime to finish. Or, more likely, Iāll lose interest after a few years of experiencing the same run down, sleepy town after the next, the gaps filled with farmland as far as the eye can see. āIāve been everywhere, man!ā Iāll proclaim confidently, knowing that even after seeing maybe a quarter of the state, itās still more than almost any other person I encounter.
-Clayton
2024 04 03
Iām out of town on assignment, expanding my mind through experience, so today will leave you with a quick quote from a famous American author and, perhaps more noteworthy, the namesake of my middle school in Wheeling, Illinois.
āA mind that is stretched by new experience can never go back to its old dimensionsā
ā Oliver Wendell Holmes
A Chicago greystone without immediate neighbors stands among grey cars. Chicago, Illinois. February, 2024. Ā© Clayton Hauck
Iām out of town on assignment, expanding my mind through experience, so today will leave you with a quick quote from a famous American author and, perhaps more noteworthy, the namesake of my middle school in Wheeling, Illinois.
āA mind that is stretched by new experience can never go back to its old dimensionsā
-Clayton
PS - Iām in Nashville. Maybe leave a comment and let me know about that cool secret dive bar nobody knows about, will you?
2024 03 09
Uh oh ā Iām out of buffer! The wrap on my brain is being revealed to show Iāve run out of ideas only a few monthās into this project!
Well, not really, but finding the time to do a daily post is proving to be more time consuming than Iād anticipated. Iām aiming to avoid simply plopping down an image with a meaningless sentence, but creating posts with deeper meaning is time consuming. If only we had a way to automate this process! (Kidding. Thatās what AI is and yes Iām still obsessing over it and how it is coming for all of our jobs).
Enjoy the weekend. Iām off to think up more thoughts (have plenty of pictures).
-Clayton
Car under wraps in Chicagoās Humboldt Park neighborhood. February, 2024. Ā© Clayton Hauck
Uh oh ā Iām out of buffer! The wrap on my brain is being revealed to show Iāve run out of ideas only a few monthās into this project!
Well, not really, but finding the time to do a daily post is proving to be more time consuming than Iād anticipated. Iām aiming to avoid simply plopping down an image with a meaningless sentence, but creating posts with deeper meaning is time consuming. If only we had a way to automate this process! (Kidding. Thatās what AI is and yes Iām still obsessing over it and how it is coming for all of our jobs).
Enjoy the weekend. Iām off to think up more thoughts (have plenty of pictures).
-Clayton
2024 01 11
Make an image, edit an image, select an image, post an image, write a lil thing, schedule the post, repeat.
Hard hat, lunch pail. Hard hat, lunch pail.
This is the life of a working photographer, toiling away in the digital mines of The Internet.
I use the word ātoilā lovingly, of course.
-Clayton
Humboldt Park Lagoon. December, 2023. Chicago. Ā© Clayton Hauck
Make an image, edit an image, select an image, post an image, write a lil thing, schedule the post, repeat.
Hard hat, lunch pail. Hard hat, lunch pail.
This is the life of a working photographer, toiling away in the digital mines of The Internet.
I use the word ātoilā lovingly, of course.
-Clayton