2024 10 21
Lately I’ve been doing too much. Or, better put, I’ve been trying to do too much. Spreading myself too thin. The blog has suffered as a result, nearly missing some days and putting in bare minimum effort others. I’ve missed writing my Morning Pages more days than not. I find I’m most successful in life when I focus my attention into one or two things. This blog isn’t a thing because I’m trying to make it into a business, but it is a thing because I’m using it to focus my attention on something. Get my thoughts down onto digital paper. And to keep me motivated to make and share new images. It has been successful at times and less so at others.
There are a few more in-depth posts I will make a priority to share this week when I’m not busy doing my “real” jobs. Today, we are filming a documentary project as part of my slow and reluctant pivot towards video. Wednesday I am photographing a different project. Otherwise I am printing, working on art, working on a book shop, studio managing, event planning, life planning, invoicing, catching up on my personal life. It’s all too much, really. I’m starting to get the sense that if I continue to try and carry all of these bags, I’m going to drop them.
We recently lost a few photography jobs because we were too expensive. Today, we took a call with a prospective client who is looking for someone cheaper then their existing photographer partner. It all feels a bit too on the nose. It’s like life is delivering me a clear choice and I need to decide which path I will go down. Work for less or work less.
-Clayton
Eve of Funeral Potatoes in the kitchen at Moonflower. Chicago, Illinois. July, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
Lately I’ve been doing too much. Or, better put, I’ve been trying to do too much. Spreading myself too thin. The blog has suffered as a result, nearly missing some days and putting in bare minimum effort others. I’ve missed writing my Morning Pages more days than not. I find I’m most successful in life when I focus my attention into one or two things. This blog isn’t a thing because I’m trying to make it into a business, but it is a thing because I’m using it to focus my attention on something. Get my thoughts down onto digital paper. And to keep me motivated to make and share new images. It has been successful at times and less so at others.
There are a few more in-depth posts I will make a priority to share this week when I’m not busy doing my “real” jobs. Today, we are filming a documentary project as part of my slow and reluctant pivot towards video. Wednesday I am photographing a different project. Otherwise I am printing, working on art, working on a book shop, a bar, a creative studio, studio managing, event planning, life planning, invoicing, catching up on my personal life. It’s all too much, really. I’m starting to get the sense that if I continue to try and carry all of these bags, I’m going to drop them.
We recently lost a few photography jobs because we were too expensive. Today, we took a call with a prospective client who is looking for someone cheaper than their existing long-term photographer partner. It all feels a bit too on the nose. It’s like life is delivering me a clear choice and I need to decide which path I will go down. Work for less or work less.
Allison & I had a very nice dinner at Houndstooth last week. While the food was delicious, my biggest takeaway was how calm and orderly the kitchen prepared our food while we sat and watched at the chef’s counter. It was inspiring! It made me dream of a life so structured and orderly… being able to do something you’re passionate about in a calm and sustaining manner. But as is always the case in life, there’s so much more going on behind the scenes, for the better and for the worse, in order to be able to get to a place of such stability.
-Clayton
2024 08 23
I woke up this morning after an exhausting day of photography yesterday. My 5:30am call-time to location an hour away without traffic meant a 3:30am wake up and only a few hours of non-consecutive sleep. This sort of approach works once in a while but is impossible to sustain. I woke up this morning (luckily today is an off day which I will use to catch up on everything before leaving town tomorrow morning for another gig out east) and my phone showed me some interesting thoughts from Haruki Murakami on writing:
I get up early and focus solely on writing for five to six hours every single day. Thinking that hard and long about things, your brain gets overheated (with my scalp literally getting hot at times), so after that I need to give my head a rest. That's why I spend my afternoons napping, enjoying music, reading innocuous books. That kind of life, though, gets you out of shape physically, so every day I spend about an hour outdoors exercising. That sets me up for the next day's work. Day after day, without exception, I repeat this cycle.
Murakami is clearly dedicated to his craft and committed enough to stick to such a rigid routine. Comparing this to myself, I do agree that a large part of why I’ve been relatively successful as a photographer is because I’ve allocated a huge amount of my time to the craft. Day after day, year after year, relentless taking, making, editing, and looking at photos. I am not as focused as Murakami, though, and have an endless succession of new hobbies and side projects to distract me. These things likely also keep me sane and able to continue making photography my main career, but I do also wonder if they restrict me from getting to an ultimately higher place within the filed. While it’s nice to make a living from the craft, my real end goal is to achieve something more, and previously I was not on any sort of path to do this. I’m not sure I am now either but am, at least, considering this.
He went on:
I'm a very patient type of person, I think, when it comes to that kind of process. Still, at times I do get fed up with it and hate it. But as I work away, persevering day after day—like a bricklayer carefully laying one brick on top of another—I reach a certain point where I get the definite feeling that when all is said and done, a writer is exactly what I am. And I accept that feeling as something good, something to be celebrated. The slogan of AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) in the US is "One day at a time," and that's exactly what this is like. Maintaining a set rhythm, steadily hauling in one day after the other and sending them on their way. Silently continue to do this and at a certain point something happens inside you. But it takes time to reach this point.
One day at a time, Clayton. One day at a time. I am a photographer. Who also wants to be a writer, and a bar owner, and a director, and a venue manager, and a youtuber, and a podcaster, and a blogger, and a journalist, and a musician, and an arborist. I am a photographer. One day at a time.
-Clayton
Chef Christian Hunter of Atelier. Chicago, Illinois. February, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
I woke up early yesterday morning for an exhausting day of photography. My 5:30am call-time to location an hour away without traffic meant a 3:30am wake up and only a few hours of non-consecutive sleep. This sort of approach works once in a while but is impossible to sustain. I woke up this morning (luckily today is an off day which I will use to catch up on everything before leaving town tomorrow morning for another gig out east) and my phone showed me some interesting thoughts from Haruki Murakami on writing:
I get up early and focus solely on writing for five to six hours every single day. Thinking that hard and long about things, your brain gets overheated (with my scalp literally getting hot at times), so after that I need to give my head a rest. That's why I spend my afternoons napping, enjoying music, reading innocuous books. That kind of life, though, gets you out of shape physically, so every day I spend about an hour outdoors exercising. That sets me up for the next day's work. Day after day, without exception, I repeat this cycle.
Murakami is clearly dedicated to his craft and committed enough to stick to such a rigid routine. Comparing this to myself, I do agree that a large part of why I’ve been relatively successful as a photographer is because I’ve allocated a huge amount of my time to the craft. Day after day, year after year, relentless taking, making, editing, and looking at photos. I am not as focused as Murakami, though, and have an endless succession of new hobbies and side projects to distract me. These things likely also keep me sane and able to continue making photography my main career, but I do also wonder if they restrict me from getting to an ultimately higher place within the filed. While it’s nice to make a living from the craft, my real end goal is to achieve something more, and previously I was not on any sort of path to do this. I’m not sure I am now either but am, at least, considering this.
He went on:
I'm a very patient type of person, I think, when it comes to that kind of process. Still, at times I do get fed up with it and hate it. But as I work away, persevering day after day—like a bricklayer carefully laying one brick on top of another—I reach a certain point where I get the definite feeling that when all is said and done, a writer is exactly what I am. And I accept that feeling as something good, something to be celebrated. The slogan of AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) in the US is "One day at a time," and that's exactly what this is like. Maintaining a set rhythm, steadily hauling in one day after the other and sending them on their way. Silently continue to do this and at a certain point something happens inside you. But it takes time to reach this point.
One day at a time, Clayton. One day at a time. I am a photographer. Who also wants to be a writer, and a bar owner, and a director, and a venue manager, and a youtuber, and a podcaster, and a blogger, and a journalist, and a musician, and an arborist. I am a photographer. One day at a time.
-Clayton
2024 08 14
This is not a politics blog.
I did have some thoughts while out on a run this morning that I wanted to put into words. Previously, my thinking was that, post-disaster-presidential-debate, there was no way both candidates would not be on the ballot come November. Well, after some likely strong-arming by Democratic leadership behind the scenes, Biden did step aside, remarkably. This, obviously, changed the entire dynamic of the race in ways most of us likely did not expect. While the dust is still settling, it seems clear that Trump no longer seems like the likely winner in the upcoming election.
All that said, I just wanted to get a dated, on-the-record prediction that I now think it’s highly unlikely that Trump remains on the ticket. It’s still far from a guaranteed outcome, but I’d give it healthy odds: say, 5:1.
The most interesting outcome would be to see Trump take some kind of back-room plea deal and step aside to let Nikki Haley run atop the ticket (legalities of this may be dubious but surely they’d find a way), but I doubt the Grand Old Party would allow a woman to step into the role as they likely see having a man up there against a woman as their clear advantage. Time will tell. Crazier things have happened. We still may be stuck with the orange guy for another four plus years. I’m not getting too excited just yet.
This is not a politics blog.
-Clayton
Man, woman, dog. It’s the dog days of political summer. Wilmette, Illinois. June, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
This is not a politics blog.
I did have some thoughts while out on a run this morning that I wanted to put into words. Previously, my thinking was that, post-disaster-presidential-debate, there was no way both candidates would be on the ballot come November (see: 2024 06 28). Well, after some likely strong-arming by Democratic leadership behind the scenes, Biden did step aside, remarkably. This, obviously, changed the entire dynamic of the race in ways most of us likely did not expect. While the dust is still settling, it seems clear that Trump no longer seems like the clear favorite in the upcoming election.
All that said, I just wanted to get a dated, on-the-record prediction: that I now think it’s somewhat unlikely that Trump remains on the ticket himself. It’s still far from a guaranteed outcome, but I’d give it healthy odds: say, 5:1.
The most interesting outcome would be to see Trump take some kind of back-room plea deal and step aside to let Nikki Haley run atop the ticket (legalities of this may be dubious but surely they’d find a way), but I doubt the Grand Old Party would allow a woman to step into the role as they likely see having a man up there against a woman as their clear advantage. Time will tell. Crazier things have happened. We still may be stuck with the orange guy for another four plus years. I’m not getting too excited just yet.
This is not a politics blog.
-Clayton
2024 06 02
Hello. I made this image while on assignment for a Chicago Magazine Best New Restaurants feature. They didn’t end up running any of the images I made at this restaurant, which is always a bit of a bummer, but I was quite happy with a few of them, esp the candid kitchen shots like this one. It wasn’t quite what the magazine wanted and I really only spent the time doing it while we waited for the dining room to fill up some more.
I need to get back out here and try their food. The bites the owner forced me to try were very delicious!
-Clayton
Chef Matteo Lo Bianco of Maman Zari. Chicago, Illinois. February, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
Hello. I made this image while on assignment for a Chicago Magazine Best New Restaurants feature. They didn’t end up running any of the images I made at this restaurant, which is always a bit of a bummer, but I was quite happy with a few of them, esp the candid kitchen shots like this one. It wasn’t quite what the magazine wanted and I really only spent the time doing it while we waited for the dining room to fill up some more.
I need to get back out here and try their food. The bites the owner forced me to try were very delicious!
-Clayton
2024 04 18
Once again, thanks to the modern miracle of air travel, I am back home in my own bed after spending the day down south in Atlanta. For lunch, I had a fried chicken sandwich (because the server told me I’m in the south when I ordered it grilled. Fair enough, boss) and for dinner I had a burrito at Lonesome Rose in Logan Square. I know this is of no interest to anybody reading this, however, I bring it in an attempt to set up to set up a vibe.
Picture this: your plane lands on time. You’re the first one off the plane for the first time in your life (thanks to the Comfort+ on Delta exit row seat). You traveled super light with just a backpack and small camera bag so you high tail it to the people mover (did you now Delta flies out of the international terminal at OHare?), which automatedly takes you to the main terminal where you go downstairs to make your way to the underground CTA blue line stop. The moving walkways briskly move you towards the turnstyle where you tap your phone to gain access, move downstairs to the waiting train, board, then almost immediately hear the chime signaling the doors are about to close. You text your girflriend that you’re on your way home and see if she wants to meet you for dinner at the tex mex spot. She agrees and asks when so you check google maps and it says you’re 15 minutes away. Next thing you know, you’re at the bar, margarita in hand.
I say all this in an attempt to describe a feeling I get when on the move, riding trains, planes and public transit. When shit is working, and you’re moving faster than the endless line of cars stuck on the highway in construction, and the sun is set but things are still bright and alive, it’s one of the greatest feelings in the world. The hustle and bustle of being on the move with a destination and things to do. Even if it’s just a margarita with dinner.
Then, when the subject of The Line (Saudi Arabia’s crazy project which I never expected to actually happen) comes up, for the first time I understood what they had in mind when they proposed this thing. Maybe it is the future of cities, after all.
I’m likely not making much sense to anybody reading this, so off to bed I go.
-Clayton
Dark but sunlit kitchen scene. Chicago, Illinois. March, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
Once again, thanks to the modern miracle of air travel, I am back home in my own bed after spending the day down south in Atlanta. For lunch, I had a fried chicken sandwich (because the server told me I’m in the south when I ordered it grilled. Fair enough, boss) and for dinner I had a burrito at Lonesome Rose in Logan Square. I know this is of no interest to anybody reading this, however, I bring it in an attempt to set up to set up a vibe.
Picture this: your plane lands on time. You’re the first one off the plane for the first time in your life (thanks to the Comfort+ on Delta exit row seat). You traveled super light with just a backpack and small camera bag so you high tail it to the people mover (did you now Delta flies out of the international terminal at OHare?), which automatedly takes you to the main terminal where you go downstairs to make your way to the underground CTA blue line stop. The moving walkways briskly move you towards the turnstyle where you tap your phone to gain access, move downstairs to the waiting train, board, then almost immediately hear the chime signaling the doors are about to close. You text your girflriend that you’re on your way home and see if she wants to meet you for dinner at the tex mex spot. She agrees and asks when so you check google maps and it says you’re 15 minutes away. Next thing you know, you’re at the bar, margarita in hand.
I say all this in an attempt to describe a feeling I get when on the move, riding trains, planes and public transit. When shit is working, and you’re moving faster than the endless line of cars stuck on the highway in construction, and the sun is set but things are still bright and alive, it’s one of the greatest feelings in the world. The hustle and bustle of being on the move with a destination and things to do. Even if it’s just a margarita with dinner.
Then, when the subject of The Line (Saudi Arabia’s crazy project which I never expected to actually happen) comes up, for the first time I understood what they had in mind when they proposed this thing. Maybe it is the future of cities, after all.
I’m likely not making much sense to anybody reading this, so off to bed I go.
-Clayton