2024 12 03
One low-key highlight during our incredible wedding weekend this September was staying at The Robey. You know, that tall building in The Crotch of Wicker Park that used to be abandoned and is now a boutique hotel. We splurged on a corner suite on a high floor and, while expensive, I loved it so much it had me wanting to live there.
“How long will you be staying with us, sir?”
“Indefinitely, I’m being sued for divorce,” I joked with myself in my head, hours before getting married (it’s a Rushmore reference, for those confused).
In the early-morning hours, the sun creeps up over the skyline before blasting you in the face with a nice natural wake-up call. Surely, if I lived here, I’d get comfortable with the blackout blinds, but seeing as I only had two morning to enjoy the views, I was up early snapping photos while I should’ve been catching some beauty Z’s.
It has been interesting to see the city’s downtown creep westward in recent years, as the West Loop and Fulton Market continue to be hot. Part of me regrets not grabbing a loft back when they were somewhat affordable, but I still love our home in the more modest and somewhat chill westside neighborhood off The 606, which has shaped my life quite dramatically in the last decade, though I still long for those million dollar city views. One day, perhaps.
-Clayton
Skyline views from The Robey Hotel. Chicago, Illinois. September, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
One low-key highlight during our incredible wedding weekend this September was staying at The Robey. You know, that tall building in The Crotch of Wicker Park that used to be abandoned and is now a boutique hotel. We splurged on a corner suite on a high floor and, while expensive, I loved it so much it had me wanting to live there.
“How long will you be staying with us, sir?”
“Indefinitely, I’m being sued for divorce,” I joked with myself in my head, hours before getting married (it’s a Rushmore reference, for those confused).
In the early-morning hours, the sun creeps up over the skyline before blasting you in the face with a nice natural wake-up call. Surely, if I lived here, I’d get comfortable with the blackout blinds, but seeing as I only had two morning to enjoy the views, I was up early snapping photos while I should’ve been catching some beauty Z’s.
It has been interesting to see the city’s downtown creep westward in recent years, as the West Loop and Fulton Market continue to be hot. Part of me regrets not grabbing a loft back when they were somewhat affordable, but I still love our home in the more modest and somewhat chill westside neighborhood off The 606, which has shaped my life quite dramatically in the last decade. I still long for those million dollar city views, though. One day, perhaps.
-Clayton
2024 12 02
Seems like we’re due for another Life Update Monday around here. It’s been a while. As always, I use this blog primarily as a space for me to think and practice writing. Honestly, after close to a year of doing this every day, I’m happy with the results so far! That said, this year has also been a blur. I’m clearly taking on too much and doing too many different things. While mostly by design, I’m aware it’s not sustainable and plan to scale back on my ambitions next year, while hopefully focusing on less things simultaneously.
Today, I woke up to a social media post that hit me:
Nietzsche describes 3 modern vices:
Overwork. To be constantly busy is self-negation. It betrays "a will to forget" oneself.
Curiosity. Vague curiosity about everything, without deep obsessions, goes nowhere.
Sympathy. Sympathy for all = a refusal to rank good and bad.
I’m definitely guilty of numbers one and two and generally agree with his assessment of their negative aspects. These next two weeks are going to be a whirlwind, as I have a number of studio events going on (including a holiday market I organized happening this Saturday!) and multiple photo shoots (some my own, including a large four-day shoot, along with others where I play the role of studio manager). Picking priorities and ensuring the most important tasks don’t get neglected is critical, but of course, many of the less important details are going to get put off. My printing, side projects, a holiday party, bartending, Illinois Project, reading, photo editing, website updating, blogging, film screenings, portrait sessions, all will have to wait until next year.
Bigger picture, a big takeaway I’ve had from this year’s chaos was that I love running a photo studio space, largely for reasons that don’t even involve photo shoots: hosting and planning events, collaborating with fun and interesting people, community. It’s a ton of work and exhausting, but nevertheless fills me with purpose and inspiration. The big challenge is figuring out how to make an event space sustainable financially.
Ideally, I can continue to focus my time and energy on these things, while also keeping my love for photography in the forefront. I continually look at places like Baltimore Photo Space as inspiration and plan to pursuit some hybrid entity that combines all the things See You Soon already is, while making it more focused on photography as an art form, which I continue to think is wildly underrated.
I realize this is all quite vague, and that’s because it is and will continue to be a work in progress, and there are still lots of questions to be answered. This post, I hope, will serve as a reminder to myself that I can’t neglect focusing inward and giving my own voice a space to talk. Whatever becomes of See You Soon will be best guided by following my own interests and excitement and not by attempting to copy something that exists elsewhere.
-Clayton
Baltimore Photo Space. Photo Books Inside. Baltimore, Maryland. September, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
Seems like we’re due for another Life Update Monday around here. It’s been a while. As always, I use this blog primarily as a space for me to think and practice writing. Honestly, after close to a year of doing this every day, I’m happy with the results so far! That said, this year has also been a blur. I’m clearly taking on too much and doing too many different things. While mostly by design, I’m aware it’s not sustainable and plan to scale back on my ambitions next year, while hopefully focusing on less things simultaneously.
Today, I woke up to a social media post that hit me:
Nietzsche describes 3 modern vices:
Overwork. To be constantly busy is self-negation. It betrays "a will to forget" oneself.
Curiosity. Vague curiosity about everything, without deep obsessions, goes nowhere.
Sympathy. Sympathy for all = a refusal to rank good and bad.
I’m definitely guilty of numbers one and two and generally agree with his assessment of their negative aspects. These next two weeks are going to be a whirlwind, as I have a number of studio events going on (including a holiday market I organized happening this Saturday!) and multiple photo shoots (some my own, including a large four-day shoot, along with others where I play the role of studio manager). Picking priorities and ensuring the most important tasks don’t get neglected is critical, but of course, many of the less important details are going to get put off. My printing, side projects, a holiday party, bartending, Illinois Project, reading, photo editing, website updating, blogging, film screenings, portrait sessions, all will have to wait until next year.
Bigger picture, a big takeaway I’ve had from this year’s chaos was that I love running a photo studio space, largely for reasons that don’t even involve photo shoots: hosting and planning events, collaborating with fun and interesting people, community. It’s a ton of work and exhausting, but nevertheless fills me with purpose and inspiration. The big challenge is figuring out how to make an event space sustainable financially.
Ideally, I can continue to focus my time and energy on these things, while also keeping my love for photography in the forefront. I continually look at places like Baltimore Photo Space as inspiration and plan to pursuit some hybrid entity that combines all the things See You Soon already is, while making it more focused on photography as an art form, which I continue to think is wildly underrated.
I realize this is all quite vague, and that’s because it is and will continue to be a work in progress, and there are still lots of questions to be answered. This post, I hope, will serve as a reminder to myself that I can’t neglect focusing inward and giving my own voice a space to talk. Whatever becomes of See You Soon will be best guided by following my own interests and excitement and not by attempting to copy something that exists elsewhere.
-Clayton
2024 12 01
Off Day!
Out looking at trees. One of them will come home with us. I’ve never had a “real” Christmas tree before. It always seemed like a bit of a weird tradition to me, as much as I like having the decorations up to set a nice mood. It’s mostly the part about the mass killing of trees just for a few weeks of use that bothers me. I guess today is the day I embrace the tree slaughter and participate in this human tradition.
-Clayton
Bare trees. Rockford, Illinois. March, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
Off Day!
Out looking at trees. One of them will come home with us. I’ve never had a “real” Christmas tree before. It always seemed like a bit of a weird tradition to me, as much as I like having the decorations up to set a nice mood. It’s mostly the part about the mass killing of trees just for a few weeks of use that bothers me. I guess today is the day I embrace the tree slaughter and participate in this human tradition.
-Clayton
2024 11 30
Nothing is forever. Entire industries change. Cities change. Countries change. Things go through cycles and once prosperous places turn to ghost towns.
Pittsburgh had a population of nearly 700,000 people in the 1950’s. Today it is around 300,000. Back in 1950, my industry of commercial photography, had (guesstimate) 3,000 members nationwide. Today, that number is (guesstimate) 250,000,000. It’s hard to stand out in a crowd of two-hundred and fifty million people!
Frustrated with some of what’s happening in my biz, I jotted down the following, while venting to myself. I try to keep things mostly positive around here, but it’s also nice to pay attention to why things are no longer working like they once had.
Here’s our director, he’s on the computer figuring out motion graphics. (scene in youtube promo for a production company that I watched)
Here’s our director of photography, we’re making him edit the spots we just shot, which he hates but what can you do? (scene in youtube promo for a production company that I watched)
I recently mentioned to a DP candidate on a doc project we are doing that we need a good colorist and his immediate response was, “I’m a colorist, bro!”
“I’m a messenger without a message,” the creative director of a company told us today in reply to his company not being happy with the work done by the creative agency and production company that hired me to shoot photos.
It’s a free-for-all SHIT SHOW out there. Everyone is doing everything themselves and billing whatever-the-fuck some guy on social media told them makes sense. Meanwhile, our clients are asking to sign contracts with $5 million in errors and omissions coverage on a job they don’t quite have enough of a budget to actually produce. People sign these contracts without actually reading them, desperate for work.
We shot some test videos a few days back and I joked that we should’ve instead hired a kid to capture some behind-the-scenes videos on their cellphone to post to tiktok if we really wanted to find some new clients.
-Clayton
One of the many bridges of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. August, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
Nothing is forever. Entire industries change. Cities change. Countries change. Things go through cycles and once-prosperous places turn to ghost towns.
Pittsburgh had a population of nearly 700,000 people in the 1950’s. Today it is around 300,000. Back in 1950, my industry of commercial photography, had (guesstimate) 3,000 members nationwide. Today, that number is (guesstimate) 250,000,000. It’s hard to stand out in a crowd of two-hundred and fifty million people!
Frustrated with some of what’s happening in my biz, I jotted down the following, while venting to myself. I try to keep things mostly positive around here, but it’s also nice to pay attention to why things are no longer working like they once had.
Here’s our director, he’s on the computer figuring out motion graphics. (scene in youtube promo for a production company that I watched)
Here’s our director of photography, we’re making him edit the spots we just shot, which he hates but what can you do? (scene in youtube promo for a production company that I watched)
I recently mentioned to a DP candidate on a doc project we are doing that we need a good colorist and his immediate response was, “I’m a colorist, bro!”
“I’m a messenger without a message,” the creative director of a company told us today in reply to his company not being happy with the work done by the creative agency and production company that hired me to shoot photos.
It’s a free-for-all SHIT SHOW out there. Everyone is doing everything themselves and billing whatever-the-fuck some guy on social media told them makes sense. Meanwhile, our clients are asking to sign contracts with $5 million in errors and omissions coverage on a job they don’t quite have enough of a budget to actually produce. People sign these contracts without actually reading them, desperate for work.
We shot some test videos a few days back and I joked that we should’ve instead hired a kid to capture some behind-the-scenes videos on their cellphone to post to tiktok if we really wanted to find some new clients.
-Clayton
2024 11 29
This year has been an eventful one for me in so many ways. One event I was proud of was the photo show and discussion I hosted at my space with photographer Nathan Pearce and photographer/photobook publisher Clint Woodside of Deadbeat Club. I’m aiming to do more events and shows of this nature, but running an event space mostly by myself, on top of all my other jobs and the “day job” of the space, makes ambitious regular programing not quite possible. This is further complicated by the building I’m in being in a bit of a defining phase. Is it an arts building or is it a professional’s office building? Time will tell and money talks.
Much like the building, I myself am in a transitional phase, and I’m not quite sure which direction I will be heading in a few years. I write about it quite a lot on this here blog, but my core business of commercial photography is quite turbulent lately and the longer-term outlook is hazy. There are so many challenges facing photographers like myself, and I think we’re all sort of wondering what we should be focusing on.
Just now, I hung sixteen prints in the lobby of my building, the Kimball Arts Center. Learning to print, learning to frame, learning to hang. These are all skills I’ve neglected as a photographer and I feel like this, in addition to a bunch of other stuff I’m spending time on lately, is myself revisiting fundamentals that I largely skipped in my younger years. It’s really the little wins that keep me going, as hard as it has been. While being enthusiastic and excited about printing your work is nice, making it sustainable financially is a completely different scenario. I was joking with a fellow photographer/director, who is also going through a slow patch, that booking commercial projects is far easier than selling fine art photo prints. It’s hard to even give these things away! I get it, though. This is not a get rich quick scheme. It’s hardly even a business endeavor. It’s fundamentals. Hard hat, lunch pail. Put in the reps. Put in the work. It leads somewhere. Where, exactly, I’m not sure, but I’m doing my best to make sure I’m enjoying the path and learning while I go.
-Clayton
Hanging a photo show with Nathan Pearce at my See You Soon studio. Chicago, Illinois. September, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
This year has been an eventful one for me in so many ways. One event I was proud of was the photo show and discussion I hosted at my space with photographer Nathan Pearce and photographer/photobook publisher Clint Woodside of Deadbeat Club. I’m aiming to do more events and shows of this nature, but running an event space mostly by myself, on top of all my other jobs and the “day job” of the space, makes ambitious regular programing not quite possible. This is further complicated by the building I’m in being in a bit of a defining phase. Is it an arts building or is it a professional’s office building? Time will tell and money talks.
Much like the building, I myself am in a transitional phase, and I’m not quite sure which direction I will be heading in a few years. I write about it quite a lot on this here blog, but my core business of commercial photography is quite turbulent lately and the longer-term outlook is hazy. There are so many challenges facing photographers like myself, and I think we’re all sort of wondering what we should be focusing on.
Just now, I hung sixteen prints in the lobby of my building, the Kimball Arts Center, as a homeless man dozed off on the coffee shop bench. Learning to print, learning to frame, learning to hang. These are all skills I’ve neglected as a photographer and I feel like this, in addition to a bunch of other stuff I’m spending time on lately, is myself revisiting fundamentals that I largely skipped in my younger years. It’s really the little wins that keep me going, as hard as it has been. While being enthusiastic and excited about printing your work is nice, making it sustainable financially is a completely different scenario. I was joking with a fellow photographer/director, who is also going through a slow patch, that booking commercial projects is far easier than selling fine art photo prints.
It’s hard to even give these things away!
I get it, though. This is not a get rich quick scheme. It’s hardly even a business endeavor. It’s fundamentals. Hard hat, lunch pail. Put in the reps. Put in the work. It leads somewhere. Where, exactly, I’m not sure, but I’m doing my best to make sure I’m enjoying the path and learning while I go, while doing my best at not also becoming a homeless person myself.
-Clayton
2024 11 28
Happy Thanksgiving!
-Clayton
Art in the wild. Don’t Fret. Chicago, Illinois. October, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
Happy Thanksgiving!
-Clayton
2024 11 26
Only half a post today because I am so behind on… everything. This image has always jumped out to me for some reason and I finally figured out why I (and likely only I) like it. Back in my college years, I had a big old boat Oldsmobile. It looked very much like this car, only much longer. This car, pictured here, is interesting as I can’t recall seeing many cars like it. A baby boat.
-Clayton
Big old car, but smaller. Chicago, Illinois. July, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
Only half a post today because I am so behind on… everything. This image has always jumped out to me for some reason and I finally figured out why I (and likely only I) like it. Back in my college years, I had a big old boat Oldsmobile. It looked very much like this car, only much longer. This car, pictured here, is interesting as I can’t recall seeing many cars like it. A baby boat.
-Clayton
2024 11 25
This morning, I woke up a bit grumpy, thinking about how success at my job has increasingly more to do with being good at sales than it does being good at photography. This isn’t just true for commercial photography but fine art, crafts, trades, etc.
Tonight, I read the latest Tim Kreider Loaf piece about how there’s a show at The Met right now consisting of art made by employees of The Met. He sums it up humorously by saying the museum is promoting it as well as if they were hanging their children’s macaroni art up on the fridge. Is art worthy if it was made by the security guard of the art museum?
Is art better if it is made by an attractive female who gains tens of thousands of views via social media posts consisting of high-energy videos of herself? It is worse because of this?
Of course, none of this is new, but I’ve been thinking about the landscape of the art world (you know, bananas taped to the wall and whatnot) a lot lately, as I myself wade deeper into art both through my photography and a documentary project, which is in the early stages of development. That documentary will likely explore these thoughts, ideas, and frustrations in further detail, so I need to figure out what art is. If anyone reading this knows, please leave it in the comment section below.
Thanks!
-Clayton
The art of skating as seen through neon art by Neon Mike. Chicago, Illinois. September, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
This morning, I woke up a bit grumpy, thinking about how success at my job has increasingly more to do with being good at sales than it does being good at photography. This isn’t just true for commercial photography but fine art, crafts, trades, etc.
Tonight, I read the latest Tim Kreider Loaf piece about how there’s a show at The Met right now consisting of art made by employees of The Met. He sums it up humorously by saying the museum is promoting it as well as if they were hanging their children’s macaroni art up on the fridge. Is art worthy if it was made by the security guard of the art museum?
Is art better if it is made by an attractive female who gains tens of thousands of views via social media posts consisting of high-energy videos of herself? It is worse because of this?
Of course, none of this is new, but I’ve been thinking about the landscape of the art world (you know, bananas taped to the wall and whatnot) a lot lately, as I myself wade deeper into art both through my photography and a documentary project, which is in the early stages of development. That documentary will likely explore these thoughts, ideas, and frustrations in further detail, so I need to figure out what art is. If anyone reading this knows, please leave it in the comment section below.
Thanks!
-Clayton
2024 11 24
Did you know the roller coaster sound of a lift hill that plays while the iconic game RollerCoaster Tycoon loads up is from Raging Bull at Six Flags Great America? I worked at Great America and operated that ride for a few years. This year, in my current job as photographer, I also got to utilize a roller coaster while taking tourism photography in Ocean City, Maryland. While there, I met the owner of a roller coaster and thought to myself: this very well could be me in a few more decades.
-Clayton
Roller coaster towers over the bus station. Ocean City, Maryland. September, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
Did you know the roller coaster sound of a lift hill that plays while the iconic game RollerCoaster Tycoon loads up is from Raging Bull at Six Flags Great America? I worked at Great America and operated that ride for a few years. This year, in my current job as photographer, I also got to utilize a roller coaster while taking tourism photography in Ocean City, Maryland. While there, I met the owner of a roller coaster and thought to myself: this very well could be me in a few more decades.
-Clayton
2024 11 22
Yesterday, I had too many of these bad boys (cocktails) in what was the final night of a wild stretch of eight straight days of working every waking hour. Three big events and five days full of portrait sessions. Today, I enjoyed sleeping in while mending my hangover. I actually attempted to get a post up last night but fell asleep with the laptop in my arms. Yeah, I think it’s time I give myself some well-needed rest. Hopefully part of that rest will be to get a bit more focus into this here blog. It’s not work if you love doing it, right??!
-Clayton
Blurry cocktail at Bryant’s. Milwaukee, Wisconsin. July, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
Yesterday, I had too many of these bad boys (cocktails) in what was the final night of a wild stretch of eight straight days of working every waking hour. Three big events and five days full of portrait sessions. Today, I enjoyed sleeping in while mending my hangover. I actually attempted to get a post up last night but fell asleep with the laptop in my arms. Yeah, I think it’s time I give myself some well-needed rest. Hopefully part of that rest will be to get a bit more focus into this here blog. It’s not work if you love doing it, right??!
-Clayton
2024 11 21
The pub pup owns the bar floor. Controlling the territory amongst the patrons’ shoes. You attempt a candid photo of the pup but any attention puts him on high alert, excited to be noticed by the figures towering above him, and the moment is lost. Pup’s owner is excited that you notice his child. “Make all the photos you want! Here, let me get him to pose for you!” But you want that candid moment of pub pup resting his weary head among the patrons’ shoes. The moment is not meant to be, but pup is happy to be noticed. Let’s get another round.
-Clayton
Pub pup. Chicago, Illinois. September, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
The pub pup owns the bar floor. Controlling the territory amongst the patrons’ shoes. You attempt a candid photo of the pup but any attention puts him on high alert, excited to be noticed by the figures towering above him, and the moment is lost. Pup’s owner is excited that you notice his child. “Make all the photos you want! Here, let me get him to pose for you!” But you want that candid moment of pub pup resting his weary head among the patrons’ shoes. The moment is not meant to be, but pup is happy to be noticed. Let’s get another round.
-Clayton
2024 11 20
Dearest blog, I remain busy. Too busy to spend time with you. I wake, walk to the studio, make photos, edit photos, think about photos, invoice for photos, plan future events, then walk home, eat supper, and sleep. This has been my life the past five days. Tomorrow, there are no more new photos, so I will begin to catch up on other stuff and spend more time with you, dear blog.
-Clayton
Fellow photographer Carlos Javier Ortiz, out working. Milwaukee, Wisconsin. July, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
Dearest blog, I remain busy. Too busy to spend time with you. I wake, walk to the studio, make photos, edit photos, think about photos, invoice for photos, plan future events, then walk home, eat supper, and sleep. This has been my life the past five days. Tomorrow, there are no more new photos, so I will begin to catch up on other stuff and spend more time with you, dear blog.
-Clayton
2024 11 19
If I had a bunch of money, I’d buy some funky old houses in Pittsburgh, fix them up, and then… I’m not sure. I guess I could live in one of them but what do you do with the rest? Sell them? To who? A big part of why Pittsburgh is great is because it’s not Washington DC or Austin or Boston or Charlotte. Sure, Pittsburgh probably would still be great if it did become a trendy tech hub filled with rich bros. At least my house renovation dreams would make financial sense instead of just being fun to imagine. The problem with some of these ideas, however, is they only make sense in the hypothetical world you have built up in your head. Like Kamala Harris becoming president, or opening a bar inside the building you work at, some ideas are destined to remain fantasy.
-Clayton
Houses for sale! Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. August, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
If I had a bunch of money, I’d buy some funky old houses in Pittsburgh, fix them up, and then… I’m not sure. I guess I could live in one of them but what do you do with the rest? Sell them? To who? A big part of why Pittsburgh is great is because it’s not Washington DC or Austin or Boston or Charlotte. Sure, Pittsburgh probably would still be great if it did become a trendy tech hub filled with rich bros. At least my house renovation dreams would make financial sense instead of just being fun to imagine. The problem with some of these ideas, however, is they only make sense in the hypothetical world you have built up in your head. Like Kamala Harris becoming president, or opening a bar inside the building you work at, some ideas are destined to remain fantasy.
-Clayton
2024 11 17
Today was an off day for the blog. Clayton, however, spent the entire day working. He was doing portrait sessions at the studio and this image, made over the summer, is one of the hundreds of backdrops he uses in his setup, which is super fun and creative. People get hundreds of unique photos after only a few short minutes in front of the camera. Of course, this also means Clayton has to edit all the photos he makes before sending them to the subjects. Clayton is tired.
Today, Clayton also used a petzval lens for the first time in his career. He got it specifically for his portrait sessions and it worked really well and added a fun, new unique element to the already cool process. The only downside to this fun new lens is that it doesn’t have auto focus, so many of the shots end up blurry. He doesn’t mind too much, though, as softer images aren’t necessarily a bad thing. He is, however, also considering possibly getting the new DJI lidar focus (mostly for video purposes), which would make this cool lens a bit more functional.
Oh yeah, Clayton forgot today is an off day for the blog and he really needs to go to bed right now. Clayton says goodnight.
-Clayton
Big tree on Wooded Island. Chicago, Illinois. September, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
Today was an off day for the blog. Clayton, however, spent the entire day working. He was doing portrait sessions at the studio and this image, made over the summer, is one of the hundreds of backdrops he uses in his setup, which is super fun and creative. People get hundreds of unique photos after only a few short minutes in front of the camera. Of course, this also means Clayton has to edit all the photos he makes before sending them to the subjects. Clayton is tired.
Today, Clayton also used a petzval lens for the first time in his career. He got it specifically for his portrait sessions and it worked really well and added a fun, new unique element to the already cool process. The only downside to this fun new lens is that it doesn’t have auto focus, so many of the shots end up blurry. He doesn’t mind too much, though, as softer images aren’t necessarily a bad thing. He is, however, also considering possibly getting the new DJI lidar focus (mostly for video purposes), which would make this cool lens a bit more functional.
Oh yeah, Clayton forgot today is an off day for the blog and he really needs to go to bed right now. Clayton says goodnight.
-Clayton
2024 11 16
It’s ten pee em on a Saturday night and I’m at the studio burning the midnight oil; learning to be an artist; printing, mounting, and framing photos I plan to hang downstairs in the building’s lobby for people to ignore for a few months. It could be worse, I could be out there making images of strip malls at sunset!
I have many more thoughts on the topic (of being an artsit and whatnot), which I will get out of me in various ways, but tonight I must get home to eat dinner with the wife. She already doesn’t understand why I’m here, now, doing this. Whatever this is.
For now, two quick thoughts:
this song, linked below, is special. Listen to it. Absorb it.
I have a better(?) Tim Davis (yeah, that one) post that’s been in the works for about three months now. Time, it’s a bitch.
This is my life (iykyk). Chicago, Illinois. July, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
It’s ten pee em on a Saturday night and I’m at the studio burning the midnight oil; learning to be an artist; printing, mounting, and framing photos I plan to hang downstairs in the building’s lobby for people to ignore for a few months. It could be worse, I could be out there making images of strip malls at sunset!
I have many more thoughts on the topic (of being an artsit and whatnot), which I will get out of me in various ways, but tonight I must get home to eat dinner with the wife. She already doesn’t understand why I’m here, now, doing this. Whatever this is.
For now, two quick thoughts:
this song, linked below, is special. Listen to it. Absorb it.
I have a better(?) Tim Davis (yeah, that one) post that’s been in the works for about three months now. Time, it’s a bitch.
-Clayton
2024 11 15
This might be the best terrible photo I’ve ever made. It’s Saturn, as seen through a telescope up in Wisconsin’s Northwoods during our summer cabin getaway.
Can you imagine what it must’ve felt like for the first humans to witness this planet, once telescope technology got good enough to see it with the naked eye?! Sure, it looks like shit as seen in this image. That’s not the point. We all know what Saturn looks like in all its magical beauty, through closeup images made via probes, and space telescopes, and NASA image editing, but I’ll tell you what, seeing this with your naked eye is quite a sight. It legitimately changed my perspective on our universe. As you peer into an eyepiece and catch a glimpse of this planet, which in our reality is very very far away, you start to think maybe it’s not actually that far away. Maybe we are part of something bigger. Maybe we will one day be able to easily venture out into our solar system and beyond. The miracles that await us, out there, we can only imagine.
-Clayton
It’s Saturn! …as seen from St Germain, Wisconsin. July, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
This might be the best terrible photo I’ve ever made. It’s Saturn, as seen through a telescope up in Wisconsin’s Northwoods during our summer cabin getaway.
Can you imagine what it must’ve felt like for the first humans to witness this planet, once telescope technology got good enough to see it with the naked eye?! Sure, it looks like shit as seen in this image. That’s not the point. We all know what Saturn looks like in all its magical beauty, through closeup images made via probes, and space telescopes, and NASA image editing, but I’ll tell you what, seeing this with your naked eye is quite a sight. It legitimately changed my perspective on our universe. As you peer into an eyepiece and catch a glimpse of this planet, which in our reality is very very far away, you start to think maybe it’s not actually that far away. Maybe we are part of something bigger. Maybe we will one day be able to easily venture out into our solar system and beyond. The miracles that await us, out there, we can only imagine.
-Clayton
2024 11 14
This is how I feel lately. Doing too much, can’t catch up, feeling like not much makes sense. I am, however, excited for a five-day run of studio portrait dates I’ll be setting up starting tomorrow night. Oh yeah, had a big post about that in the works too. Perhaps I will finally get it posted.
-Clayton
Self portrait. Milwaukee, Wisconsin. July, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
This is how I feel lately. Doing too much, can’t catch up, feeling like not much makes sense. I am, however, excited for a five-day run of studio portrait dates I’ll be setting up starting tomorrow night. There’s a new petzval lens heading my way that I’ll be attempting to work into the process, as well. Oh yeah, there’s also a big post about that in the works too. Perhaps I will finally get it posted.
-Clayton
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 11 12
Self-promotional post today, because it’s going to be a fun one and you should totally be there! I’m hosting an event in my studio space next Thursday for the release of Crust Fund Pizza’s new pizza cookbook, Super Pizza World! Tickets are $75 but that also gets you a copy of the book (which is awesome and I have some writing in there myself!), along with a bunch of food and drinks. Plus, all the money collected is going to benefit a nonprofit organization in the building, Chicago Mobile Makers. As of writing this, there are about ten tickets remaining, so if this sounds fun, click this link asap for more info and to snag a spot!
-Clayton
Sipping a tasty Wisconsin Old Fashioned in summer. St Germain, Wisconsin. July, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
Self-promotional post today, because it’s going to be a fun one and you should totally be there! I’m hosting an event in my studio space next Thursday for the release of Crust Fund Pizza’s new pizza cookbook, Super Pizza World! Tickets are $75 but that also gets you a copy of the book (which is awesome and I have some writing in there myself!), along with a bunch of food and drinks. Plus, all the money collected is going to benefit a nonprofit organization in the building, Chicago Mobile Makers. As of writing this, there are about ten tickets remaining, so if this sounds fun, click this link asap for more info and to snag a spot!
-Clayton
2024 11 10
As I sit on my couch this beautiful summer fall afternoon (it’s sixty-two degrees today!), I find it appropriate to post yet another Busted Car image. While Trump and his crew of Elites (wait I thought they hated elites?) figure out how to best pillage this nation’s fine institutions in the name of tax breaks for themselves (that we voted for!), I think to myself, it could be worse; I could be a Bears fan.Wait, fuck.
-Clayton
Another busted car (this one’s a big one!). Chicago, Illinois. July, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
As I sit on my couch this beautiful summer fall afternoon (it’s sixty-two degrees today!), I find it appropriate to post yet another Busted Car image. While Trump and his crew of Elites (wait I thought they hated elites?) figure out how to best pillage this nation’s fine institutions in the name of tax breaks for themselves (that we voted for!), I think to myself, it could be worse; I could be a Bears fan.Wait, fuck.
-Clayton