2024 10 22
Here is another film image made this summer. I must say, film does have a little way with making mundane images just that much better. This same angle as seen from a digital camera would likely not make it to this here blog. The on-camera flash also adds an interesting element while mixed with the nice end-of-day light in the background.
I wish I hadn’t fully given up on film a decade ago and only now re-started shooting some film, now that it is a trendy and expensive way to make mundane images just a smidge more interesting.
-Clayton
An alley tree. Chicago, Illinois. July, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
Here is another film image made this summer. I must say, film does have a little way with making mundane images just that much better. This same angle as seen from a digital camera would likely not make it to this here blog. The on-camera flash also adds an interesting element while mixed with the nice end-of-day light in the background.
I wish I hadn’t fully given up on film a decade ago and only now re-started shooting some film, now that it is a trendy and expensive way to make mundane images just a smidge more interesting.
-Clayton
2024 08 26
This picture is only interesting because it was taken in July. To me, a humorous observation, does not translate to you, an unknowing viewer, without a written explanation of why the thing is worth looking at. This is, I think, an unbreakable rule of how to make good art: the art has to be immediately understood at a fundamental level by the observer. Sure, the interpretation may vary but there can’t be a blog blurb explaining why it’s worth looking at. Photo fail.
I was busy working all day today in Ocean City, Maryland so didn’t have the time for a more robust post. I did, however, ride a roller coaster as part of my work, so a decades-long dream has been fulfilled; since my days working as a ride operator at Six Flags Great America, I have not been paid to ride roller coasters. Until today.
-Clayton
Christmas in July. Chicago, Illinois. July, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
This picture is only interesting because it was taken in July. To me, a humorous observation, does not translate to you, an unknowing viewer, without a written explanation of why the thing is worth looking at. This is, I think, an unbreakable rule of how to make good art: the art has to be immediately understood at a fundamental level by the observer. Sure, the interpretation may vary but there can’t be a blog blurb explaining why it’s worth looking at. Photo fail.
I was busy working all day today in Ocean City, Maryland (have you been here?!) so didn’t have the time for a more robust post. I did, however, ride a roller coaster as part of my job, so a decades-long dream has been fulfilled; since my days working as a ride operator at Six Flags Great America, I have not been paid to ride roller coasters. Until today. Life win.
-Clayton
2024 08 12
Here’s a lil sneak peek post. I had grand ambitions this year to work on a personal photo project, with the aim of turning the work into a photobook, covering… Illinois. There was no specific vision or goal but more of a visual exploration of the state outside of Chicago (getting to every county outside of Cook was the rough idea). This year has been way busier than anticipated so the amount of time I’ve been able to invest in this project has been far less than I’d wanted. That said, I’m fine with this becoming more of a longer-term ongoing project, which surely will evolve along with myself as the days and years pass.
I’ll write more about this in the future but perhaps the biggest internal struggle I’ve been having has been regarding what the vibe of the project should be. Do I want it to be more artistic, ambiguous, aesthetic or do I want it to be more photojournalistic, authentic, approachable? My worry is that turning this project into a “tour of Illinois” farmland won’t be all that exciting and I’m getting the sense I need to tap into the human element as much as, if not more than, the natural landscapes. This photo is beautiful and the tree is incredible, but is a book full of this kind of stuff really worth all the effort? I think it needs to evolve into something capturing a more deeper meaning.
-Clayton
The sun sets over farmland outside Onarga, Illinois. June, 2024.
Here’s a lil sneak peek post. I had grand ambitions this year to work on a personal photo project, with the aim of turning the work into a photobook, covering… Illinois. There was no specific vision or goal but more of a visual exploration of the state outside of Chicago (getting to every county outside of Cook was the rough idea). This year has been way busier than anticipated so the amount of time I’ve been able to invest in this project has been far less than I’d wanted. That said, I’m fine with this becoming more of a longer-term ongoing project, which surely will evolve along with myself as the days and years pass.
I’ll write more about this in the future but perhaps the biggest internal struggle I’ve been having has been regarding what the vibe of the project should be. Do I want it to be more artistic, ambiguous, aesthetic or do I want it to be more photojournalistic, authentic, approachable? My worry is that turning this project into a “tour of Illinois” farmland won’t be all that exciting and I’m getting the sense I need to tap into the human element as much as, if not more than, the natural landscapes. This photo is beautiful and the tree is incredible, but is a book full of this kind of stuff really worth all the effort? I think it needs to evolve into something capturing a more deeper meaning.
I’d love to open up more of a dialogue on this here blog so if you’re seeing this and have some thoughts, whatever they may be, I encourage you to jot them down into the comment section below!
-Clayton
2024 07 24
Speaking of learning new things out of necessity, I’ve been doing a decent amount of photo stitching with my Ricoh GRiiix, which is the camera I use to make a vast majority of the images I’ve been posting to this blog. This image here was made from 3-4 different images taken with the intention of merging them into one final shot. Why do this, you ask? Well, my version of the Ricoh is the longer lens 40mm-equivalent, which makes capturing wider scenes, such as this massive tree, not possible from up close. In general, I prefer the slightly longer focal length, so when I really want a nicer image but the camera is not wide enough to get it, I’ll often capture the scene in multiple frames and stitch them together using Photoshop’s automate feature, which does a really nice job of it. In addition to creating the wider visual, it also creates an image with much higher resolution that a single image using a wider lens would make.
Not that I need more res for blogging but it’s a cool way of doing low-budget pseudo-medium format.
-Clayton
Catalpa on the corner. Chicago, Illinois. May, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
Speaking of learning new things out of necessity, I’ve been doing a decent amount of photo stitching with my Ricoh GRiiix, which is the camera I use to make a vast majority of the images I’ve been posting to this blog. This image here was made from 3-4 different images taken with the intention of merging them into one final shot. Why do this, you ask? Well, my version of the Ricoh is the longer lens 40mm-equivalent, which makes capturing wider scenes, such as this massive tree, not possible from up close. In general, I prefer the slightly longer focal length, so when I really want a nicer image but the camera is not wide enough to get it, I’ll often capture the scene in multiple frames and stitch them together using Photoshop’s automate feature, which does a really nice job of it. In addition to creating the wider visual, it also creates an image with much higher resolution that a single image using a wider lens would make.
Not that I need more res for blogging but it’s a cool way of doing low-budget pseudo-medium format.
-Clayton
2024 06 13
I don’t have time for this shit!
The crazy thing about doing a post every single day is making the days like today happen, when you really don’t have the time for it. But you do, of course. You just choose to prioritize other things. It’s so easy to tell yourself you’ll get back to it tomorrow. You’ll do it another day. Days turn to weeks turn to months. That’s the gist of why I decided to force myself to stick to the daily post schedule. Even when I don’t have time for it.
Sure, not every day will be pretty or filled with wisdoms or amazing writing, but it’s a rewiring of the brain I’m after. Focus. Keep after it. Now that my posts are slipping, in some ways, perhaps I’ll find the motivation to prioritize more time to this process, instead of frantically scrambling to get something up just for the sake of it.
-Clayton
Spring tree. Chicago, Illinois. April, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
I don’t have time for this shit!
The crazy thing about doing a post every single day is making the days like today happen, when you really don’t have the time for it. But you do, of course. You just choose to prioritize other things. It’s so easy to tell yourself you’ll get back to it tomorrow. You’ll do it another day. Days turn to weeks turn to months. That’s the gist of why I decided to force myself to stick to the daily post schedule. Even when I don’t have time for it.
Sure, not every day will be pretty or filled with wisdoms or amazing writing, but it’s a rewiring of the brain I’m after. Focus. Keep after it. Now that my posts are slipping, in some ways, perhaps I’ll find the motivation to prioritize more time to this process, instead of frantically scrambling to get something up just for the sake of it.
Damn, another vertical image today.
-Clayton
2024 06 11
Here’s a silly little story because it popped into my head and I don’t have anything else to write about:
One day a number of years ago, I was working on a project for a nonprofit which I was really excited about. The client had asked me, in addition to a half dozen other Chicago photographers, all of which I looked up to, to capture the city over the course of a summer. Each of us was assigned a few neighborhoods which we could document more or less as we pleased. It was a self assignment which I turned into a competition. I was motivated to make the best photos I could to stand out among a distinguished crowd.
As is often the case in any photographer’s career-path-to-cynic,
Spring blossoms. Chicago, Illinois. April, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
Here’s a silly little memory that popped into my head:
One day a number of years ago, I was working on a project for a nonprofit which I was really excited about. The client had asked me, in addition to a half dozen other Chicago photographers, all of which I respected, to capture the city over the course of a summer. Each of us was assigned a few neighborhoods which we could document more or less as we pleased. It was a self assignment which I turned into a competition. I was motivated to make the best work I could to stand out among a distinguished crowd.
The silly moment was this: having been assigned Humboldt Park, my own neighborhood, I made a weekend out of the annual Puerto Rican pride celebrations which were happening all around my house. Setting out to document the parade one day, I stopped off at a recently-opened park along The 606 trail to photograph it. Hunting for some unique angle among the large kid’s netting, I was focused on my compositions when an angry mom snapped at me for taking photos of her children innocently playing on the play set.
“Oh no, ma’am, I’m an important documentary photographer capturing Chicago’s neighborhoods for a big important project.” I said to myself, while mustering up something hopefully less self-important to her. In an effort to assure her I was, indeed, on the up and up, I offered to show her the images on the back of my camera, to give her a sense of what I was out documenting. Luckily for me, she took my word for it, because when I myself glanced down at the screen, the image staring up at me was of small children on the little roller coaster ride which was set up in the park at the carnival, which I had just made at the end of the previous day on my walk home. Had she seen this image, which seemed impossible to explain away, there’s no telling what might’ve happened.
As is often the case in any photographer’s career-path-to-cynic, this project largely stalled and never became the big and important work I had imagined it was going to become the day I photographed children playing in the park. At least I had a nice laugh to myself about how absurd that entire situation was, which likely only a weirdo photographer like myself can fully appreciate.
-Clayton
2024 06 07
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
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 05 20
My bald cypress tree… Can a tree really belong to someone? I think not. But I do love and care for this tree as if it was my own child. Watching Baldee grow up has brought joy to my life. I kid (a little) but being a man without a human kid or (currently) dog or cat or hampster to care for, you take the love where you can get it.
Anyway. It’s Life Update Monday!
Life Updates:
Becoming a “portrait photographer” is way more challenging than I ever would’ve guessed. Convincing people to pay you money for them to come to your studio to stand in front of your camera is no easy task.
That said, I’m learning and making progress and having some fun with it as well! Ted Talk coming soon…
…actually, I’ve been kinda wanting to write more honest thoughts about the backside of the photography business. Numbers, paperwork, production, etc. Is this something anyone wants to see? Am I just opening up a can of worms I will regret? Leave a comment!
Blog comments: nobody leaves them and it’s making me feel like I’m speaking into the void. I understand why nobody blogs anymore and everyone tweets or X’es or whatever-you-call-it-now. Instant gratification is a nasty beast.
I’m photographing two projects this week that should be both challenging and interesting. One is motion! One is studio cocktails in a style I’ve not previously explored. I’m also exploring different lighting approaches in both (namely, continuous lights vs strobes).
The studio is a full-time job and something I should also write a bit more about. Lots of lessons learned over the last 2-3 years. The last few months it has been cashflow positive, which is obviously nice but is not always the case (nor was I expecting it to be, however, I was expecting it to be easier in almost every other way than it has been).
Weather is nice. I’m jinxing it but why haven’t there been mosquitos yet??? Did we bioengineer them away? The last few years in Chicago they’ve been terrible and so far this year I’m not sure I’ve even seen one. I’m sure they are coming, but damn, it’s been real nice.
Printing! I haven’t had time to get too into it yet, but, damn! The first few prints I’ve made (I’ve only been testing paper samples so far with the same image) have really lit a fire under my ass. I’m optimistic it will unlock a whole new perspective on what photography even is, to me. More on that soon.
-Clayton
The moon above my backyard bald cypress tree. Chicago, Illinois. April, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
My bald cypress tree… Can a tree really belong to someone? I think not. But I do love and care for this tree as if it was my own child. Watching Baldee grow up has brought joy to my life. I kid (a little) but being a man without a human kid or (currently) dog or cat or hampster to care for, you take the love where you can get it.
Anyway. It’s Life Update Monday!
Life Updates:
Becoming a “portrait photographer” is way more challenging than I ever would’ve guessed. Convincing people to pay you money for them to come to your studio to stand in front of your camera is no easy task.
That said, I’m learning and making progress and having some fun with it as well! Ted Talk coming soon…
…actually, I’ve been kinda wanting to write more honest thoughts about the backside of the photography business. Numbers, paperwork, production, etc. Is this something anyone wants to see? Am I just opening up a can of worms I will regret? Leave a comment!
Blog comments: nobody leaves them and it’s making me feel like I’m speaking into the void. I understand why nobody blogs anymore and everyone tweets or X’es or whatever-you-call-it-now. Instant gratification is a nasty beast.
I’m photographing two projects this week that should be both challenging and interesting. One is motion! One is studio cocktails in a style I’ve not previously explored. I’m also exploring different lighting approaches in both (namely, continuous lights vs strobes).
The studio is a full-time job and something I should also write a bit more about. Lots of lessons learned over the last 2-3 years. The last few months it has been cashflow positive, which is obviously nice but is not always the case (nor was I expecting it to be, however, I was expecting it to be easier in almost every other way than it has been).
Weather is nice. I’m jinxing it but why haven’t there been mosquitos yet??? Did we bioengineer them away? The last few years in Chicago they’ve been terrible and so far this year I’m not sure I’ve even seen one. I’m sure they are coming, but damn, it’s been real nice.
Printing! I haven’t had time to get too into it yet, but, damn! The first few prints I’ve made (I’ve only been testing paper samples so far with the same image) have really lit a fire under my ass. I’m optimistic it will unlock a whole new perspective on what photography even is, to me. More on that soon.
-Clayton
2024 05 14
Kyla has a book coming out which is very exciting news! She has become one of my favorite thinkers on economics and our modern media-saturated life. I share this video because this piece arrived in my inbox a few days ago via her substack and I really enjoyed reading it. Then, today, the video version of it appeared in my youtube feed and it reminded me about how I love that she makes her content available on all the major platforms. It’s a ton of work, but these days this is what you basically have to do if you want to be noticed. Posting to your daily weblog isn’t going to move the needle! … perhaps I should turn my daily weblog post into a daily vlog post, as well … maybe.
-Clayton
Super grainy image of a green-lit tree at night with some stars and planets and sensor artifacts. March, 2024.Wheeling, Illinois. © Clayton Hauck
Kyla has a book coming out which is very exciting news! She has become one of my favorite thinkers on economics and our modern media-saturated life. I share this video because this piece arrived in my inbox a few days ago via her substack and I really enjoyed reading it. Then, today, the video version of it appeared in my youtube feed and it reminded me about how I love that she makes her content available on all the major platforms. It’s a ton of work, but these days this is what you basically have to do if you want to be noticed. Posting to your daily weblog isn’t going to move the needle! … perhaps I should turn my daily weblog post into a daily vlog post, as well … maybe.
I love what Noah Kalina has been doing on his channel lately. But yeah, yet another fulltime job on top of the ones I already have probably isn’t in the cards. Maybe we start small.
-Clayton
2024 05 12
Happy Mothers Day! Apologies for posting late, mom. Yes, everything is fine… I’m just falling behind on my blog post scheduling.
-Clayton
Flowering tree in spring. Vincennes, Indiana. April, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
Happy Mothers Day! Apologies for posting late, mom. Yes, everything is fine… I’m just falling behind on my blog post scheduling. Hope you had a great day, moms!
-Clayton
2024 05 01
So I lied. Yesterday wasn’t actually our airplane shoot, it’s today. Why am I posting a picture of leaves? I’m so glad you asked! This image was made a few days ago in my backyard after borrowing my buddy Tim Blokel’s new Fuji GFX100 II to play with for a day. I’ve never used a Fuji camera in my entire life, but lately they have become the go-to camera model for commercial projects needing more resolution. Previously, we’d rent a Phase system and those are nice cameras but come with many drawbacks, so I’m always tentative to use them unless I know we don’t need speed (which, lately, never seems to be the case. More shots, less time, faster actions, people moving, etc, etc).
All that said, today’s shoot seemed like the perfect opportunity to use the new Fuji system, which I’m very excited about! The image above is cropped in a ridiculous amount as those leaves were something like 20 feet over my head, but the massive resolution of 102 megapixels allows great flexibility in post production. Anyway, I swear this blog won’t be turning into an equipment review site, I just wanted to mention the camera since it feels like it may become a new tool in my camera rotation going forward.
-Clayton
It’s springtime! New leaves unfurl on our European hornbeam trees. Chicago, Illinois. April, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
So I lied. Yesterday wasn’t actually our airplane shoot, it’s today. Why am I posting a picture of leaves? I’m so glad you asked! This image was made a few days ago in my backyard after borrowing my buddy Tim Blokel’s new Fuji GFX100 II to play with for a day. I’ve never used a Fuji camera in my entire life, but lately they have become the go-to camera model for commercial projects needing more resolution. Previously, we’d rent a Phase system and those are nice cameras but come with many drawbacks, so I’m always tentative to use them unless I know we don’t need speed (which, lately, never seems to be the case. More shots, less time, faster actions, people moving, etc, etc).
All that said, today’s shoot seemed like the perfect opportunity to use the new Fuji system, which I’m very excited about! The image above is cropped in a ridiculous amount as those leaves were something like 20 feet over my head, but the massive resolution of 102 megapixels allows great flexibility in post production. Anyway, I swear this blog won’t be turning into an equipment review site, I just wanted to mention the camera since it feels like it may become a new tool in my camera rotation going forward.
-Clayton
2024 04 25
When it comes to making photos, I’ve tended to be pretty vanilla throughout my professional career. Basically, whatever the most recent pro-level Canon SLR body is on the market is what I’ve used with little to no variation. Sure, I love their cameras (hit me about about a sponsorship!) 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 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, 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 up on a stage in front of a mic. Using an iphone to add a mirrored reflection; shooting through sparkley stuff to add visual interest. 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 with funky light leaks because, why not? It’s different.
-Clayton
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
2024 04 13
You ever hear something that just sticks with you for whatever reason? A while back I was either watching a youtube video or reading a twitter thread, I don’t remember, from a guy who spends a lot of time sleeping outside in various places while doing his best to avoid trouble from sketchy situations, the law, etc. It was a really interesting and detailed account filled with tips and tricks about how he gets by living off the land. I promptly forgot every detail except one little nugget, which is that he often sleeps up in trees. His reasoning is what really stuck with he: nobody bothers to look up.
I fancy myself quite observant, however, after reading this detail I’ve found myself glancing upward approximately 50% more frequently, often expecting to see someone camped out in a tree high above, just living their life without a care in the world. One day…
-Clayton
Bare tree in winter as seen through the glass roof of my car. Chicago, Illinois. February, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
You ever hear something that just sticks with you for whatever reason? A while back I was either watching a youtube video or reading a twitter thread, I don’t remember, from a guy who spends a lot of time sleeping outside in various places while doing his best to avoid trouble from sketchy situations, the law, etc. It was a really interesting and detailed account filled with tips and tricks about how he gets by living off the land. I promptly forgot every detail except one little nugget, which is that he often sleeps up in trees. His reasoning is what really stuck with he: nobody bothers to look up.
I fancy myself quite observant, however, after reading this detail I’ve found myself glancing upward approximately 50% more frequently, often expecting to see someone camped out in a tree high above, just living their life without a care in the world. One day…
-Clayton
2024 03 28
I’m a writer now! In learning how to make a living at my new profession, I stumbled across this bit of wisdom from Jason Zweig of the WSJ who says there are three (3) ways to be a professional writer:
Lie to people who want to be lied to and you’ll get rich.
Tell the truth to those who want the truth, and you’ll make a living.
Tell the truth who those who want to be lied to, and you’ll go broke.
Please come back tomorrow to read my breakdown on 50 ways to get insanely rich without doing a lick of work. I swear this list is vetted and is a favorite of Warren Buffet and Sir Edmund Blackadder. Blackadder did a ten-part Masterclass breaking down how he’s made over $20 billion and only let in 24 students who each had to pay $1 million, which he donated to charity because he’s a Sir. I was fortunate enough to be one of the class members and will release my gained wisdoms in tomorrow’s blog to you, dear reader who wants to be lied to, in exchange for one page view to help inflate my depressed ego — see you tomorrow!
-Clayton
PS- this Zweig nugget is brilliant and applies to life in general, not just writing. It was mentioned in Morgan Housel’s book Same as Ever, which I will hopefully go into more in a future blog entry. It’s full of amazing wisdom, most of which can be found on his blog. His previous book The Psychology of Money is fantastic and highly recommended as well.
Bare apple tree in winter with a pretty sunset above. Chicago, Illinois. February, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
I’m a writer now! In learning how to make a living at my new profession, I stumbled across this bit of wisdom from Jason Zweig of the WSJ who says there are three (3) ways to be a professional writer:
Lie to people who want to be lied to and you’ll get rich.
Tell the truth to those who want the truth, and you’ll make a living.
Tell the truth who those who want to be lied to, and you’ll go broke.
Please come back tomorrow to read my breakdown on 50 ways to get insanely rich without doing a lick of work. I swear this list is vetted and is a favorite of Warren Buffet and Sir Edmund Blackadder. Blackadder did a ten-part Masterclass breaking down how he’s made over $20 billion and only let in 24 students who each had to pay $1 million, which he donated to charity because he’s a Sir. I was fortunate enough to be one of the class members and will release my gained wisdoms in tomorrow’s blog to you, dear reader who wants to be lied to, in exchange for one page view to help inflate my depressed ego — see you tomorrow!
-Clayton
PS- this Zweig nugget is brilliant and applies to life in general, not just writing. It was mentioned in Morgan Housel’s book Same as Ever, which I will hopefully go into more in a future blog entry. It’s full of amazing wisdom, most of which can be found on his company blog. His previous book The Psychology of Money is fantastic and highly recommended as well.
2024 03 14
Is anyone putting out albums anymore? Anytime I hear a fun, previously-unfamiliar song served to me by Spotify’s algorithm, I get excited to hear more and click on the album only to discover it’s just a single and there’s nothing more to listen to, which then makes me sad.
This concludes my 60 Minutes Andy Rooney replacement audition tape.
-Clayton
Evergreen tree hit with rising sunlight creating a neat effect. Chicago, Illinois. February, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
Is anyone putting out albums anymore? Anytime I hear a fun, previously-unfamiliar song served to me by Spotify’s algorithm, I get excited to hear more and click on the album only to discover it’s just a single and there’s nothing more to listen to, which then makes me sad.
This concludes my 60 Minutes Andy Rooney replacement audition tape.
-Clayton
2024 02 23
Just wrapped up my taxes and was shocked and amazed to see my commercial photography income was substantially down last year. This led me to think some thoughts about why this is happening. Is it simply a matter of me becoming old and stale? Likely, yes, however there’s a bit more to this shocking development.
Companies needing high quality imagery for whatever reason often don’t like spending money on said high quality imagery. They’ll reach out and ask if we can do it for free since it’s our hobby anyway and usually we say, sure, we’d love to help with that, but it’s impossible because the pesky talent (you know, the people in the photos—the models) won’t agree to it! They demand money every single time — it’s wild! So what happens is we end up producing these projects for money, which allows us to pay bills, eat, and generally function within society. It’s nice, but the companies don’t always love it.
Luckily for the companies, Artificial Intelligence is here to save them from bankruptcy. They are now experimenting — behind the scenes in their secret tech labs — with using AI to become their models! With a fully digital human, created from jumbling up hundreds of other humans into a completely new and soulless entity, they can then hire their digital models for zero dollars and we’ll finally be able to agree to their requests to produce high quality imagery for our portfolios or for the experience or for a promise of payment on a future project that never materializes.
I’m excited about this! Experience is the most valuable tool in any hobbyist photographer’s tool kit and I’m about to have it in excess!
— Oh, shit, I’m late for my shift at Arby’s.
-Clayton
PS- every blog post thus far has been AI generated. Clayton is on vacation in Montevideo.
Snowy catalpa tree on our corner which I photograph roughly two-hundred times each year. [this image was expanded using generative AI] Chicago, Illinois. January, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
Just wrapped up my taxes and was shocked and amazed to see my commercial photography income was substantially down last year. This led me to think some thoughts about why this is happening. Is it simply a matter of me becoming old and stale? Likely, yes, however there’s a bit more to this shocking development.
Companies needing high quality imagery for whatever reason often don’t like spending money on said high quality imagery. They’ll reach out and ask if we can do it for free since it’s our hobby anyway and usually we say, sure, we’d love to help with that, but it’s impossible because the pesky talent (you know, the people in the photos—the models) won’t agree to it! They demand money every single time — it’s wild! So what happens is we end up producing these projects for money, which allows us to pay bills, eat, and generally function within society. It’s nice, but the companies don’t always love it.
Luckily for the companies, Artificial Intelligence is here to save them from bankruptcy. They are now experimenting — behind the scenes in their secret tech labs — with using AI to become their models! With a fully digital human, created from jumbling up hundreds of other humans into a completely new and soulless entity, they can then hire their digital models for zero dollars and we’ll finally be able to agree to their requests to produce high quality imagery for our portfolios or for the experience or for a promise of payment on a future project that never materializes.
I’m excited about this! Experience is the most valuable tool in any hobbyist photographer’s tool kit and I’m about to have it in excess!
— Oh, shit, I’m late for my shift at Arby’s.
-Clayton
PS- every blog post thus far has been AI generated. Clayton is on vacation in Montevideo.
2024 02 20
Friend and fellow photographer Jack Garland recently posted this great short feature on photographer Matt Black which got me inspired in a number of ways.
Preface: the main reason for this post was to share the piece, which is linked below, so skip ahead and watch that unless you want to also read me rambling about myself for the remainder. It is my therapy session (blog), after all.
Feeling at a crossroads in my own career due to the business of commercial photography being in a confused state, with AI on the rise, less work and lower budgets generally, and becoming older myself, I spend a lot of time scheming on what I should be focusing my time on. This isn’t a very efficient way to get things done, all the thinking, that is, but I tend to go all-in on things once I decide it’s the way to go so it is perhaps smart to think a bit before jumping into the deep end.
In no particular order, some thoughts that struck me while watching the video were: I should shoot more black & white. I’m always so drawn to color but it’s probably best to expand my horizons and experiment more; traveling and photographing is something I really, really love and maybe should make this more of my focus. It’s a compromise though in many ways (time consuming, being away from people, expensive, no guaranteed success) so I always resist dedicating more time to it and taking it seriously; traveling the entire state of Illinois might be a fun compromise and interesting challenge. Maybe a good photo book project I can put a few years’ effort into while not being too far from home. It would greatly aide in my eventual run for governor as well; maybe it’s time to cut the commercial work off for a while and figure out what most resonates with me as a person. Live as an artist. Make work for myself; do more video work just like this video piece. It was really well done and exactly the kind of thing that inspired me to become a photographer from the start; take the wandering-man-with-camera video angle many people are doing on youtube to much success but elevating it a bit, getting deeper and more artistic with it; write more, like Matt in the video. Write about what I’m experiencing. Maybe this is where I’m already heading with this blog? Maybe it becomes part of a photo book project? Maybe the writing becomes the work?; get more invested into the world of art photography and open a photo book store. It’s an idea I’ve been stewing on for a while now and one I still like. Creating a home for photography-obsessed people such as myself seems like a smart move in many ways, while also being a bit of a vague business model and perhaps less sustainable as it needs to be while sucking up all my time in the process.
Clearly, lots of thinking going on in the old brain of mine. I thought it would be nice to get some of the thoughts down on paper and toss them into the world. Surely I will expand on some of them in the coming weeks.
-Clayton
A tree sits alongside River Rd, slightly illuminated from a passing vehicle. River Grove, Illinois. January, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
This image was extended to accomodate a square crop using AI and was edited in my interpretation of a Matt Black / Jack Garland style.
Friend and fellow photographer Jack Garland recently posted this great short feature on photographer Matt Black which got me inspired in a number of ways.
Preface: the main reason for this post was to share the piece, which is linked below, so skip ahead and watch that unless you want to also read me rambling about myself for the remainder. It is my therapy session (blog), after all.
Feeling at a crossroads in my own career due to the business of commercial photography being in a confused state, with AI on the rise, less work and lower budgets generally, and becoming older myself, I spend a lot of time scheming on what I should be focusing my time on. This isn’t a very efficient way to get things done, all the thinking, that is, but I tend to go all-in on things once I decide it’s the way to go so it is perhaps smart to think a bit before jumping into the deep end.
In no particular order, some thoughts that struck me while watching the video were: I should shoot more black & white. I’m always so drawn to color but it’s probably best to expand my horizons and experiment more; Traveling and photographing is something I really, really love and maybe should make this more of my focus. It’s a compromise though in many ways (time consuming, being away from people, expensive, no guaranteed success) so I always resist dedicating more time to it and taking it seriously; Traveling the entire state of Illinois might be a fun compromise and interesting challenge. Maybe a good photo book project I can put a few years’ effort into while not being too far from home. It would greatly aide in my eventual run for governor as well; Maybe it’s time to cut the commercial work off for a while and figure out what most resonates with me as a person. Live as an artist. Make work solely for myself; Do more video work just like this video piece. It was really well done and exactly the kind of thing that inspired me to become a photographer from the start; Take the wandering-man-with-camera video angle many people are doing on youtube to much success but elevating it a bit, getting deeper and more artistic with it; Write more, like Matt in the video. Write about what I’m experiencing. Maybe this is where I’m already heading with this blog? Maybe it becomes part of a photo book project? Maybe the writing becomes the work?; Get more invested into the world of art photography and open a photo book store. It’s an idea I’ve been stewing on for a while now and one I still like. Creating a home for photography-obsessed people such as myself seems like a smart move in many ways, while also being a bit of a vague business model and perhaps less sustainable as it needs to be while sucking up all my time in the process.
Clearly, lots of thinking going on in the old brain of mine. I thought it would be nice to get some of the thoughts down on paper and toss them into the world. Surely I will expand on some of them in the coming weeks, months, or years.
-Clayton
Beyond the video above, here’s a link to another great talk featuring wisdom and images from the talented Matt Black.
2024 02 04
Came across this quote via Scott Galloway while listening to an episode of Pivot and I think this really sums up humanity quite well.
“People are wonderful. I love individuals. I hate groups of people. I hate a group of people with a ‘common purpose’. ‘Cause pretty soon they have little hats. And armbands. And fight songs. And a list of people they’re going to visit at 3am. So, I dislike and despise groups of people but I love individuals. Every person you look at; you can see the universe in their eyes, if you’re really looking.”
— George Carlin
-Clayton
People don’t look up. I love looking up while exploring. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. November, 2023. © Clayton Hauck
Came across this quote via Scott Galloway while listening to an episode of Pivot and I think this really sums up humanity quite well.
“People are wonderful. I love individuals. I hate groups of people. I hate a group of people with a ‘common purpose’. ‘Cause pretty soon they have little hats. And armbands. And fight songs. And a list of people they’re going to visit at 3am. So, I dislike and despise groups of people but I love individuals. Every person you look at; you can see the universe in their eyes, if you’re really looking.”
-Clayton
2024 01 16
I came across this scene while walking home and snapped a few images with my Ricoh. It’s just a simple little scene but I love the odd tree, ambient night lighting and gritty noise from the high ISO.
THEN, a few months later, I again came across this scene and immediately thought back to this image I had made. Instead of making yet another image with my Ricoh, I pulled out the iPhone, opened a new app I’ve been using called Lapse, and snapped a few new images.
I must say: I’m a bit obsessed with this app. After getting over the initial data grab app-trickery bullshit that makes me want to throw my phone into a river, Lapse surprised me! The way they implemented the camera is fun and impressive; the angle being that your phone is a “disposable film camera” so you get the expected filter look, which is nice, but you also get a really well-blended strobe look from the camera flash (which is something I’d always fully avoided using on my phone camera even in the darkest environments). It reminds me of my old Yashica T3 film camera! Of course, it’s still digital and still a highly compromised phone image, but the convenience and social factors are hard to compete with. I got my Ricoh, which I keep in my pocket at all times, as a way to get away from using my phone camera out of convenience and it’s one of the best decisions I’ve recently made, however, this app might have me using my phone camera more than I’d like to because it’s just fun!
-Clayton (@claytonhauck on Lapse)
Night street scene in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood. November, 2023. © Clayton Hauck
I came across this scene while walking home and snapped a few images with my Ricoh. It’s just a simple little scene but I love the odd tree, ambient night lighting and gritty noise from the high ISO.
THEN, a few months later, I again came across this scene and immediately thought back to this image I had made. Instead of making yet another image with my Ricoh, I pulled out the iPhone, opened a new app I’ve been using called Lapse, and snapped a few new images.
I must say: I’m a bit obsessed with this app. After getting over the initial data grab app-trickery bullshit that makes me want to throw my phone into a river, Lapse surprised me! The way they implemented the camera is fun and impressive; the concept being that your phone is a “disposable film camera” so you get the expected filter look, which is nice, but you also get a really well-blended strobe look from the camera flash (which is something I’d always fully avoided using on my phone camera even in the darkest environments). It reminds me of my old Yashica T3 film camera and the many years I spent shooting nightlife strobe photography. Of course, it’s still digital and still a highly compromised phone image, but the convenience and social factors are hard to compete with.
I bought my Ricoh, which I keep in my pocket at all times, as a way to get away from solely using my phone camera out of sheer convenience and it’s one of the best decisions I’ve recently made, however, this app might have me once again using my phone camera more than I’d like to.
-Clayton (@claytonhauck on Lapse)
Lapse app version of the above scene made a few weeks later than the original above. © Clayton Hauck
2024 01 06
Because Nobody In The World knows about this website, it would be nice if a Top Tier Clandestine Spy Network started using it to communicate in the comments sections so I could get a little inside peek at how the world operates while I think up what to say the next day.
cc: @whitehouse (not the porn site), @joebiden, @cia, @fbi, @mossad, @isi, etc
-Clayton
Vertical or horizontal? I can’t decide. Also, do I love these images? I can’t decide. December, 2023. Chicago. ©Clayton Hauck
Because Nobody In The World knows about this website, it would be nice if a Top Tier Clandestine Spy Network started using it to communicate in the comments sections so I could get a little inside peek at how the world operates while I think up what to say the next day.
cc: @whitehouse (not the porn site), @joebiden, @cia, @fbi, @mossad, @isi, etc
-Clayton