2025 12 06
Man fixes fence? Chicago, Illinois. December, 2022. © Clayton Hauck
Ever since I started photographing things, I’ve been attracted to strange and absurd moments such as this one, spotted out my studio fire escape. Rather hilariously, this entire fence blew over in a storm about a week later. I bring up this image today not as a way to compare myself to him, but the sentiment behind his work, which was always one I was drawn to and considered one of my biggest early inspirations. Martin Parr passed away today, a sad day for the photography community as a whole.
While I don’t have anything profound to add to that conversation, I will instead use this as a moment to turn inward towards myself. Regrets in my career have been a lack of focus on these moments that drew me to put a camera in my hand in the first place; a lack of keeping up on names like Martin Parr who inspired me to make this hobby my career; a lack of continuing to make these wacky snapshots for many years while distracted making better money on commercial projects.
Anyway, onward and upward. Grateful to still be here doing this hobby-as-job for whatever time I have!
-Clayton
PS - here’s a nice chat with Martin on Ben Smith’s Small Voice podcast
2025 12 05
Boot for you, boot for me. Chicago, Illinois. December, 2022. © Clayton Hauck
This city will get its finances in order one way or another, eventually, maybe.
-Clayton
2025 11 25
That Tiny House. Chicago, Illinois. December, 2022. © Clayton Hauck
Here it is! My oldest known capture of That Tiny House on the Ricoh GRiiix. Perhaps it will be a book one day.
Follow the tag link to see more! One logistical issue I’m a little bummed about is that I start a new blog each year and I’m unable to carry tags over from previous years. Maybe one day I will find myself with far too much time on my hands and I will migrate everything over to a new platform. But realistically I doubt this day will come.
-Clayton
2025 11 24
New flag, who dis? Chicago, Illinois. December, 2022. © Clayton Hauck
Previously, I wrote about how much of the traffic to this here blog has been coming from China (See: 2025 11 07). Well, that trend has only accelerated since that post and I’m now seeing over 70% of all traffic being of Chinese-origin. The only logical conclusions I can draw from this are:
I’m big in China!
My previous most frequent site visitor (my mom) has a computer so riddled with Chinese spyware and malware that her USA-based desktop computer is showing up as being Chinese.
My blog host (Squarespace) recently sold out to private equity and the new owners are boosting traffic to owners of websites with fragile egos (myself) in hopes to get us to stick around and pay them more money.
Whatever the actual reason for this situation, I will now translate each blog post into Mandarin Chinese (for my loyal readers who never comment and may not be human) in hopes to further increase my reach in my new favorite country:
之前我写过，这个博客的大部分流量都来自中国（参见：2025年11月7日）。自从那篇文章之后，这个趋势只增不减，现在我看到超过 70% 的访问量都来自中国。对此我只能得出以下几个合乎逻辑的结论：
我在中国很火！
我之前访问我网站最频繁的人（我妈），她的电脑大概已经被各种中国的间谍软件和恶意软件折腾得不成样子，以至于她在美国的台式机现在都被显示成来自中国的流量。
我的博客主机（Squarespace）最近卖给了私募基金，新老板为了让自尊心脆弱的网站主（比如我）继续留下并付更多钱，正在人为地提高我们的网站流量。
不管实际原因是什么，我现在决定把每篇博客文章都翻译成中文普通话（献给我那些从不留言、也许不一定是人类的忠实读者），以期在我如今最喜欢的国家进一步扩大影响力
-Clayton (拜拜)
2025 11 12
Lil Durk’s childhood home. Chicago, Illinois. October, 2025. © Clayton Hauck
While driving around the south side after a photo assignment, my car’s navigation alerted me I was passing Lil Durk’s house. While I was previously engaged with documenting Chicago’s music scene in my younger days, I mostly got out of the scene during the rise of drill, so missed a lot of what Chicago is largely known for these days. I’m not very familiar with Durk, but a quick read of his wiki page is, if anything, fascinting:
On May 31, 2014, Durk's cousin OTF Nunu also known as Nuski was shot and killed.[101] Then, on March 27, 2015, Uchenna "OTF Chino Dolla" Agina, Durk's friend and manager, was also shot dead.[102] On November 6, 2020, Lil Durk's affiliate and fellow rapper King Von was fatally shot outside a nightclub in Atlanta.[103] On June 6, 2021, Durk's brother, Dontay "DThang" Banks Jr, was shot and killed outside of a Chicago nightclub.[104][105]
Chicago has a bad reputation for crime, guns, and murder. Of course these things happen here, but the city is so much bigger and broader than these headlines. That said, reading Durk’s wiki page is a sad reminder of the paths so many of our children take after catching a wave of success through music. So many lives cut down too short. This isn’t something I aim to focus on with my photography, however, it’s also impossible to fully avoid and is a subject worth much closer examination in hopes of finding ways to avoid these violent spirals in future generations.
Summarizing someone’s life through a single sentence on wikipedia does not do him justice, but today Durk sits in prison awaiting trial for murder-for-hire. They took away his key to the city. His childhood home sits, as it has for decades, visibly unaffected by the transcendent highs and brutal lows cast into this world by one child who grew up inside of its walls.
[check out the video below if you want more backstory]
-Clayton
2025 10 15
Free money. Chicago, Illinois. November, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
I’ve really been going through it at work lately. My boss is just riding me very hard and I’m putting all of my waking hours into the job with no downtime to relax and enjoy life. The irony, of course, is that I am my own boss and these jobs I’m doing are of my own making (photography gigs, studio managing, bookshop tasks). While sitting in the newly-renovated Old Post Office eating a sandwich for lunch, after wrapping two early morning editorial portraits, it hit me — in my two decades of doing photography as a job, I can’t recall ever taking a single “sick day” or missing an assignment due to being sick, crabby, too tired, etc. Sure, non-shoot days are different and I fuck off quite regularly, but as a freelancer, it’s not really possible to miss an assignment for nearly any reason.
This thought occurred to me after I’d had an especially hilarious run of work, spending all weekend at the studio editing photos and managing events. A Sunday dinner event went late and I ended up leaving the studio at 1am, setting my alarm for 5:30am, getting up on three hours of sleep and driving myself to the south side to do a scheduled portrait shoot. As I frantically cleaned up the studio as efficiently as I could (the studio had to get clean as there was also a casting the following morning), I laughed at the situation I’d put myself in.
If I had a “normal job,” it would’ve been a no brainer to fib being sick and sleep in that following morning. But I’m a freelance photographer, so off I went to make the images.
The weird thing is, I’m glad it played out like this! Had I been able to skip the work day, I would’ve missed the most incredible sunrise I’d ever experienced as I drove downtown on the fluid, pre-rush hour Kennedy Expressway. The first portrait shoot went well; I met a stray cat; then I had a few hours of time to myself to explore Hyde Park and the surrounding area (been amazed by how big and beautiful Chicago is lately). I stopped in to Powell’s and grabbed a few photobooks before heading to my second shoot downtown, which was also an enjoyable one. After wrapping that, it was sandwich time, where I pondered the weirdness of my jobs and my life, while feeling fortunate I had it this way, despite the occasional extreme situations I find myself in.
-Clayton
2025 10 11
Sunflowers. Chicago, Illinois. August. 2025. © Clayton Hauck
Whenever someone dies, immediately everyone jumps on social media and talks about how they are affected by the passing. I’m not sure why, but I’ve always been bothered by this. It’s no secret humans love to make everything about themselves. Someone’s end becomes your new cause for a minute, a day. Maybe this isn’t such a bad thing, after all. I think it triggers my Selfish Radar, which admittedly is fine-tuned, as I’m endlessly bothered by thinking of myself first.
I met Tony Fitzpatrick only briefly, a few months back, at the memorial service for my artist friend Cooper. Tony was nice, well spoken, and thoughtful. My imposter syndrome kicked in later after looking up his work and realizing I both loved it and had seen it around, yet wasn’t able to connect the dots and know who the face was behind the art.
Being an artist is a damn hard line of work. Tony’s work was incredible and he was, by all account from my own social network, one of the city’s finest — yet I hardly knew him. Maybe I am an imposter or maybe it’s just really damn hard to get people to see your genius, even when you have it in spades.
-Clayton
2025 10 10
The Next Picture Show. Dixon, Illinois. August, 2025. © Clayton Hauck
This year, I had an idea for a photo project I really wanted to attempt. Sadly, if never came together mostly due to me not having any time to dedicate to it.
There’s always next year, so they say.
-Clayton
2025 10 08
Chair. Chicago, Illinois. August, 2025. © Clayton Hauck
Have a seat, why don’t I? I’m days behind on updating this here blog, and it’s mostly because I haven’t had a moment of time to myself this week.
-Clayton
2025 09 11
Bay Theater. Ashland, Wisconsin. July, 2025. © Clayton Hauck
Seeking Stephen Shore. Didn’t find him, but got the book.
-Clayton
2025 08 23
It’s important to have friends. Chicago, Illinois. July, 2025. © Clayton Hauck
A quick self check-in today, as I scramble to get a bunch of shit done before tomorrow’s tenth Realm photobook and portrait popup. I’ve been putting a lot of hours into this new side project (thanks, Covid!), and it’s important to take a moment to consider why. The monetary gain is far from guaranteed, so why sink countless hours of my already precious time into an endeavor with no promise of success? There are many reasons, really, most of which I won’t get into here today. But perhaps the biggest reason for doing a photobook popup shop, for me, is to get out of my comfort zone. Much as this here blog has been an outlet for me to post dumb photos on the internet for not many people to look at, the larger mission is to retrain my brain to see and think about things differently than I had previously. To expand my horizons.
This image is one I’m a fan of and it was made solely because I was out of the house working a Realm popup. While this example is quite literal (and you don’t need a bookshop to get out of the house and make photos), the larger benefits of putting time into a book shop have all been far more indirect and even abstract. The simple act of spending time looking at the work of other talented photographers has felt a lot like school (in a good way, not the shitty way). It has reshaped my view of what is possible with my own photography and it has changed the way I see my relationship with the medium and that has me quite excited. And perhaps most importantly, I’m making new connections and forming new friendships with other photo-obsessed humans like myself.
Yesterday, our humble lil Realm got its business banking account (after snagging an LLC and EIN the week prior), so we are legit in the eyes of our government. I hope that in the weeks and months to come, we can turn the venture into something that both feels legit to us and to the broader photography community in Chicago and beyond. Stop by Parson’s tomorrow (Sunday) from 12-6pm and see what we have going on. It should be a fun one.
-Clayton
2025 07 16
Greed. Do you see it? Chicago, Illinois. June 2025. © Clayton Hauck
You don’t need to leave your neighborhood to make good photos. This is what my dog Buddy has taught me. He’s also harassing me to finally print those zines I’ve been meaning to get to. Okay, Buddy. I’m on it!
-Clayton
2025 07 01
Dead plant. Chicago, Illinois. June, 2025. © Clayton Hauck
While out doing yard work this morning, I was pondering the idea of time, and how it’s so beneficial to work on tasks with the figurative wind at your back. It took me hours to give our yard a minimal dose of needed water, as I aim to help the plants I wish to thrive grow as big as they can in the time they have. Had Mother Nature decided to do the job for me, it would have been completed in mere minutes without my assistance. This may be an obvious observation, but lately I’m using this analogy quite a lot in my own life. As my list of tasks grows larger than possible to accomplish as one person, I can either choose triage or expand my capabilities through the help of others. Neglect is, of course, also an option. Like this plant, parts of my life will wither and die, with likely undesired weeds taking their place.
The garden is life. Everything can be compared to the garden.
-Clayton
2025 06 26
Another Mr Peepers. Chicago, Illinois. May, 2025. © Clayton Hauck
It’s been too long since a Mr Peepers has made an appearance on this here blog.
-Clayton
2025 06 24
Yard bags. Pekin, Illinois. March, 2025. © Clayton Hauck
If the shot isn’t interesting enough, just add a peace sign.
This snap spoke to me today because part of the reason I fell so behind on posting was: yard work. It’s that time of the year when all of the things which had been rumbling below the surface exploded upward once we got one of those much-needed rain showers. Our yard was transformed, seemingly overnight, from a respectable space to a showcase of weeds and invasive garden auditioners.
One fun takeaway from having a yard, that I think of often, is how plants are a lot like people. They all have different styles and sensibilities; some move fast while others take their time. The strategies for survival are as varied as the personality types of people. I like thinking about how all of us living things are kind of the same, yet so very different.
-Clayton
2025 06 23
Another day, another busted car. Chicago, Illinois. September, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
This is one of my favorite Busted Cars. I know I keep saying it, but I really do think a zine is needed to house these images. If only I’d been neatly organizing them on my hard drives. I need to get on the cloud or whatever y’all are using to search your image libraries these days.
-Clayton
2025 06 22
Open. Be Back Tuesday. Dixon, Illinois. May, 2025. © Clayton Hauck
It’s wild how quickly time moves on once you de-prioritize something from your life.
-Clayton
2025 06 20
I see you (me). Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. September, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
Today (yesterday), I hosted an art photography show at my studio, some of which was my own work. We also hosted our photobook popup shop (Realm) at the event. While still photography-related, both of these ventures are still quite new to me. Earlier in the day, we met with two of Chicago’s most well-connected art photography people and I found myself feeling quite intimidated, if I’m being honest.
Anyway, this piece by Cate Hall entitled How to be more agentic was sent to me a few days ago by my pal Jack and it touches on a lot of the things I have going on in my life currently. It’s a quick read and well worth your time (and it only took me a week to get through it because, well, I’m grinding too hard for my own good).
-Clayton
2025 06 18
House in spring. Mt Sterling, Illinois. March, 2025. © Clayton Hauck
I printed some recent Ill Wandering images in black & white, this one included, for a photography show this Friday, June 20th, at my studio. If you’re one of the three people who will see this post and are free that night, it would be swell if you could swing on through! There will be drinks and snacks, along with photos from two other photographers and our Realm photobook popup shop. In a way, it’s kind of like my own art photography coming out party, or at least that’s what it feels like.
More info about the event can be found here.
-Clayton