2024 02 07
I love simple images like this. Do I wish there was a striking woman in a blue dress holding a red balloon and a cake on her way to a birthday party slightly off-center in frame? Yes. Should I use AI to make it happen? No. But I did!
You gotta hand it to AI: matching the dress (even tho I specified a different color) with the window shades was a brilliant move. The mutilated face also adds a nice touch and makes you wonder the backstory to this woman. Was she just splashed with a cup of acid while still keeping a positive attitude about it? I’d love to know her story and it’s truly what makes this an iconic image, fully thanks to AI.
-Clayton
Street scene in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. November, 2023. © Clayton Hauck
I love simple images like this. Do I wish there was a striking woman in a blue dress holding a red balloon and a cake on her way to a birthday party slightly off-center in frame? Yes. Should I use AI to make it happen? No — but I did!
You gotta hand it to AI: Matching the dress (even tho I specified a different color) with the window shades was a brilliant move. The mutilated face also adds a nice touch and makes you wonder the backstory to this woman. Was she just splashed with a cup of acid while still keeping a positive attitude about it? I’d love to know her story and it’s truly what makes this an iconic image, fully thanks to AI.
-Clayton
2024 02 06
I used to have a therapist, now I have a daily blog.
-Clayton
Dog peeking out window (Mr. Peepers) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. November, 2023. © Clayton Hauck
I used to have a therapist, now I have a daily blog.
Also, I have a new series going with these window creatures I’m affectionately calling Mr. Peepers. You can peep it here: refrakt series window-creatures-mr-peepers
(more images in the series to be added soon!)
I really like the Refrakt site, so check it out if you’re not familiar; I’m behind on adding new images to my page, though, as I’m busy posting here every damn day. 😛
-Clayton
2024 02 05
One of my favorite things in life is, any opportunity I’m given to do so, bragging that I’ve read Robert Caro’s The Power Broker. It is a large, imposing book. It is also an amazingly detailed, informative (esp for urbanist nerds but also full of great general human stories), and well written.
I recently stumbled upon this video below while browsing YouTube and pondering if I will finally start up my own channel after years of contemplating it. This video both got me excited to finally crack Caro’s four book LBJ series (I just have to do this — book review to follow in approx. twelve years time) and start my own YouTube channel… not for social media fame but simply for the motivation to make new stuff and put it out there. There are so many pages that just exist, filled with great content and not many views. While I imagine this is turnoff for most content creators, I love the idea of consistently making work, largely for myself, grinding away in true Robert Caro style, and putting it out there for people to discover, or more likely completely ignore.
-Clayton
Street scene I stumbled upon in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. November, 2023. © Clayton Hauck
One consistent thing in life is, any opportunity I’m given to do so, bragging that I’ve read Robert Caro’s The Power Broker (have I mentioned I’ve read Robert Caro’s The Power Broker? Every last word of it!). It is a large, imposing book. It is also an amazingly detailed, informative (esp for urbanist nerds but also full of great general human stories), and well written.
I recently stumbled upon this video (below) while browsing youtube and pondering if I will finally start up my own channel after years of contemplating it. The video both got me excited to finally crack Caro’s four book LBJ series (I just have to do this — book review to follow in approx. twelve years) and start my own youtube channel… not for social media fame but simply for the motivation to make new stuff and put it out there. There are so many channels that just exist; they are filled with great content but not many views. While I imagine this is turnoff for most content creators, I love the idea of consistently making work, largely for myself, grinding away in true Robert Caro fashion, day in, day out — shoot, edit, post, repeat — and putting it out there for people to discover; or more likely completely ignore. Sometimes it’s the process that has the most value.
-Clayton
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 02 03
The world is ending!
While, yes, shit is wild these days. I do think a large part of our perception of this feeling is because social media curates and feeds us all the craziest shit, as if these things are happening all around us at all times. This, in turn, affects our moods and causes some of us to emulate the madness ourselves, leading to a self-fulfilling prophecy of madness.
Thus, a simple one photo a day is how we focus our energy around here.
Stay sane.
-Clayton
Dark & moody street scene featuring a parking-dibs chair. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. November, 2023. © Clayton Hauck
The world is ending!
While, yes, shit is wild these days. I do think a large part of our perception of this feeling is because social media curates and feeds us all the craziest shit, as if these things are happening all around us at all times. This, in turn, affects our moods and causes us to emulate the insanity ourselves, leading to a self-fulfilling prophecy of madness. Unless it’s bolder and crazier than the last round of content, nobody takes notice. Soon, we’ll all be Florida.
Thus, a simple one photo a day is how we focus our energy around here.
Stay sane. ✌️
-Clayton
2024 02 02
So why Pointing at Stuff, anyway?
The name hit me as being quite a brilliant way of looking at photography. “Photography is like pointing at things you see in life,” as observed by Richard Avedon and noted by myself while reading What Becomes a Legend Most, a biography of Avedon by Philip Gefter. Pointingatthings.com was not available but this domain was, so I went with stuff.
More recently, I came across another bit of Avedon wisdom via the great podcast A Small Voice: Conversations With Photographers. In episode 195 Ben talks with photographer Aaron Schuman about a time when Aaron wrote to Richard Avedon, inviting him to his simple college exhibition. Avedon wrote back, apologizing for being too busy to attend, but added:
“The only advice I have is that you do something connected to photography every day of your life and you’ll be surprised what happens.”
— Richard Avedon
Aaron took this advice to heart, saturating his life with things connected to photography (reading about it, attending exhibitions, talking with friends, studying, interning, assisting, etc) opposed to “constantly making pictures without reflecting on them.”
Admittedly, I tend to be the guy constatnly making pictures without reflecting on them. This blog is a small way to expand my photography vision into things beyond the act of making pictures.
-Clayton
Simple scene from one of my favorite cities, Pittsburgh, PA. November, 2023. © Clayton Hauck
So why Pointing at Stuff, anyway?
The name hit me as being quite a brilliant way of looking at photography. “Photography is like pointing at things you see in life,” as observed by Richard Avedon and noted by myself while reading What Becomes a Legend Most, a biography of Avedon by Philip Gefter. Pointingatthings.com was not available but this domain was, so I went with stuff.
More recently, I came across another bit of Avedon wisdom via the great podcast A Small Voice: Conversations With Photographers. In episode 195 Ben talks with photographer Aaron Schuman about a time when Aaron wrote to Richard Avedon, inviting him to his simple college exhibition. Avedon wrote back, apologizing for being too busy to attend, but added:
“The only advice I have is that you do something connected to photography every day of your life and you’ll be surprised what happens.”
Aaron took this advice to heart, saturating his life with things connected to photography (reading about it, attending exhibitions, talking with friends, studying, interning, assisting, etc) opposed to “constantly making pictures without reflecting on them.”
Admittedly, I tend to be the guy constatnly making pictures without reflecting on them. This blog is a small way to expand my photography vision into things beyond the act of making pictures.
-Clayton
2024 02 01
Doing a new post every sinlge day is, admittedly, a bit much. I’ve had the idea to attempt this for years and even started the process once, quickly abandoning it after only a few days. You miss that first day and feel like shit, then let it go a few more because why not, then feel like a failure altogether and write the whole project off as a bad idea to make yourself feel better about the whole thing.
In this attempt, the idea came to me rather suddenly over the holiday break. I was stuck at home with Covid which I tested positive for on Christmas. Thinking the new year was only a few days away, I could quickly get a simple website up and running, and when I found the .com domain was still available, took it as a sign I needed to act fast and make it happen. I spent a full day building a buffer of simple posts to give me some momentum. The buffer is key! It’s like a streaming video service loading ahead, only with my thoughts and photos, in case some days the internet connection otherwise known as my motivation isn’t working as well. I currently have about 20 days worth of posts already scheduled to go live. If I should unexpectedly perish, you’ll still get a couple weeks of dumb thoughts out of me!
This post date, however, is only a few days out as I write this and had been sitting empty in the draft folder. Awaiting inspiration. Maybe the image isn’t strong enough to spark an idea? This is sort of a bland image that I’ve considered deleting on multiple occasions but just has something about it I like, which led me to leave it in, awaiting that inspiration. While it may be a stretch, it finally hit me: the house appears as a bit of a blank slate. This blog is also a canvas of sorts which I’m using to try things, experiment, play, see what happens.
I woke up this morning while a dream was playing out in my head. The specific details don’t matter, but my mind seemed to be working out some kind of project, which led me to contemplate things a bit deeper after I was awake, which led to some constructive progress on a possible future project. I feel strongly that doing work consistently, putting in the time, this blog, is a key way to train your brain and keep it on task. All of the best ideas come when you’re sound asleep and they can formulate without the pesky distractions of life and anxiety-fueled second guessing. Doing something every day is a great way to keep it top of mind when you go to sleep and have the freedom of unrestricted thought.
With that, goodnight, and see you tomorrow.
-Clayton
Mundane street scene, which has a little something going for it which I can’t fully articulate in my awakened state. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. November, 2023. © Clayton Hauck
Doing a new post every sinlge day is, admittedly, a bit much. I’ve had the idea to attempt this for years and even started the process once, quickly abandoning it after only a few days. You miss that first day and feel like shit, then let it go a few more because why not, then feel like a failure altogether and write the whole project off as a bad idea to make yourself feel better about the whole thing.
In this attempt, the idea came to me rather suddenly over the holiday break. I was stuck at home with Covid, which I tested positive for on Christmas. Thinking the new year was only a few days away, I could quickly get a simple website up and running, and when I found the .com domain was still available, took it as a sign I needed to act fast and make it happen. I spent a full day building a buffer of simple posts to give me some momentum. The buffer is key! It’s like a streaming video service loading ahead, only with my thoughts and photos, in case some days the internet connection otherwise known as my motivation isn’t working as well. I currently have about 20 days worth of posts already scheduled to go live. If I should unexpectedly perish, you’ll still get a couple weeks of dumb thoughts out of me!
This post date, however, is only a few days out as I write this and had been sitting empty in the draft folder. Awaiting inspiration. Maybe the image isn’t strong enough to spark an idea? This is sort of a bland image that I’ve considered deleting on multiple occasions but just has something about it I like, which led me to leave it in, awaiting that inspiration. While it may be a stretch, it finally hit me: the house appears as a bit of a blank slate. This blog is also a canvas of sorts which I’m using to try things, experiment, play, see what happens.
I woke up this morning while a dream was playing out in my head. The specific details don’t matter, but my mind seemed to be working out some kind of project; this led me to contemplate things a bit deeper after I was awake; this led to some constructive progress on a possible future project. I feel strongly that doing work consistently, putting in the time, this blog, is a key way to train your brain and keep it on task. All of the best ideas come when you’re sound asleep (or in the shower or on a run) and they can formulate without the pesky distractions of life and anxiety-fueled second guessing. Doing something every day is a great way to keep it top of mind when you go to sleep and have the freedom of unrestricted thought.
With that, goodnight, and see you tomorrow.
-Clayton
2024 01 31
I was once nominated for a photojournalism award for a project I worked on for Chicago Magazine.
I lost to John White, obviously.
Here’s a nice mini-doc about legendary Chicago photojournalist John White via CBS News Chicago. Direct link here.
Look — we made it a whole month posting daily! Thanks for stopping by!
-Award-nominated photographer Clayton Hauck
Reflection in puddle. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. November, 2023. © Clayton Hauck
I’m so glad I don’t shoot weddings anymore…
I was once nominated for a photojournalism award for a project I worked on for Chicago Magazine.
I lost to John White, obviously.
Here’s a nice mini-doc about legendary Chicago photojournalist John White via CBS News Chicago. Direct link here.
Look — we made it a whole month posting daily! Thanks for stopping by!
-Award-nominated non-wedding photographer Clayton Hauck
2024 01 30
The powers that control society — government, military, corporations, media, billionaires, etc, etc — used to have quite a firm grip on The Narrative that drives society. It used to be that creating content was an expensive and difficult pain in the ass. These days, we all have a media outlet in our pocket.
News outlets in developing countries are usually protected by barbed wire walls and high security access because these locations can be used as tools of chaos in the hands of the wrong people. These days, the bad people all have a Twitter and TikTok account and largely don’t need the news outlet.
I’m a huge fan of youtuber Jules Terpak, who does commentary on digital media and technology. She dropped this video called The power of TikTok edits which blew my mind and I’ve been obsessing over it ever since, trying to understand what it all means.
As an Old, I’ve made a conscious decision to steer clear of TikTok for a variety of reasons. I’m not yet sure this is a smart decision because I know the power it has and it might be in my best interest to understand how society is interacting with these new forms of media as it’s kind of my job. Jules’ video, posted below, is super worthwhile and was a terrifying peek into some of what’s going on on the platform.
I’m not going to claim to have some profound takeaway from this and I’m still churning through it in my head, however, I’m a bit shocked by how BAD much of this viral content is. The videos that are pulling in millions of views and driving culture are… largely awful and not even original works. There is no quality control anymore. It’s almost like good quality is actually now a negative as it reveals itself as being inauthentic since someone clearly put energy, and therefor money, into making it.
Fuck.
As a former video editor myself, I’ll be the first to tell you how valuable that skill is and I’m now convinced I should probably dust off my Adobe Premiere workstation if I want to have any relevance as a human in society moving forward.
All Hail The Algorithm (and whoever controls them).
-Clayton
US Steel Tower, the city’s tallest building, as seen through an alley in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. November, 2023. © Clayton Hauck
The powers that control society — government, military, corporations, media, billionaires, etc, etc — used to have quite a firm grip on The Narrative that drives society. It used to be that creating content was an expensive and difficult pain in the ass. These days, we all have a media outlet in our pocket.
News outlets in developing countries are usually protected by barbed wire walls and high security access because these locations can be used as tools of chaos in the hands of the wrong people. These days, the bad people all have a Twitter and TikTok account and largely don’t need the news outlet.
I’m a huge fan of youtuber Jules Terpak, who does commentary on digital media and technology. She dropped this video called The power of TikTok edits which blew my mind and I’ve been obsessing over it ever since, trying to understand what it all means.
As an Old, I’ve made a conscious decision to steer clear of TikTok for a variety of reasons. I’m not yet sure this is a smart decision because I know the power it has and it might be in my best interest to understand how society is interacting with these new forms of media, esp considering it’s kind of my job. Jules’ video, posted below, is super worthwhile and was an ominous (or is this just my warped perspective as an Old?) peek into some of what’s going on on the platform.
I’m not going to claim to have some profound takeaway from this and I’m still churning through it in my head, however, I’m a bit shocked by how BAD much of this viral content is. The videos that are pulling in millions of views and driving culture are… largely aesthetically awful and not even original works. There is no quality control anymore, I guess? Speed, timing, and the almighty algorithm are vastly more important than aesthetic value in this world. It’s almost like good quality is actually now shunned as it reveals itself as being inauthentic, since someone clearly put energy, and therefore money, into making it.
Fuck.
As a former video editor myself, I’ll be the first to tell you how valuable this skill is and I’m now convinced I should probably dust off my Adobe Premiere workstation if I want to have any relevance as a human in society moving forward. We’ve sure come a long, long way from Battleship Potemkin.
All Hail The Algorithm (and whoever controls them).
-Clayton
2024 01 29
Pittsburgh is one of my favorite places. I fell in love immediately after my first visit as a young kid who loved Sim City, entering on a road trip to New Jersey with my family, emerging from a Turnpike tunnel as the skyline comes into view across the river with bridges lining the horizon in each direction. It really is an epic visual.
In November, I drove out to New Jersey again for a family visit and stopped in Pittsburgh for the night to do a bit of exploring.
On the subject of Pittsburgh and Sim City, there’s a guy recreating the city within the game Cities: Skylines, which is both an amazing game and remarkable project which checks all the boxes of my nerdiness. Check it out (a recent video linked below) if you love cities and transit and simulations and Pittsburgh and Cities: Skylines like I do! 😛
-Clayton
Downtown Pittsburgh’s PPG Tower. November, 2023. © Clayton Hauck
Pittsburgh is one of my favorite places. I fell in love immediately after my first visit as a young kid who loved Sim City, entering on a road trip to New Jersey with my family, emerging from a Turnpike tunnel as the skyline comes into view across the river with bridges lining the horizon in each direction. It really is an epic visual.
In November, I drove out to New Jersey again for a family visit and stopped in Pittsburgh for the night to do a bit of exploring.
On the subject of Pittsburgh and Sim City, there’s a guy recreating the city within the game Cities: Skylines, which is both an amazing game and remarkable project which checks all the boxes of my nerdiness. Check it out (a recent video linked below) if you love cities and transit and simulations and Pittsburgh and Cities: Skylines like I do! 😛
-Clayton
2024 01 28
In another life, I’d love to be a hobo.
In this life, I’m too old and comfortable to be a hobo.
I’ve spent many hours watching train hopping videos and train point-of-view videos on youtube.
Stobe the Hobo is a favorite of mine. He was killed by a train. RIP Stobe.
Stobe left behind a nice lil gift of videos for us, which can be found here on his youtube page.
I have a short playlist of various train-themed videos, which I will likely continue to upload over the years. If curious, you can find that here.
Choo-Choo!
-Clayton
The Ohio River as it snakes through Steubenville, Ohio on the border with West Virginia. November, 2023. © Clayton Hauck
In another life, I’d love to be a hobo. Wandering the lands with little rhyme or reason. Discovering things as they came my way, blowing in the breeze.
In this life, I’m too old and comfortable to be a hobo.
I’ve spent many hours watching train hopping videos and train point-of-view videos on youtube.
Stobe the Hobo is a favorite of mine. He was killed by a train. RIP Stobe.
Stobe left behind a nice lil treasure trove of videos for us, which can be found here on his youtube page.
I have a short playlist of various train-themed videos, which I will likely continue to upload over the years. If curious, you can find that here.
Choo-Choo!
-Clayton
2024 01 27
Be the Mysterious Artist.
I am not the mysterious artist. I am the oversharing, throw it all against the wall and see what sticks, just happy to be here artist. I’m not sure I’ll ever be the mysterious artist but I do see the appeal. Anyway, enjoy the daily photo!
-Clayton
PS in college I worked at a local video store and, as the youngest employee at the store (that was 85% porn), I was always intimidated by what the other employees liked or listened to. Don’t get me wrong, my Employee Picks section was pretty fire, but in terms of music I typically let the others lead the way. One guy would listen to Tom Waits a lot and this track always stuck out to me as being so moody and cool.
Steubenville, Ohio. November, 2023. © Clayton Hauck
Be the Mysterious Artist.
I am not the mysterious artist. I am the oversharing, throw it all against the wall and see what sticks, just happy to be here artist. I’m not sure I’ll ever be the mysterious artist but I do see the appeal. Anyway, enjoy the daily photo!
-Clayton
PS in college I worked at a local video store and, as the youngest employee at the store (that was 85% porn), I was always intimidated by what the other employees liked or listened to. Don’t get me wrong, my Employee Picks section was pretty fire, but in terms of music I’d typically let the others lead the way. One guy would listen to Tom Waits a lot and this track always stuck out to me as being so moody and cool.
2024 01 26
A social media app that translates people in real time using AI will become a global sensation. It will be like Chatroulette but without all the masturbation. People will briefly come together and unite in wonder and awe of how amazing this technology is! We can communicate with each other despite the language barrier. Then, slowly, the brands will start to infiltrate this miracle and slip in sponsored content here and there. Who’s to know, right? Well, one day the algorithm will glitch out or maybe an executive seeking a raise will ramp the promotional content knob to maximum and every sentence said by every person across the world for one full day will be: "Tide Pods are cool and get my clothes clean and I don’t dare eat them [chuckle in the style of user].”
Then, everyone will delete the app and go back to disliking everyone else, while forgetting this miracle technology even exists.
-Clayton
Row of apartment buildings at night photographed while ordering a pizzas across the street at Joe’s. Wheeling, Illinois. January, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
A social media app that translates people in real time using AI to whatever language the user selects will become a global sensation. It will be like Chatroulette without all the masturbation. People across the globe will unite in wonder and awe by how amazing this technology is! We can communicate with each other despite the language barrier. Then, slowly, the brands will start to infiltrate this miracle and slip in sponsored content here and there. Who’s to know, right? Well, one day the algorithm will glitch or maybe an executive seeking a raise will ramp the promotional content knob to maximum and every sentence said by every person across the world for one full day will be: "Tide Pods are cool and get my clothes clean and I don’t dare eat them [chuckle in the style of user].”
Then, everyone will delete the app and go back to disliking everyone else, while forgetting this miracle technology even exists.
-Clayton
2024 01 25
Another rest stop image made while driving out to New Jersey.
I saw this guy eating as I was leaving and loved the way the light was hitting. While making eye contact, I slowly raised my camera and made one perfect image, afterward he rose from his seat and ran after me. He threw a punch, I dodged it, swung back and knocked him out in one slug.
Just kidding! I was too timid to make the photo without asking so I went back inside and asked if I could take his photo. He was super confused but seemed to agree, at which point I went back outside, made a few images, went back in to show him my executed vision. I don’t think he agreed with its artistic value, but he did tell me I don’t need to ask permission to photograph people in public. This got me thinking about how much photography has changed in the last few decades and how I used to agree with this sentiment as I proudly carried my Nikon FM-2 around town making street photos of whatever I wanted. These days, this attitude might get you knocked out, whether technically legal or not.
Overall 10/10 awkward experience but glad it happened and love the image. His jumbled face from the reflections on the dirty glass.
Classic Mundane America.
-Clayton
Man eats at Pennsylvania rest stop. November, 2023. © Clayton Hauck
Another rest stop image made while driving out to New Jersey.
I saw this guy eating as I was leaving and loved the way the light was hitting. While making eye contact, I slowly raised my camera and made one perfect image, afterward he rose from his seat and ran after me. He threw a punch, I dodged it, swung back and knocked him out in one slug.
Just kidding! I was too timid to make the photo without asking so I went back inside and asked if I could take his photo. He was super confused but seemed to agree, at which point I went back outside, made a few images, went back in to show him my executed vision. I don’t think he agreed with its artistic value, but he did tell me I don’t need to ask permission to photograph people in public. This got me thinking about how much photography has changed in the last few decades and how I used to agree with this sentiment as I proudly carried my Nikon FM-2 around town making street photos of whatever I wanted. These days, this attitude might get you knocked out, whether technically legal or not.
Overall 10/10 awkward experience but glad it happened and love the image. His jumbled face from the reflections on the dirty glass.
Classic Mundane America.
-Clayton
2024 01 24
I’m a sucker for perspective. Seeking out insights and ideas in, admittedly, places that tend to be more of a waste of time (ex: YouTube videos from other photographers). I spend more time that I should digesting YouTube and am often reminding myself that I should be spending the time creating things myself, be it a YouTube video, photography, whatever.
For like ten years now I’ve been telling myself this is the year I’ll start that YouTube channel. Maybe this is the year?
One of the people I most look up to in the photo world is allegedly starting a channel, which makes me excited and also rekindles my thinking to do it myself.
Some things holding me back: It’s a lot of work! Nobody will watch them! Not sure what to make videos about! Not sure I have a unique angle on anything so why bother! There’s too much content out there already!
But I don’t have a channel so I can only sit on the sidelines and get a bit jealous to see photographers I think I’m just as talented as, if not more so, growing channels to hundreds of thousands or millions of followers.
Today, I got click-baited into watching a video entitled: The Harsh Truths Every Photographer Needs to Hear in 2024 (partially because: what does he know that I don’t know?! partially because: fuck this guy, I know better than him!) and, well, I ended up really enjoying the video and wanted to spend some time digging into his main points from my own perspective. Those thoughts are below, along with a link to the video should you want to view it yourself.
Scene at a rest stop on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. November, 2023. © Clayton Hauck
I’m a sucker for perspective. Seeking out insights and ideas in, admittedly, places that tend to be more of a waste of time (ex: youtube videos from other photographers). I spend more time than I should digesting youtube and am often reminding myself that I should be spending the time creating things, be it a youtube video of my own, photography, whatever.
For like ten years now I’ve been telling myself this is the year I’ll start that youtube channel. Maybe this is the year?
One of the people I most look up to in the photo world is allegedly starting a channel, which makes me excited and rekindles my thinking to do it myself. (update: he’s been at it for a few weeks now! will dig more into this later…)
Some things holding me back are: It’s a lot of work! Nobody will watch them! Not sure what to make videos about! Not sure I have a unique angle on anything so why bother! There’s too much content out there already!
But I don’t have a channel so I can only sit on the sidelines and get a bit jealous to see photographers I think I’m just as talented as, if not more so, growing channels to hundreds of thousands or millions of followers.
Today, I got click-baited into watching one of these videos entitled: The Harsh Truths Every Photographer Needs to Hear in 2024 (partially because: what does he know that I don’t know?! partially because: fuck this guy, I know better than him!) and, well, I ended up really enjoying the video and wanted to spend some time digging into his main points from my own perspective. Those thoughts are below, along with a link to the video should you want to view it yourself.
Main points from the video:
Social media doesn’t need to be your strategy.
Wow. Such a healthy idea! And how disarming of this “social media” (yes I’m using this term disparagingly, as an asshole, but don’t really mean it) photographer to come out swinging by telling us you don’t even have to use Instagram if it’s something that makes you unhappy.
I struggle with social media immensely and am in a bit of an inflection point in what my relationship with it will be moving forward. Part of why I started this blog was to unshackle myself from Instagram, yet, I’m also using it more than I have in my entire pro career and really focusing on posting high quality work to it, while in years past it was more of an afterthought as to what I’d share.
Video is what people want these days.
Again, hugely touchy subject for me personally. I’ve been largely ignoring the pleas from my agent for years now, telling me I really need to shoot and share motion work to get new clients. I know this as fact, but haven’t put in the effort to grow a motion reel, mostly because I don’t want to. Video doesn’t excite me as much as stills do (I’m weird?) but I know I need to grow up and get a big boy motion reel online right away. It’s not even going to be hard! My background is in film production and editing. I direct motion jobs fairly regularly. It’s just… I’m being stingy and want success to happen on my own terms, which is sometimes a nice way to go out of business. Planning to dig into this subject more in the coming weeks.
Why are you even doing this photography thing? Have an answer to this.
I like this question and haven’t really considered it too much over the years. I think what he’s getting at is: are you just doing this to get famous, score chicks (can we still use this term, even jokingly?), grow a social media account, etc, or do you really have a passion for photography? For me, the things I like least about photography-as-a-job are these things that often drive people to become a photogrpaher to begin with, so this is not much of an issue for me — I’d still do this job if I also workred as an accountant, I’ve just been fortunate enough to make a living at it thus far.
How do you self sabotage yourself?
As mentioned already, I tend to focus more on things I want to photograph and not the trendy video projects that will get me new clients. This point is a big one for me as it touches on an even bigger existential crisis I’m currently participating in which essentially boils down to: am I an Artist Photographer or am I a Tradesperson Photographer?
This is a larger debate we’ll save for another day.
I also self sabotage myself by watching too many youtube videos when I should be working.
Stop fearing failure.
This is a fun one for me as I think I have gotten worse at this as I’ve grown my career! Early on, I didn’t hold back and had no problem sharing with the world whatever came to me. As this photography thing became an actual job, I definitely began to over-think things or hold back on sharing certain thoughts or works as it might offend someone or scare off a potential new client.
Nobody owes you attention.
Yeah… I think this point is again more directed towards those seeking social media fame, however, I think it’s a great point to remember and one I believe in my core. I started this blog knowing I’d have maybe one or two visitors a day (update: we’re up to 4-5 per day now! hi mom 🤗) and perhaps still be there after a year of posting, but I like the challenge of figuring it out. What brings people here? What brings people back? Are there certain topics that resonate better with people? We’ll see! Or maybe we won’t! Nobody owes me attention.
Who you are = what you create
“If you don’t live it, it won’t come out of your horn.”
Scrolling social media is mostly procrastination.
Same goes for watching youtube videos. Another sensitive topic for me as I’ve found I have succeeded most in my career when I focus on creating over consuming. The challenging bit for me is keeping a balance, as I can and will get too myopic in my approach — obsessively making and sharing photos nonstop because it’s what I think I need to be doing at all times even when it’s not moving the needle in any way.
Shoutout to Evan Ranft for the video. He’s a smart guy and I’m fascinated by his approach to photography-as-a-job. He approaches making money in ways I wouldn’t have considered myself, mostly because I’m an Old Guy afraid of the internet. Being more of a salesperson is something I’ve shunned and not prioritized through the years, regrettably.
2024 01 23
Back in early 2022 I worked on a really fun piece for the Wall Street Journal which sent me down to Beverly Shores, Indiana to photograph some of the wild houses they have that were originally built for the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair. The Florida Tropical House, pictured here, is now on the market and available to rent for $2.5million (it’s on National Park property so residents to these houses lease not own).
More images from my WSJ assignment here 📸
Zillow listing for The Florida House here
Link to WSJ piece here (paywalled)
-Clayton
The Florida Tropical House. Beverly Shores, Indiana. February, 2022. © Clayton Hauck
Back in early 2022 I worked on a really fun piece for the Wall Street Journal which sent me down to Beverly Shores, Indiana to photograph some of the wild houses they have that were originally built for the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair. The Florida Tropical House, pictured here, is now on the market and available to rent for $2.5million (it’s on National Park property so residents to these unique houses can only lease, not own them).
More images from my WSJ assignment here 📸
Zillow listing for The Florida House here
Link to WSJ piece here (paywalled)
-Clayton
2024 01 22
Nobody wants ambiguity. They want excitement! They want certainty!
The Gray Area is dead. God is dead. Polarization is here to stay.
I think the reason everyone has a podcast, a YouTube channel, a TikTok, a blog (lol), etc etc etc is because legit we’re all trying to figure out what the new economy even is. What worked in the past no longer does and there isn’t (yet?) a blueprint (school?) to learn how to navigate these Weird Economic Times.
The only thing truly bankable these days is having an audience.
To get an audience, you need to give the people what they want.
And the people want one static image each and every day along with some obscure thoughts and ramblings.
Halleluja!
-Clayton
Nobody wants ambiguity. They want excitement! They want certainty!
The Gray Area is dead. God is dead. Polarization is here to stay.
I think the reason everyone now needs a Personal Brand, a podcast, a YouTube channel, a TikTok, a blog (lol), an S-Corporation (“Corporations are people!”), etc etc etc is because legit we’re all trying to figure out what the new economy even is. What worked in the past no longer does and there isn’t (yet?) a blueprint (school?) to learn how to navigate these Weird Economic Times.
The only thing truly bankable these days is having an audience.
To get an audience, you need to “go viral” … and give the people what they want.
And the people want one static image each and every day along with some obscure thoughts and ramblings.
Halleluja!
-Clayton
2024 01 21
*Warning: Political Content*
While I have no idea how this upcoming political election will play out, other than it being an unbearable experience for most of us, I wanted to air some thoughts on the topic.
Preface: Local politics have vastly more impact to most of us and are surprisingly easy to get involved in and make a difference. Of course, they are also wildly boring and therefor almost universally ignored. On that note, let’s chat about the Big Ticket Item, the president of the united states!
One angle that I think gets mostly forgotten or overlooked in US political discourse is: things change. Both the Democratic and Republican parties were vastly different not that long ago as they are made up of varying coalition of groups, interests, rich people, corporations, etc. My skrewball vision over the last few years is that we’d soon see the rise of a third viable party in this country — which would be a progressive/socialist party fueled by the anger of young, disenfranchised, and “left behind” voters — while the traditional conservative strong-government stability-rules types would side with an increasingly-conservative Democratic party (mostly because they still have the old power structures firmly in place) and the MAGA burn-the-system folks would complete their takeover of the Republican party.
While I have no love for Trump or the party he has commandeered, one thing I give Republicans credit for is having a bit of flexibility. Most of us had no confidence that Trump would actually win the nomination and become president. Even after he demolished the competition, debate after debate, we thought surely there would be something to stop this mess from happening. The same thing was playing out on the other side and that’s exactly what did happen! The Dems, terrified of losing their grip on the levers of power to an unknown, Independent entity named Bernie, used all their sway to make sure he didn’t take control away from them like Obama had done eight years prior. These two decisions: the GOP deciding to listen to voters and the Dems doing their best to ignore them, is likely what gave Trump the victory. If it does not bend, it will break.
So what happens next? Apparently the Supreme Court (which Trump largely installed) will tell us in the coming weeks after they decide whether states get to decide who goes on the ballot. You know, typical democracy will-of-the-voters stuff!
The political landscape of this country has shifted before and it is currently shifting again. How it ends nobody yet knows, but the parties that largely control our political destiny will not be the same as they are now forever.
I’m linking below a recent video from my favorite geopolitics writer Peter Zeihan which I think does a nice job summing up not how things have changed, might play out, and surely will get even weirder.
Vote!
-Clayton
Portrait of a participant at a Beer & Cameras event I hosted at my See You Soon studio. Novermber 12, 2023. © Clayton Hauck
*Warning: Political Content*
While I have no idea how this upcoming political election will play out, other than it being an unbearable experience for most of us, I wanted to air some thoughts on the topic.
Preface: Local politics have vastly more impact to most of us and are surprisingly easy to get involved in and make a difference. Of course, they are also wildly boring and therefor almost universally ignored. On that note, let’s chat about the Big Ticket Item, the president of the United States!
One angle that I think gets mostly forgotten or overlooked in US political discourse is: things change. Both the Democratic and Republican parties were vastly different not that long ago as they are made up of varying coalition of groups, interests, rich people, corporations, etc. My skrewball vision over the last few years is that we’d soon see the rise of a third viable party in this country — which would be a progressive/socialist party fueled by the anger of young, disenfranchised, and “left behind” voters — while the traditional conservative strong-government stability-rules types would side with an increasingly-conservative Democratic party (mostly because they still have the old power structures firmly in place) and the MAGA burn-the-system folks would complete their takeover of the Republican party.
While I have no love for Trump or the party he has commandeered, one thing I give Republicans credit for is having a bit of flexibility. Most of us had no confidence that Trump would actually win the nomination and become president. Even after he demolished the competition, debate after debate, we thought surely there would be something to stop this mess from happening. The same thing was playing out on the other side and that’s exactly what did happen! The Dems, terrified of losing their grip on the levers of power to an unknown, Independent entity named Bernie, used all their sway to make sure he didn’t take control away from them like Obama had done eight years prior. These two decisions: the GOP deciding to listen to voters and the Dems doing their best to ignore them, is likely what gave Trump the victory. If it does not bend, it will break.
So what happens next? Apparently the Supreme Court (which Trump largely installed) will tell us in the coming weeks after they decide whether states get to decide who goes on the ballot. You know, typical democracy will-of-the-voters stuff!
The political landscape of this country has shifted before and it is currently shifting again. How it ends nobody yet knows, but the parties that largely control our political destiny will not be the same as they are now forever.
I’m linking below a recent video from my favorite geopolitics writer Peter Zeihan which I think does a nice job (although I disagree with him that Trump can’t win) summing up how things have changed, might play out, and surely will get even weirder.
Vote!
-Clayton
2024 01 20
In America, and therefore the world, we now live in the Copy/Paste Economy. The land has been fully scanned, analysed, and assessed to deterime its exact valuation.
Mr. Walton used to plan his next store locations by flying over the land in an airplane. Now, all of this data is accessible via any number of services. Hey ChatGPT: calculate for me the best location to open a car wash based on existing vehicle purchase data, average household income, historical insurance data, weather, distance to existing competitor locations, google reviews, etc, etc, etc. There’s no longer a human element to any of these places. Each decision is made in a computer and the plans are duplicated from the previous project, while the factory in China pumps out another BAKERY LIQUOR signs and plops it on a boat for delivery in three weeks time.
-Clayton
Woodman’s parking lot. North Aurora, Illinois. November, 2023. © Clayton Hauck
In America, and therefore the world, we now live in the Copy/Paste Economy. The land has been fully scanned, analysed, and assessed to deterime its exact valuation.
Mr. Walton used to plan his next store locations by flying over the landscape in an airplane. Now, all of this data is accessible via any number of services. Hey ChatGPT: calculate for me the best location to open a car wash based on existing vehicle purchase data, average household income, historical insurance data, weather, distance to existing competitor locations, google reviews, etc, etc, etc. There’s no longer a human element to any of these Copy/Paste Places. Each decision is made in a computer and the plans are duplicated from the previous project, while the factory in China pumps out another BAKERY LIQUOR sign and plops it on a boat for delivery in three weeks time.
The only benefit is I always know precisely where the bathroom is at every stop on a road trip without needing to talk to anyone.
-Clayton
2024 01 19
They Might Be Giants “Why Does the Sun Shine?”
The sun beyond a silhouetted tree on a property in Lee Center, Illinois. November, 2023. © Clayton Hauck
They Might Be Giants “Why Does the Sun Shine?”
The sun is a mass of incandescent gas
A gigantic nuclear furnace
Where hydrogen is built into helium
At a temperature of millions of degrees
Yo ho, it's hot
The sun is not
A place where we could live
But here on Earth there'd be no life
Without the light it gives
We need its light
We need its heat
We need its energy
Without the sun
Without a doubt
There'd be no you and me
The sun is a mass of incandescent gas
A gigantic nuclear furnace
Where hydrogen is built into helium
At a temperature of millions of degrees
The sun is hot
It is so hot that everything on it is a gas
Iron, copper, aluminum, and many others
The sun is large
If the sun were hollow, a million Earths could fit inside
And yet, the sun is only a middle-sized star
The sun is far away
About ninety-three million miles away! And that's why it looks so small
And even when it's out of sight, the sun shines night and day
The sun gives heat
The sun gives light
The sunlight that we see
The sunlight comes from our own sun's atomic energy
Scientists have found that the sun is a huge atom-smashing machine
The heat and light of the sun come from the nuclear reactions of
hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, and helium
The sun is a mass of incandescent gas
A gigantic nuclear furnace
Where hydrogen is built into helium
At a temperature of millions of degrees