Clayton Hauck 4/27/24 Clayton Hauck 4/27/24

2024 04 27

Getting drunk and then trying to write is tricky; I’m not sure how Bukowski did it (probably it was scripted). You think all of your thoughts are brilliant but then wake up the next day to realize the opposite. It’s kind of like dreaming; Some of my most amazing ideas have come while deep asleep — I wake up in a pool of brilliance and then doze back off drenched in the cool confidence that I have the Next Big Idea — only to wake up and realize the sleepy thought was actually complete bullshit.

While walking home from the bar, we came across a brilliant flower poking up from the earth. It reminded me about my new-found Spring Perspective I’ve been dwelling on this year… bare trees have become beautiful to me for the first time in my life. I’ve realized the magic a lack of leaves allows: by letting through light and colors and birds and whatnot, we’re able to view a more complex scene, which a fully leafed-out tree does not allow. It’s a simple idea, yes, but if you’re not paying attention to these sorts of things, they go completely ignored.

-Clayton

-Clayton

Clayton Hauck 4/26/24 Clayton Hauck 4/26/24

2024 04 26

Sometimes when The Office is on, you get sucked into an Office Hole and forget to finish all the work and blog posts and life stuff that you needed to do. But also sometimes it’s nice to just check out and let your brain decompress for a few hours.

-Clayton

-Clayton

Clayton Hauck 4/25/24 Clayton Hauck 4/25/24

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

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

Clayton Hauck 4/24/24 Clayton Hauck 4/24/24

2024 04 24

The term the writing is on the wall came to mind recently…

I’m a confirmed Catholic but haven’t been back to church since the day I was confirmed. While I’ve personally strayed from the church myself, I don’t necessarily have anything against organized religion. That said, religious organizations are made up of people so not immune to things like power struggles, greed, corruption, and extremism, which get publicized much easier in today’s modern economy and push people like myself away.

When done well, religion can provide things which greatly benefit humans, namely: structure, meaning, purpose, community. These are all great things, but again, in today’s modern world, there are plenty more options to provide these needs to people. Facebook, for example.

My partner and I recently met with a rabbi hoping he would be able to marry us later this year. It was my first time meeting the man but I was instantly won over by him and excited for the possibility of him being involved in our big day. That said, he won’t be marrying us because religious traditions and the positioning of the sun and moon in relation to the earth would make us need to re-organize our entire wedding schedule to the point that it doesn’t make any sense. Again, not compatible with the modern world. It’s a shame, too, because as I get older I find myself more understanding of things like keeping the Sabbath, esp in our modern world full of unlimited distractions. Instead, we’ll need to find someone willing to accommodate our needs, instead of shaping our wedding to fit the structure of the church.

Before we left the temple, we stopped at the bathrooms where, on the other side of the hall was a long line of framed group pictures taken on the annual confirmation day. As I waited for Allison, I examined the pictures and was immediately struck by the clear decline in how many young people were taking part each year. Big full rooms of people in the 90’s eventually led to just a few kids last year. Immediately, I though of the rabbi we had just met with and how challenging this must be for him; the need to constantly adjust your long-held traditions and beliefs in order to accommodate a modern world, or not accommodate it and likely get left behind.

The writing is on the wall.

-Clayton

The term the writing is on the wall came to mind recently…

When done well, religion can provide things which greatly benefit humans, namely: structure, meaning, faith, purpose, community. These are all great things, but again, in today’s modern world, there are plenty more options to provide these needs to people. Facebook, for example.

My partner and I recently met with a rabbi hoping he would be able to marry us later this year. It was my first time meeting the man but I was instantly won over by him and excited for the possibility of him being involved in our big day. That said, he won’t be marrying us because religious traditions and the positioning of the sun in relation to the earth would make us need to re-organize our entire wedding schedule to the point that it doesn’t make any sense (the sun sets at around 7:30pm on Saturday, our date, meaning the ceremony would need to get pushed back by about two hours later than we had planned). Again, not compatible with the modern world. It’s a shame, too, because as I get older I find myself more understanding of things like keeping the Sabbath, esp in this modern world full of unlimited distractions. Instead, we’ll need to find someone willing to accommodate our needs, opposed of shaping our wedding to fit within the structure of the church.

Before we left the temple, we stopped at the bathrooms where, on the other side of the hall was a long line of framed group photos taken on the annual confirmation day, representing decades of time. As I waited for Allison, I examined the pictures and was immediately struck by the clear decline in how many young people were taking part each year. Big full rooms of people in the 90’s eventually led to just a few kids last year. Immediately, I though of the rabbi we had just met with and how challenging this must be for him; the need to constantly adjust your long-held traditions and beliefs in order to accommodate a modern world, or not accommodate it and likely get left behind.

The writing is on the wall.

-Clayton

Clayton Hauck 4/23/24 Clayton Hauck 4/23/24

2024 04 23

Running late today. Here’s a picture of our neighbor’s dog from my first roll of film.

It’s interesting to think of who might have previously owned this used Contax T2 camera I am now using and what adventures they had with it. What moments they captured with it.

-Clayton

Running late today. Here’s a picture of our neighbor’s dog from my first roll of film.

It’s interesting to think of who might have previously owned this used Contax T2 camera I am now using and what adventures they had with it. What moments they captured with it.

-Clayton

Clayton Hauck 4/22/24 Clayton Hauck 4/22/24

2024 04 22

Today I will wrap principal photography (haha) on a new cookbook due out later this year. The whole process was a big learning experience which maybe I’ll get into more detail about down the road. Despite the challenges, it kind of lit a fire under my butt to make more work that will be printed in book form; be it a cookbook, photobook, zine, whatever.

Time to buy myself a printer and print more of my photos. It’s been something I’ve severely neglected through the course of my career in photography.

-Clayton

*A plate of fancy food photographed for Chicago Magazine at Atelier, Chicago. February, 2024.*

Time to buy myself a printer and print more of my photos. It’s been something I’ve severely neglected through the course of my career in photography.

-Clayton

Clayton Hauck 4/21/24 Clayton Hauck 4/21/24

2024 04 21

This is a strange video to share, but them’s the rules…

My friend Jack texted me a link to this 4 hour 13 minute youtube video that has well over 6 million views on youtube. Clear your afternoon, hit play, and take it in. I know, it sounds weird and grim but this thing is really powerfully edited, fascinating, dark, and unlocks all sorts of memories you probably had hiding away in the dusty cabinets of your brain. Or, for the youngs reading this, take a trip into American history and relive the day we all definitely remember.

The video is a timeline playback covering the morning of 9/11 and made up of live tv broadcasts, synced up video footage, and perhaps most interestingly, radio communications between air traffic controllers and various pilots.

Did you know: one of the hijacked planes (before it was taken over) made visual ID of another one of the hijacked planes as it was headed off-course towards NYC? Wild!

Did you know: one of the hijacked planes nearly collided with another flight, coming reportedly 300ft from a mid-air collision?

Why president Bush’s staff delivered the news to him in front of a classroom full of people and news cameras is baffling to me when put into this context. I guess his administration isn’t known for its competence.

Anyway, I haven’t yet finished the video so don’t spoil it for me (okay, terrible dark dad humor… time for me to wrap this up).

-Clayton

This is a strange video to share, but them’s the rules…

My friend Jack texted me a link to this 4 hour 13 minute youtube video that has well over 6 million views. Clear your afternoon, hit play, and take it in. I know, it sounds weird and grim but this thing is really powerfully edited, fascinating, dark, and unlocks all sorts of memories you probably had hiding away in the dusty cabinets of your brain. Or, for the youngs reading this, take a trip into American history and live the day all of us olds remember. Personally, I was scheduled to move into the big city on 9/11/01 to start college so I ended up moving the following day instead.

Did you know: the pilot of one of the hijacked planes (before it was taken over) made visual ID of another one of the hijacked planes as it was headed off-course towards NYC?

Did you know: one of the hijacked planes nearly collided with another flight, coming reportedly 300ft from a mid-air collision?

Anyway, I haven’t yet finished the video so don’t spoil the ending for me (okay, terrible dark dad humor… time for me to wrap this up).

-Clayton

Clayton Hauck 4/20/24 Clayton Hauck 4/20/24

2024 04 20

It’s beer o’clock for me. I’ve been running nonstop lately and need a day or two (will get one, at least, since I’m working Sunday).

Anyway, nobody cares about my grind. It’s just nice to be working… Here’s another film scan from my first roll of film in a decade or so. It’s nice to be back to the film game, even if it’s just a few frames here and there. Maybe I’ll make it a bigger part of my work. Maybe I won’t. We’ll see. My only regret is not sticking with it and then shunning it even more when it became cool. I still feeling like I’m trend chasing but what can you do?

Enjoy.

-Clayton

It’s beer o’clock for me. I’ve been running nonstop lately and need a day or two (will get one, at least, since I’m working Sunday).

Anyway, nobody cares about my grind. It’s just nice to be working… and I haven’t had a chance to bank some juicy blog posts in a while.

Here’s another film scan from my first roll of film in a decade or so. It’s nice to be back to the film game, even if it’s just a few frames here and there. Maybe I’ll make it a bigger part of my work. Maybe I won’t. We’ll see. My only regret is not sticking with it and then shunning it even more when it became cool. I still feeling like I’m trend chasing but what can you do?

Enjoy.

-Clayton

Clayton Hauck 4/19/24 Clayton Hauck 4/19/24

2024 04 19

“It’s not my job to create meaning, but to charge the air so that meaning can occur.”

Todd Hido is a smart guy, in addition to being a great photographer. Per my rule of writing about any youtube video I appreciate, below is a new Willem Verbeeck video that covers a lot of ground and is very much worth your time if you at all enjoy photography.

Todd has been someone I repeatedly turn to via various internet videos to distill info and wisdom about how the world of fine art photography works, as I contemplate a potential future book project or two of my own. While gathering enough ego and energy to take on a book project is rather daunting, one of Hido’s observations in the video is that photobooks have evolved into (he argues) the best way to discover new photographers these days. It used to be you’d put in your time and maybe one day a publisher would decide you are worth of investment into a book, however, these days anyone can make a book relatively affordably. All that said, getting anyone to buy it is another can of worms entirely.

On the topic of Todd Hido and photobooks, I just purchased his Intimate Distance book at the aperture booth at Expo and excited to dig into it. If anyone reading this wants to stop by my studio sometime and discuss photobooks, hit me up! Working on making the first photobook club meetup a reality and it’d be cool if it was more than myself talking into a mirror about how inspiring Some Say Ice is to me.

Another fitting takeaway from the video: How long does it take to make a project of photographs? Longer than you think. And it’s important to let things steep for a while.

-Clayton

“It’s not my job to create meaning, but to charge the air so that meaning can occur.”

Todd has been someone I repeatedly turn to via various internet videos to distill info and wisdom about how the world of fine art photography works, as I contemplate a potential future book project or two of my own. While gathering enough ego and energy to take on a book project is rather daunting, one of Hido’s observations in the video is that photobooks have evolved into (he argues) the best way to discover new photographers these days. It used to be you’d put in your time and maybe one day a publisher would decide you are worthy of investment into a book, however, these days anyone can make a book relatively affordably. All that said, getting anyone to buy it is another can of worms entirely.

On the topic of Todd Hido and photobooks, I just purchased his Intimate Distance book at the aperture booth at Expo and am excited to dig into it. If anyone reading this wants to stop by my studio sometime and discuss photobooks, hit me up! Working on making the first photobook club meetup a reality and it’d be cool if it was more than myself talking into a mirror about how inspiring Some Say Ice is to me.

Another fitting takeaway from the video: How long does it take to make a project of photographs? “Longer than you think. And it’s important to let things steep for a while,” says Hido, which is proving to be a completely accurate assessment.

-Clayton

Clayton Hauck 4/18/24 Clayton Hauck 4/18/24

2024 04 18

Once again, thanks to the modern miracle of air travel, I am back home in my own bed after spending the day down south in Atlanta. For lunch, I had a fried chicken sandwich (because the server told me I’m in the south when I ordered it grilled. Fair enough, boss) and for dinner I had a burrito at Lonesome Rose in Logan Square. I know this is of no interest to anybody reading this, however, I bring it in an attempt to set up to set up a vibe.

Picture this: your plane lands on time. You’re the first one off the plane for the first time in your life (thanks to the Comfort+ on Delta exit row seat). You traveled super light with just a backpack and small camera bag so you high tail it to the people mover (did you now Delta flies out of the international terminal at OHare?), which automatedly takes you to the main terminal where you go downstairs to make your way to the underground CTA blue line stop. The moving walkways briskly move you towards the turnstyle where you tap your phone to gain access, move downstairs to the waiting train, board, then almost immediately hear the chime signaling the doors are about to close. You text your girflriend that you’re on your way home and see if she wants to meet you for dinner at the tex mex spot. She agrees and asks when so you check google maps and it says you’re 15 minutes away. Next thing you know, you’re at the bar, margarita in hand.

I say all this in an attempt to describe a feeling I get when on the move, riding trains, planes and public transit. When shit is working, and you’re moving faster than the endless line of cars stuck on the highway in construction, and the sun is set but things are still bright and alive, it’s one of the greatest feelings in the world. The hustle and bustle of being on the move with a destination and things to do. Even if it’s just a margarita with dinner.

Then, when the subject of The Line (Saudi Arabia’s crazy project which I never expected to actually happen) comes up, for the first time I understood what they had in mind when they proposed this thing. Maybe it is the future of cities, after all.

I’m likely not making much sense to anybody reading this, so off to bed I go.

-Clayton

I say all this in an attempt to describe a feeling I get when on the move, riding trains, planes and public transit. When shit is working, and you’re moving faster than the endless line of cars stuck on the highway in construction, and the sun is set but things are still bright and alive, it’s one of the greatest feelings in the world. The hustle and bustle of being on the move with a destination and things to do. Even if it’s just a margarita with dinner.

I’m likely not making much sense to anybody reading this, so off to bed I go.

-Clayton

Clayton Hauck 4/17/24 Clayton Hauck 4/17/24

2024 04 17

Arriving late to my airport-adjacent hotel on a quick work trip, I glance at my phone to see if any food options are still available. Everything closes soon. Luckily, there’s a decently-rated basic grill in the hotel next to mine so I drop my stuff and walk towards it. The parking lots are massive and dark. The hotel looms over the dark horizon but as I get closer it becomes apparent that the entire perimeter of the hotel property I am currently on is fenced in with no pedestrian access. I’m in one of these areas designed fully for cars to access only.

Instead of giving up and backtracking to go all the way around the complex, I mumble “fuck cars” to myself while scanning the area for any sort of evidence of human foot-based activity. One area back near the dumpsters in the corner is a bit more worn out that the rest with a small gap in between the mature evergreen trees, so I psych myself up to make it happen. As I’m cresting the jagged steel fence, I have a quick vision of falling headfirst into the parking lot cement and needing to come up with some kind of cover story when I meet with the client the following morning because there is no possible way to make this sound not insane should it go wrong.

Luckily, I make it across with only a small cut on my hand, evidence to show the server if the situation calls for a little pleading to get the kitchen to stay open for one last order. Now that the right building is immediately in front of me, the next problem becomes apparent. While, yes, the grill I’m seeking is right on the other side of the wall, I’m now standing in the back lot of the hotel complex with, again, zero pedestrian access aside from a few emergency only escape doors which I can’t enter. I have a some more thoughts about how much I hate cities designed fully to accomodate cars as I walk all the way around the building and inside, my journey now complete.

*How’s my driving? Not great! Chicago, Illinois. March, 2024. © Clayton Hauck*

Instead of giving up and backtracking to go all the way around the complex, I mumble “fuck cars” to myself while scanning the area for any sort of evidence of human foot-based activity. One area back near the dumpsters in the corner is a bit more worn out that the rest with a small gap in between the mature evergreen trees, so I psych myself up to make it happen. As I’m cresting the jagged steel fence, I have a quick vision of catching my foot and falling headfirst into the parking lot cement and needing to come up with some kind of cover story when I meet with the client the following morning because there is no possible way to make this sound not insane should it go wrong.

Luckily, I make it across with only a small cut on my hand, evidence to show the server if the situation calls for a little desperate pleading to get the kitchen to stay open for one last order. Now that the right building is immediately in front of me, the next problem becomes apparent. While, yes, the grill I’m seeking is right on the other side of the wall, I’m now standing in the back lot of the next hotel complex with, again, zero pedestrian access aside from a few emergency only escape doors which I can’t enter. I have a some more thoughts about how much I hate cities designed fully to accomodate cars as I walk all the way around the building and inside, my journey now complete.

They’re still serving, although the menu is limited to four items. I order the house burger and think about how old we are getting as I watch Lebron James’ Lakers win a play in game and a consistent stream of people wander in looking for food themselves, most holding airline vouchers that seem to be as valuable as cash in these parts.

Now, I’m back on my hotel bed reviewing casting callbacks while typing out this monotonous story-of-my-night without any sort of lesson, purpose, or deeper meaning. Let’s land the plane, Clayton!

When airplanes aren’t falling apart mid-flight, modern air travel is a remarkable human achievement. Merely a few hours ago, I was back home in Chicago meeting with a rabbi about our upcoming wedding ceremony and now I’m hopping a fence in search of a cheeseburger in a city 700 miles away, while the most interesting thing in my afternoon wasn’t browsing the internet 35,000 feet in the sky, or riding the automated airport train, or moving through mid air at 580 miles per hour.

The most interesting thing was, upon leaving to walk back to my hotel, again getting stuck in this new hotel’s parking lot only to run into a security guard who told me the only way to exit on foot is in the exact opposite direction I needed to go. Fucking cars! Seeing my frustration, he asked where I was headed, to which I pointed up at the building right across the alley from where we were. He told me to go back into the hotel, cut down a hallway, and go through the doors marked Employees Only, then out the back exit. I’m not usually one to disobey the honor system no access warnings but given permission by the parking lot security guard, this was my ticket to adventure! Thanks Sonesta Atlanta Airport North for a solid burger, back-stage access, and a shortcut which saved me 6 minutes of walking which I could then sink into writing this remarkable retelling.

-Clayton

Clayton Hauck 4/16/24 Clayton Hauck 4/16/24

2024 04 16

Art, it’s neat!

I had a weekend full of art and have been spending a lot of time pondering the fine art marketplace. Recently, I’ve come to the conclusion that I have been drawn to commercial photography largely because things are more defined and transactional. I have something a company wants and they pay me a set price to deliver it. It’s relatively straightforward. The fine art world, however, has always been a mysterious and intimidating place to me. Nobody is to say I can’t make a photo of a pile of hot dogs and offer it for sale for $950,000, as was the asking price for a painting of a pile of hot dogs at Expo over the weekend. An insane asking price is part of the appeal and part of art’s value, I suppose. Artist E Lee, I’m sure, has some fascinating viewpoints on art as it relates to commerce considering he features currency in much of his work. This is something I should explore in a future blog post. For now, I offer this quick open-ended pondering as a reminder to myself that it’s worth additional consideration.

-Clayton

Art, it’s neat!

-Clayton

Clayton Hauck 4/15/24 Clayton Hauck 4/15/24

2024 04 15

Well, well. Happy tax day. Having jammed my weekend full of plans (hosted multiple events at the studio while vastly misjudging the time involved), I find myself scrambling to get my tax payment in the mail so it can be postmarked on time, while scrambling to get a blog post up without having one ready to go in the morning for the first time, while scrambling to clean up the studio and do laundry and get the house in order and kick on the air conditioning for the first time, all before departing town tomorrow afternoon for a quick work trip. Yes, spring has sprung and things are moving.

Let’s see if I can’t get some more blog posts in the pipeline and keep this streak going for a while longer. Would hate to end it on such an uneventful note.

-Clayton

Let’s see if I can’t get some more blog posts in the pipeline and keep this streak going for a while longer. Would hate to end it on such an uneventful note.

-Clayton

Clayton Hauck 4/14/24 Clayton Hauck 4/14/24

2024 04 14

It’s smart to take a nice long look at yourself in the mirror every once in a while, America.

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

-Clayton

Clayton Hauck 4/12/24 Clayton Hauck 4/12/24

2024 04 12

Look, I don’t have time to write a banger post each and every day like yesterday’s was so some days I’m just going to post some self-promotional bullshit, like today!

My email box alerted me to a new New York Times feature covering “Chicago’s 25 Best Restaurants” using my photo in the emailer with my name in the byline. I mean, c’mon, it’s exciting!

This was my first visit to said restaurant and I snapped a few images on my trusty Ricoh, this one included. I’m a reluctant social media user, however, have been trying to be better about tagging people on IG lately. I tagged Warlord in this shot and they hit me back, asking me to email them so they could show their mom. Cute! Fast forward to Chicago hitting me up to do some photos and having the existing communication really helped along the process and led to some amazing images for a different Best New Restaurants feature. Then, this NYT feature happened. Next, surely Joe B(iden) will call asking if I can get him in. That’s how this shit works.

Anyway, shoutout to Yoder for lining up at 3pm or whatever to get us in.

Now I’m hungry.

-Clayton

Look, I don’t have time to write a banger post each and every day like yesterday’s was so some days I’m just going to post some self-promotional bullshit, like today!

My email box alerted me to a new New York Times feature covering “Chicago’s 25 Best Restaurants” using my photo in the emailer with my name in the byline. I mean, c’mon, it’s exciting!

This was my first visit to said restaurant and I snapped a few images on my trusty Ricoh, this one included. I’m a reluctant social media user, however, have been trying to be better about tagging people on IG lately. I tagged Warlord in this shot and they hit me back, asking me to email them so they could show their mom. Cute! Fast forward to Chicago hitting me up to do some photos and having the existing communication really helped along the process and led to some amazing images for a different Best New Restaurants feature. Then, this NYT feature happened. Next, surely Joe B(iden) will call asking if I can get him in. That’s how this shit works.

Anyway, shoutout to Yoder for lining up at 3pm or whatever to get us in.

Now I’m hungry.

-Clayton

Clayton Hauck 4/11/24 Clayton Hauck 4/11/24

2024 04 11

When living in the moment and anything to get the shot conflict, things can get complicated.

Having just returned from experiencing the first and possibly only total solar eclipse of my lifetime, I’m sitting on my couch consuming everyone’s eclipse content and finding myself regretting the whole living in the moment mantra I was doing my best to practice during my time spent directly in the path of totality down in Vincennes, Indiana. I am a photographer, afterall, so getting the shot is kind of my thing. Yes, I did still make dozens of photos and thoroughly enjoyed every moment during what is maybe nature’s most amazing show. However, suppressing my urge to strictly focus on capturing the moment in favor of being present in the moment and experiencing it through my own eyes (I even had a 200mm lens and tripod with me but left it in the car!) is something that is harder to justify the next day when you’re looking at everyone’s amazing eclipse captures and comparing them to the lackluster results you made only after the natural impulse to document took over midway through. Instead of doing one or the other, I ended up attempting to do both, which doesn’t really work when you only have four minutes. Sure, I’ll always have the memories seared into my brain, but perhaps this is why people like myself are driven to create beautiful images in the first place — it’s a sort of visual evidence that these moments did in fact happen and you’re not simply fabricating them in your mind.

For me, yesterday was a vivid reminder that everyone experiences things from their own perspective and it’s best practice to live life in a way that best compliments your own viewpoints and impulses.

All that said, the moments that will stay with me forever are ones that can’t be captured on camera because they require your internal vision to fully appreciate: the friends and loved ones around you and their emotions being displayed; the roar of the crowd gathered in the park as totality took over and again as the sun emerged from behind the moon; the visible lights miles off in the distance that your brain knows you are only seeing because it’s now nighttime over there but isn’t, yet, where you are; the quality of light and the vibe that is surrounding you in 360-degrees as day turns to night and then back to day again, which one static image will just translate as a mostly ordinary sunset; the feeling of the scale of things, how you are both incomprehensibly small yet a part of something so grand and impossible to understand; when the skies turn dark and another planet is immediately and unexpectedly visible in the same sky you’d just been staring at for the past two hours, and then somebody mentions there is a comet that is also visible with the right optics in your same field of view—how layers upon layers of things exist and are only visible at the right time, with the right equipment, and the right tuning. Even in the void of space things are seemingly plentiful.

*Totality is approaching, but will he capture it? Vincennes, Indiana on the state line with Illinois over the Wabash River. April 8, 2024. © Clayton Hauck*

When living in the moment and anything to get the shot conflict, things can get complicated.

Having just returned from experiencing the first and possibly only total solar eclipse of my lifetime, I’m sitting on my couch consuming everyone’s eclipse content and finding myself regretting the whole living in the moment mantra I was doing my best to practice during my time spent directly in the path of totality down in Vincennes, Indiana. I am a photographer, afterall, so getting the shot is kind of my thing. Yes, I did still make dozens of photos and thoroughly enjoyed every moment during what is maybe nature’s most amazing show. However, suppressing my urge to strictly focus on capturing the moment in favor of being present in the moment and experiencing it through my own eyes (I even had a 200mm lens and tripod with me but left it in the car!) is something that is harder to justify the next day when you’re looking at everyone’s amazing eclipse captures and comparing them to the lackluster results you made only after the natural impulse to document took over midway through (because it was so amazing I felt like I just had to make some photos!). Instead of doing one or the other, I ended up attempting to do both, which doesn’t really work when you only have four minutes. Sure, I’ll always have the memories seared into my brain, but perhaps this is why people like myself are driven to create beautiful images in the first place — it’s a sort of visual evidence that these moments did in fact happen and you’re not simply fabricating them in your mind.

All that said, the moments that will stay with me forever are ones that can’t be captured on any camera because they require your internal vision and past experiences to fully appreciate: the friends and loved ones around you and their emotions being displayed; the roar of the crowd gathered in the park as totality took over and again as the sun emerged from behind the moon; the visible lights miles off in the distance that your brain knows you are only seeing because it’s now nighttime over there but isn’t, yet, where you are; the quality of light and the vibe that is surrounding you in 360-degrees as day turns to night and then back to day again, which one static image will just translate as a mostly ordinary sunset; the feeling of the scale of things, how you are both incomprehensibly small yet a part of something so grand and impossible to understand; when the skies turn dark and another planet is immediately and unexpectedly visible in the same sky you’d just been staring at for the past two hours, and then somebody mentions there is a comet that is also visible with the right optics in your same field of view—how layers upon layers of things exist and are only visible at the right time, with the right equipment, and the right tuning. Even in the void of space things are seemingly plentiful.

Almost as spectacular as the eclipse was the surreal feeling after it ended. Within an hour, even before the moon had finished transiting the sun, which by now was ordinary by comparison to totality, everyone had packed up a left town. The balloons were deflated, the band gone, the food carts moved off, the swarms of people and overflowing collection of cars nowhere to be seen. We stopped into a pizza spot to grab a bite to eat on the main street of this now mostly re-abandoned town and immediately encountered a woman angry about her reservation getting lost and having to wait for a table — the look on her face is one I will never forget when juxtaposed alongside the amazing life event I had just experienced. Was she not also there?! Did she not see what I’d just seen? How could you be so upset in this moment?

In our modern world of endless distractions and forms of entertainment, my thoughts turned to how this day might’ve be different a century ago when nobody had things to get back to so quickly. Maybe we’d hang out and talk to each other about what we’d just travelled to witness, instead of racing home to edit our content and put it out into the internet for a million strangers to hopefully notice. These physical places, town centers across the mostly forgotten Midwest, once the social medias of another time, are now mostly empty collections of run-down-yet-beautiful houses and more stray cats than human beings.

Driving home among a mass caravan heading back towards the big city, we talked about an acquaintance who avoids eclipses as part of her culture. Maybe it’s a long-forged human self-defense mechanism used to avoid the regret of not taking away from these magical moments any sort of wisdoms it deserves or great photographs to post on your social media for likes and follows. The pressure put upon a moment in time which you have absolutely no control over is quite dramatic. Sorry it rained on the day you had your only chance at experiencing God. Guess it wasn’t in the cards this lifetime. [update: last night I repeatedly dreamed that sunlight was now different that it was before the eclipse. It’s hard for the brain not to interpret such a colossal event as a sign that something far bigger and perhaps more dangerous has just taken place!]

In the end, I didn’t get the shot but I did get quite alright two-for-one buffalo wings, an experience I will never forget, and a nice reminder about how seeing the world from your perspective is all that we know, and making sure your perspective is a good one is the only thing we can kinda sorta control, if you put the effort into it.

One day we all look up at the same thing and everyone experiences it differently.

“We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.” - Anaïs Nin

-Clayton

PS - anyone want to go to Iceland or Egypt for the next few total solar eclipse viewings? I’ll bring the good lens this time!

Clayton Hauck 4/10/24 Clayton Hauck 4/10/24

2024 04 10

Today is the birthday of my favorite person, my partner, my soon-to-be wife, Allison! it is your birthday. Hope it’s a good one!

*Allison Ziemba in our backyard. Chicago, Illinois. February, 2024. © Clayton Hauck*

Today is the birthday of my favorite person, my partner, my soon-to-be wife, Allison! it is your birthday. Hope it’s a good one!

Love you so much!

-Clayton

Clayton Hauck 4/9/24 Clayton Hauck 4/9/24

2024 04 09

After roughly twenty years in the business, it’s rare I get to photograph a magazine cover (partly because magazines don’t really exist anymore) so it was an honor when my semi-regular client Chicago allowed me to do a cover shoot. My photography style tends to be a bit more gritty, dark, and authentic (agency buzz word alert!…are you listening, SEO?), which doesn’t always fit well in the glossy world of heavily-retouched magazine rack images. Or at least that’s what I tell myself.

This image was made as part of a Best New Restaurants feature, which was a blast to be a part of and resulted in some great images.

While I’m still sort of feeling out what this particular website even is, I’m shying away from making it another commercial photography portfolio, so even sharing editorial images like this one doesn’t feel completely right. But we’ll see!

*Chef Christian Hunter of* *Atelier* *photographed for Chicago Magazine (and used as the cover image!). Chicago, Illinois. February, 2024. © Clayton Hauck*

After roughly twenty years in the business, it’s rare I get to photograph a magazine cover (partly because magazines don’t really exist anymore) so it was an honor when my semi-regular client Chicago allowed me to do a cover shoot. My photography style tends to be a bit more gritty, dark, and authentic (agency buzz word alert!…are you listening, SEO?), which doesn’t always fit well in the glossy world of heavily-retouched magazine rack images. Or at least that’s what I tell myself.

This image was made as part of a Best New Restaurants feature, which was a blast to be a part of and resulted in some great images.

On the topic of myself, one other idea I had was to do a series on Instagram reels going into a bit more detail on how I made specific images. Tips, tricks, and observations. That sort of thing. Is this something people want or am I merely stroking my ego and hunting for social engagement? I don’t know! Sorting out how to exist within the current digital media landscape is endlessly confusing and largely frustrating. I guess at the end of the day you should just do things that feel right to you and not like a blatant grab for internet fame.

What do you think? Is anyone reading this? Blogging is the future so surely there will soon be tens of dozens of people interested in leaving their opinions in the comment section below.

-Clayton

Clayton Hauck 4/8/24 Clayton Hauck 4/8/24

2024 04 08

I’m out today, heading home from my cookbook shoot in Nashville and chasing this total solar eclipse. I’ve never experienced one before so will be sure to report back tomorrow and let y’all know if my life is now forever changed and I have a new perspective on everything. Or maybe I’ll simply never return? We’ll see!

-Clayton

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