2025 11 07
Where will you go today? Tangible Books. Chicago, Illinois. October, 2025. © Clayton Hauck
Recently, while not updating this here blog because I’ve been too busy, I had a modest uptick in traffic (instead of almost nobody visiting, a few people visited). While trying to figure out what all the traffic fuss was about, I noticed that in the last month, the blog has been visited by more visitors from China than here in the US. While I have no idea why this is the case, or if these are even actual humans coming to digitally visit, the fact was interesting to me for another reason altogether.
My takeaway was that, as a well-traveled but still life-long citizen of the USA, I don’t think I fully comprehend the shadow we cast on the rest of the world. I can imagine how differently I would feel about the world if I was the same person I currently am but was born in, say, Montevideo instead of Chicago. Being a very prideful person about the place I call home (I also love Montevideo and assume this would be the case if I was from there), I can imagine my pride would be met with much more frustration upon learning the harsh realities of economics, pop culture, and math if I was a Montevideoan (no idea what term they use but likely not this). With so much money, influence, and people coming from counties other than my own (hypothetical) home, I’d feel the need to accommodate other markets and cultures in order to get noticed, which would likely bum me out.
What is my point? I’m not sure, really, but I like the mental exercise resulting from looking at my traffic from China. The sort of obvious conclusion is that the United States is in decline access to markets is the most important element of gaining success through art — be it sales to people or views on Tik Tok, you need other people.
To all this, I say: 很高兴认识你！
-Clayton
2025 11 06
Avedon book, bought used. Chicago, Illinois. October, 2025. © Clayton Hauck
Argh! I’m still so behind on posts!
Mostly, it’s because so much of my time lately has been dedicated to books. Photobooks. Our popup shop Realm Books is in the midst of a big year end push to see if we can become a legitinmate business. It’s fun, it’s hard, it’s a lot of learning and figuring things out. This weekend (November 14-16), we have our first book fair. You can find us tabling at Staple + Stitch, which is very exciting to me and will be really telling in terms of how the business end of things can work.
Anyway. This here blog has a zine dropping tomorrow with its namesake, so I need to get this thing back on track. I’ve got tons of personal work to share and this will be the place for it in the coming weeks. Thanks for stopping by…
-Clayton
2025 11 05
A picture of my picture. December, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
It’s been too long since I put out a new image in my The Camera You Have series. Mostly, I’m just distracted with a million other things. But of course, the demoralizing reality of nobody buying your prints is also a factor. I picked this image to include in the series largely because I suspected it would move some units, but then promptly sold zero copies. Then I gave up, altogether. That’s a harsh take, of course, but it’s true that the difficult reality of selling artwork has put a damper on my ambitions. With the holidays coming up, I need to dust off this project, turn my frown upside-down, and put out a new piece or two! I still get excited looking at the images and that, I think, is the most important thing.
You can view the entire series here, and maybe consider purchasing a limited edition print while you’re at it!
-Clayton
2025 11 04
That Tiny House. Chicago, Illinois. December, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
That Tiny House. You can’t not take a photo of it.
-Clayton
2025 11 03
Moon in the early night sky. Chicago, Illinois. November, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
-Clayton
2025 11 02
Rural road in rural Illinois. November, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
This image was made a year ago during one of my Ill Wandering outings, in which I scour the part of Illinois that is not Chicago for images that inspire me. The series has been loosely in the works for a few years now, however, it’s still largely a vague idea forming in my brain and I haven’t shared much of it publically. I bring all this up for a reason. [Preface: things take time] One major takeaway of mine has been that I’m still learning how to make artistic images. The end goal is not commercial photography (which I’m very trained in) or even photojournalism (which I’m also trained in), but images which provoke feeling more than anything. This specific image, I like, but it doesn’t do anything beyond being just okay. It’s a scrap pile image. A miss.
One other thing of note: this image was made just after a deer darted across the road. The deer was a bit too far down road any my reaction time a bit too slow, so he’s lost in the shadows. I feel like this is a perfect analogy for my mental place in the medium while this image was made. I’m still sharpening my senses and improving my skills, even after pushing the button for two decades. Each style of photography requires a different approach; a different mentality. We’ll get there. Maybe.
-Clayton
2025 10 31
Shoes. Chicago, Illinois. August, 2025. © Clayton Hauck
Happy (nine days post) Halloween! I’m slowly (but maybe not surely) catching up on my daily posts!
-Clayton
2025 10 30
Famous thing in Chicago, Illinois. July, 2025. © Clayton Hauck
It’s kind of interesting that, being a Chicagoan all of my life, I almost never make images in the popular tourist places in my own town. This scene, had I stumbled upon it in another place I was less familiar with, would immediately become a photogrpahy obsession. Here, however, it’s mostly something to avoid. Maybe I should better embrace these places? If I get into the “Chicago Project” I have brewing in my brain, it will definitely be worth revisiting.
-Clayton
2025 10 28
A very old bank. Old Shawneetown, Illinois. April, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
brb learning how to pay sales taxes for our photobook shop so the govna does not get mad at me.
-Clayton
2025 10 27
Reach for the light. Chicago, Illinois. April, 2025. © Clayton Hauck
My first photozine project is now at the printer and due out next week (November 15th at Staple + Stitch, to be precise). It has been a fun (and wildly time consuming for being relatively simple) project and I hope just the beginning of many more printed works. While I have many bigger concepts for more “proper” photobooks dancing in my head, I’m easing into this by committing myself to two more smaller-scale personal zines next year. In a sense, I’m riding with training wheels while I learn more about the processes involved, of which there are more than I previously had considered.
If you want to pre-order the zine and snag a free print as a thank you, you can do so here.
-Clayton
2025 10 26
Behind-the-scenes. Chicago, Illinois. July, 2025. © Clayton Hauck
Time keeps on slipping past me this year! I’ve been meaning to get up another post about how I’ve fared with studio portraits this year (spoiler: poorly). Likley, because things got so tough, it’s why I’ve been focusing on other things. That said, I’m still aiming to do both one more run of portraits this year and will get around to writing more about the difficulties when I find the time.
-Clayton
2025 10 25
Wires. Chicago, Illinois. July, 2025. © Clayton Hauck
Everything is connected. Humans have been busy the past century connecting everyone together as best we can, in new ways we continue to imagine. While convenient, surely this might also explain some of the madness going around lately?
-Clayton
2025 10 23
Sidewalk closed, be back soon? Chicago, Illinois. October, 2025. © Clayton Hauck
As always seems to be the case, This Here Blog has (for some reason — not being self-deprecating, just honestly don’t know any details) gained some attention recently. I’m not sure where the eyes are coming from, but they’re coming much more that usual. Of course, I’m absolutely buried in work, without a moment to spare to post new images and catch up on days (it’s October 28th as I write this, not October 23rd). Ho hum; so it goes. While in the midst of un-burying my studio both physically and metaphorically, I’ve also been editing personal images I made back in July (on top of the client edits, calls, treatment writing, etc). So yeah, I’m roughly four months behind on life. Be back soon.
-Clayton
2025 10 22
Brad and Lenny. Chicago, Illinois. May, 2025. © Clayton Hauck
Sure, cell phones make calls, however it might be more fitting to rename them cameras. I’d wager they get far more use making images of our pets and kids (and doom scroll social media) than they do make calls.
-Clayton
2025 10 21
Cool tree, bro. Chicago, Illinois. August, 2025. © Clayton Hauck
Oftentimes, I’ll make friends with a tree and visit and photograph it regularly. This is my new bud, which I esp love because of its wily bark trunk.
-Clayton
2025 10 20
No exit. Chicago, Illinois. July, 2025. © Clayton Hauck
Between cleaning up the studio after a morning shoot in preparation for a bookshop popup tomorrow morning and studio event tomorrow evening, this video (below) popped into my feed and was thoroughly enjoyed by myself. As I’ve been unable to travel much these days in lieu of giving myself too many jobs back home, I really enjoy watching how Mike Okay traverses the world by himself with minimal plans or support. It’s an extreme way to do it, sure, but it often illuminates the positive side of humanity in ways that are hard to articulate in words. Maybe I’ve shared his videos here before, I forget. But if you haven’t yet seen one of his travelogs, I highly recommend checking the out.
-Clayton
2025 10 19
Not Dead. Chicago, Illinois. June, 2025. © Clayton Hauck
I’m not dead! I’m just busy. Busy with work, mostly (but also a game: see below). It’s strange how when my main gig (commercial photography) is as slow as can be, I’m somehow the busiest I’ve been in years due to other jobs I’m using to fill in my downtime. In reality, I’m working far more hours for far less money, but as a freelancer with home repairs to make, I’ve gotta do something to pay the bills.
In the moments of downtime I have had lately before shaming myself to get back to work, I’ve been enjoying a new game called Subway Builder. It’s been fun to dream about what Chicago would be like if we had a loop line (yes, technically we have The Loop line, but let my imagination cook!). Also, I’ve really been enjoying taking the train more often lately. Hell, I’ve been falling for Chicago in many ways lately. I should write more about that if I can find the time between rolling out new train lines and editing month old photos.
-Clayton