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.
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
2024 03 26
One of my favorite podcasts is Joiners, in part because they chat with local Chicago hospitality personalities (many of which I personally know), but also because they do a great job of covering a diverse lineup of people from all different perspectives of the industry. Recently, this episode linked below stood out to me in large part due to the portion of the conversation where they discuss finances, insurance, taxes, government bureaucracy, and all these things most of us artists cringe about but are required to deal with. Owner Jason Vincent of some favorite Chicago spots went deep into his frustrations revolving around operating at a higher price point in order to help cover expenses such as employee health insurance.
After listening, the following morning a newsletter by Allison Schrager hit my inbox which touched on the same themes and helped me connect the dots a bit more:
When we look at estimates of food prices moderating it does not tell us the whole story because eating out has become important to many people’s quality of life. In the last century, many once luxuries became common. Dining out used to only be a special occasion thing that now many households of all income levels do regularly. And that made lots of people happy. So did other services that became common in the last twenty years—like ride shares and fast-free delivery of everything (and seamless returns).
A tight labor market and rising minimum wages mean many services we’ve taken for granted are now a struggle, and that will mean people feel poorer because the things they enjoy cost much more.
Inflation is something we’re all sensitive to and is perhaps most easily noticed when dining out. Customers getting shitty about restaurants raising prices to pay for things like health insurance is understandable in part because, yes, some owners are doing it in bad faith, and because higher prices means less eating out so people are sensitive to it generally, but for the owners like Jason who are trying to do the right thing and create a working environment that is fair for his staff, it’s easy to see how this whole situation might be incredibly demoralizing for many restaurant operators. Rents are up, food prices are up, labor costs are up, (my hospitality prices are up), so it’s only logical that prices will need to increase significantly to cover all these new costs.
I have no grand takeaway from all this, but a better understanding of an industry I partially rely on to make a living. The food scene has exploded in recent years with new bars and restaurants opening seemingly every week. It will be interesting to see if this huge growth in a relatively-new industry can be maintained now that pricing realities are catching up to it or if people will go back to making more of their meals at home to help offset rising prices that don’t seem capable of going back down.
-Clayton
Chefs at Maman Zari prepare dishes for diners. Photo made as part of a Best New Restaurants spread for Chicago Magazine. Chicago, Illinois. February, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
One of my favorite podcasts is Joiners, in part because they chat with local Chicago hospitality personalities (many of which I personally know), but also because they do a great job of covering a diverse lineup of people from all different perspectives of the industry. Recently, this episode linked below stood out to me in large part due to the portion of the conversation where they discuss finances, insurance, taxes, government bureaucracy, and all these things most of us creative types cringe about but are also forced to deal with. Owner Jason Vincent of some favorite Chicago spots went deep into his frustrations revolving around operating at a higher price point in order to help cover expenses such as employee health insurance.
After listening, the following morning a newsletter by Allison Schrager hit my inbox which touched on the same themes and helped me connect the dots a bit more:
When we look at estimates of food prices moderating it does not tell us the whole story because eating out has become important to many people’s quality of life. In the last century, many once luxuries became common. Dining out used to only be a special occasion thing that now many households of all income levels do regularly. And that made lots of people happy. So did other services that became common in the last twenty years—like ride shares and fast-free delivery of everything (and seamless returns).
A tight labor market and rising minimum wages mean many services we’ve taken for granted are now a struggle, and that will mean people feel poorer because the things they enjoy cost much more.
Inflation is something we’re all sensitive to and is perhaps most easily noticed when dining out. Customers getting shitty about restaurants raising prices to pay for things like health insurance is understandable in part because, yes, some owners are doing it in bad faith, and because higher prices means less eating out so people are sensitive to it generally, but for the owners like Jason who are trying to do the right thing and create a working environment that is fair for his staff, it’s easy to see how this whole situation might be incredibly demoralizing for many restaurant operators. In out new fully globalized world, diners and consumers have been conditioned to seek out the lowest prices, regardless of how they get low, often without considering the tradeoff they are making in pursuit of that cheap mega meal. Rents are up, food prices are up, labor costs are up, (my hospitality photography prices are up), so it’s only logical that prices will need to increase significantly to cover all these new costs.
I have no grand takeaway from all this, but a better understanding of an industry I partially rely on to make a living. The food scene has exploded in recent years with new bars and restaurants opening seemingly every week. So many people now rely on restaurant work to make a living as these jobs are no longer fringe positions, rather a significant portion of the modern workforce with wages often reflecting a previous era. It will be interesting to see if this huge growth in a relatively-new industry can be maintained now that pricing realities are catching up to it or if people will go back to making more of their meals at home to help offset rising prices that don’t seem capable of going back down.
-Clayton
2024 03 16
Last last year, I covered this assignment for Chicago Magazine where I spent three days with knife maker Sam Goldbroch in his studio outside of Chicago while he made a custom chef’s knife from scratch. It was a cool experience and I was really happy with the images I came away with, however, it left me thinking the still photos were a bit less effective than perhaps a well-made video would be in showing viewers the entire process from start to finish, having just experienced it myself in person.
Flash forward to now, after the Chicago piece ran, seeing an email from my uncle with a link to a really well done video featuring Anthony Bourdain in his visit to another bladesmith, Bob Kramer. That video can be viewed below and is worth a watch while also serving a sad reminder of how much I miss Anthony Bourdain.
-Clayton
Bladesmith Sam Goldborch in his studio in Skokie, Illinois. September, 2023. © Clayton Hauck
Late last year, I covered this assignment for Chicago Magazine where I spent three days with knife maker Sam Goldbroch in his studio outside of Chicago while he made a custom chef’s knife from scratch. It was a cool experience and I was really happy with the images I came away with, however, it left me thinking the still photos were a bit less effective than perhaps a well-made video would be in showing viewers the entire process from start to finish, having just experienced it myself in person.
Flash forward to now, after the Chicago piece ran, seeing an email from my uncle with a link to a really well done video featuring Anthony Bourdain in his visit to another bladesmith, Bob Kramer. That video can be viewed below and is worth a watch while also serving a sad reminder of how much I miss Anthony Bourdain.
-Clayton
➡️ Click here to see the Chicago Magazine piece
➡️ Click here to see more of my photos from the shoot