Clayton Hauck 5/17/24 Clayton Hauck 5/17/24

2024 05 17

Putting yourself out there as an artist is rather daunting. I’ve long preferred the more transactional method of calling myself an editorial and commercial photographer. I have what someone wants (a skill in making nice images) and they have something I want (money, and sometimes exposure). It’s a deal! Although, the money side of the deal is proving to be increasingly challenging these days, which is a topic for another day. In part because of the increasingly changing photography landscape (more supply, less demand) and in part because I’m getting older and wanting to focus more on things I want to focus on, I’ve been turning a bit more towards calling myself, and acting like, an artist.

While this artful pivot is still a slow-moving work-in-progress, I’m finding my brain is becoming a bit more in tune with the things needed to move down the path towards art. Things that a younger me would decide are deal-breakers, an older me sees more as fun challenges and absurd realities that can further fuel my drive to create things. I realize I’m being quite vague here, however, most of what I’m referencing boils down to sales. Things I rather dislike about my current reality in the commercial photography world (selling yourself by any means possible) are also things that successful (not always good) artists also understand and excel at. Always Be Closing.

I have no idea if I’ll ever become a successful artist, as taking myself seriously enough is a challenge I may never overcome. Pricing an image or art piece at $10,000 because it’s worth it is something I find much harder to do when the prospective buyer is the general public, as it immediately rules out 99% of the population and means your buyer will be a rich collector or investor type, and I fancy myself more a man of the people. Defense Mechanism Alert!

But who am I kidding, really? I currently sell my images for $10,000 to corporations, who can afford it, while thinking this is a more justified and acceptable path. Is it?

via Allison Schrager’s Known Unknowns substack:

Becoming a successful artist these days takes jumping through a series of hoops: the Yale MFA, showing at the right galleries, and—if you are lucky—being featured at events like the Biennial. It is hard to imagine that anyone who works at any of these places would indulge an artist who doesn’t adhere to the doctrine.

But that is also the case for many of our most elite institutions, in consulting, media, academia…—pretty much everywhere. And the result is more predictability and less creativity. Don’t take this as an anti-woke rant. Some of the institutions I have in mind are not woke by any stretch, but they still demand a certain type of employee who went to a certain type of school and is conformist in nature. And this really matters in a winner-take-all economy, because climbing to the top of these institutions, or affiliation with them, is important, at least more important than it used to be. No wonder productivity is down.

I liked this quote above from Allison because it showcases how the art world is largely structured and guarded just like any other line of work. This idea is originally what kept away from the art world but these days is more so pushing me towards it.

My 40’s will be interesting as I have no idea where I will be in another ten years. The landscape may change so much I’ll be forced to move to a trade (certified arborist, here I come!) and leave photography altogether; or perhaps we’ll all be living easy off our universal basic income checks. But for now: Fine, art.

-Clayton

While this artful pivot is still a slow-moving work-in-progress, I’m finding my brain is becoming a bit more in tune with the things needed to move down the path towards art. Things that a younger me would decide are deal-breakers, an older me sees more as fun challenges and absurd realities that can further fuel my drive to create things. I realize I’m being quite vague here, however, most of what I’m referencing boils down to sales. Things I rather dislike about my current reality in the commercial photography world (selling yourself by any means possible) are also things that successful (not always good) artists also understand and excel at. Always Be Closing.

I have no idea if I’ll ever become a successful artist, as taking myself seriously enough is a challenge I may never overcome. Pricing an image or art piece at $10,000 because it’s worth it is something I find much harder to do when the prospective buyer is the general public, as it immediately rules out 99% of the population and means your buyer will be a rich collector or investor type, and I fancy myself more a man of the people. Defense Mechanism Alert!

But who am I kidding, really? I currently sell my images for $10,000 to corporations, who can afford it, while thinking this is a more justified and acceptable path. Is it?

via Allison Schrager’s Known Unknowns substack:
Becoming a successful artist these days takes jumping through a series of hoops: the Yale MFA, showing at the right galleries, and—if you are lucky—being featured at events like the Biennial. It is hard to imagine that anyone who works at any of these places would indulge an artist who doesn’t adhere to the doctrine.

-Clayton

Clayton Hauck 5/14/24 Clayton Hauck 5/14/24

2024 05 14

Kyla has a book coming out which is very exciting news! She has become one of my favorite thinkers on economics and our modern media-saturated life. I share this video because this piece arrived in my inbox a few days ago via her substack and I really enjoyed reading it. Then, today, the video version of it appeared in my youtube feed and it reminded me about how I love that she makes her content available on all the major platforms. It’s a ton of work, but these days this is what you basically have to do if you want to be noticed. Posting to your daily weblog isn’t going to move the needle! … perhaps I should turn my daily weblog post into a daily vlog post, as well … maybe.

-Clayton

I love what Noah Kalina has been doing on his channel lately. But yeah, yet another fulltime job on top of the ones I already have probably isn’t in the cards. Maybe we start small.

-Clayton

Clayton Hauck 5/11/24 Clayton Hauck 5/11/24

2024 05 11

A photo a day keeps the doctor away?

Here’s the camera that has produced my first film photos in a decade. It’s likely also the very first picture of the beautiful Contax T2 next to the beast otherwise known as the Telsa Cybertruck. This was my first spotting of one in the wild, which happened, oddly, in Effingham, Illinois.

Keep on truckin’.

-Clayton

A photo a day keeps the doctor away?

Keep on truckin’.

-Clayton

Clayton Hauck 5/10/24 Clayton Hauck 5/10/24

2024 05 10

Someone posted that Steve Albini had more effect on Chicago than most mayors do, and that’s probably true. I never knew Steve, never met him, was aware of his existence and importance but vastly under-appreciated it until yesterday, when he sadly died far too soon. The entirety of my social feeds were flooded with Albini stories and memories, which was a joy to take in.

Albini most recently lived in the Ravenswood Gardens neighborhood. He told the Columbia College blog “In the Loop” why he stayed in Chicago in a 2017 interview:

“There’s not a lot of bloodthirsty competition in Chicago. In places like New York and L.A. the cost of living is so high and the the notion of ‘industry’ is much more cemented. In L.A. there is a pop music industry, in New York there is a pop music industry, and there’s competition to be part of that. The competition to beat other people to the brass ring or whatever, and I never get that feeling in Chicago.”

I loved this take about why Steve chose to stay in Chicago after finding fame in recording massively successful rock albums and I think it helps summarize why Chicagoans hold Steve in such high regard. He was a complex figure who did not take bullshit from anyone and was not afraid to call people out for anything he deemed wrong, which is not a personality type that tends to do well within the power structures of big time America among the coastal elites.

If you, like me, were not well versed in Albini and his brain, do yourself a favor and dig into him some more. Listen to his albums. Read some of his thoughts.

This Baffler piece, for example, written in 1993 is an epic takedown of the extreme power structures which built up around mainstream music, designed to suck as much money out of the artists as it possibly could. His writing style is direct, strong, and punchy! 😛

The official Nirvana twitter account posted the 4-page letter he wrote to the band before recording In Utero with them and it’s an incredible read illustrating a wonderful piece of history. Check it out via the tweet linked below.

Rest in noise, Steve. Thanks for being you.

-Clayton

Albini most recently lived in the Ravenswood Gardens neighborhood. He told the Columbia College blog “In the Loop” why he stayed in Chicago in a 2017 interview:

If you, like me, were not well versed in Albini and his brain, do yourself a favor and dig into him some more. Listen to his albums. Read some of his thoughts.

Steve Albini. pic.twitter.com/DzYjvJykdx
— Nirvana (@Nirvana) May 9, 2024

Rest in noise, Steve. Thanks for being you.

-Clayton

Clayton Hauck 5/9/24 Clayton Hauck 5/9/24

2024 05 09

I’m taking a break from listening to Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” diss track on repeat to post this blog entry. The song is incredible and so full of detail, things are still emerging after a few dozen listens. My dumb brain, prone to overthinking, interpreted the “A-minor” line as an insult that Drake likes to use the same key all the time (yeah, I’m dumb, and also not really familiar with Drake’s music). The song is a layered art piece that evolves over time and seemingly has the whole world talking about it.

Further detail about this line from genius:

Lastly, on a piano, both the A-Minor chord and scale don’t have any black keys, only white ones. Additionally, the A-Minor scale is considered to be the easiest scale to learn as a beginner in music theory.

At the very end of the line, the main beat cuts out and switches to a jazz tune for a few seconds—this might be a reference to this popular tweet by comedian Zack Fox:

@zachfox: kendrick bout to call him a pedophile over some free jazz

Also, how crazy is it that this beef has already led to someone getting shot and how little people seem to care. Did the shooting even happen? I’m not sure. And if it did, it doesn’t matter. Nothing matters. There are way too many distractions and shit happening for us to collectively care about almost anything anymore, so when a song breaks through the clutter to catch the attention of the world, it’s a big deal.

Some artists are motivated by hate. It seems like Kendrick is at his best when he’s being attacked. Some of my best motivation has come from people not believing in me. It makes me wonder if this is why I’m usually drawn to darker themes and embrace negativity, acknowledging it’s real and natural, opposed to portraying the world only though a bright, colorful, and optimistic lens. When you embrace the darkness, it makes the light moments all the more profound.

Am I making any sense here?

-Clayton

I’m taking a break from listening to Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” diss track on repeat to post this blog entry. The song is incredible and so full of detail, things are still emerging after a few dozen listens. My dumb brain, prone to overthinking, at first interpreted the “A-minor” line as an insult that Drake likes to use the same key all the time (yeah, I’m dumb, and also not really familiar with Drake’s music). Then, when it clicked, the song sizzled a little bit more! It’s a layered art piece that evolves over time and seemingly has the whole world talking about it.

…Further detail about this line from genius:

At the very end of the line, the main beat cuts out and switches to a jazz tune for a few seconds—this might be a reference to this popular tweet by comedian Zack Fox:

@zachfox: kendrick bout to call him a pedophile over some free jazz

Am I making any sense here? Probably not. Back to listening, I go.

-Clayton

Clayton Hauck 5/3/24 Clayton Hauck 5/3/24

2024 05 03

I’ve returned from my big job in Atlanta and catching up on things. Maybe I’ll write more about photographing big production assignments sometime. It’s a fairly fascinating job. We took over an $800,000,000 airplane for the day, brought 40 people and a dozen trucks filled with endless stuff onto the busy airport tarmac, placed our “sun” lights onto a giant lift platform to get them high into the sky, and then ran through seven scenarios as if we were enjoying a flight 30,000 ft in the sky when in fact we were safely down on earth. While everything is being faked, I pride myself on making everything feel as real and authentic (creative director buzz word alert!) as we possibly can.

Speaking of creative directors on big production assignments: this is Zach skateboarding at Slappy Curb outside my See You Soon studio. We met last year on a big production job and one fun fact about him is he does not have any social media accounts. How amazing is that?!?

-Clayton

I’ve returned from my big job in Atlanta and am catching up on things. Maybe I’ll write more about photographing big production assignments sometime. It’s a fairly fascinating job. We took over an $800,000,000 airplane for the day, brought 40 people and a dozen trucks filled with endless stuff onto the busy airport tarmac, placed our “sun” lights onto a giant lift platform to get them high into the sky, and then ran through seven scenarios as if we were enjoying a flight 30,000 ft in the sky when in fact we were safely down on earth. While everything is being faked, I pride myself on making everything feel as real and authentic (creative director buzz word alert!) as we possibly can.

Speaking of creative directors on big production assignments: this is Zach skateboarding at Slappy Curb outside my See You Soon studio. We met last year on a big production assignment and one fun fact about Zach is he does not have any social media accounts. How amazing is that?!?

Image made from my first roll off teh Contax T2. I tried pre-focusing on the pavement, anticipating where he’d end up, which worked a bit but didn’t quite nail it. The fun thing about shooting film is these imperfections often only enhance the image, anyway.

-Clayton

Clayton Hauck 4/29/24 Clayton Hauck 4/29/24

2024 04 29

This website has become a filter of sorts. After making images, they get edited down to my selects, which then get color and tone adjusted and saved into another folder. Then, those selects get edited down again and moved into another folder meant to go towards various social media or websites, including this one. When I go to make a new blog entry, I browse the Pointing at Stuff website folder and see which images are still feeling good enough to post or are no longer feeling as excited and get scrapped.

This image, while a simple moment without much action, is one that I feel good about. It’s a bit of a new perspective for me, taking images of simple moments like this that I come across while out and about. This is not to say I haven’t previously made photos but that my eye is now hunting for “art photos” that may fit into a bigger body of work. Once you combine images and juxtapose different frames, new meanings and vibes get formed which can then be further explored and created upon.

Anyway, none of this may make sense and you may dislike this image, but I’m enjoying my new found perspective on photography and plan to continue pursuing it to see where it takes me.

-Clayton

This website has become a filter of sorts. After making images, they get edited down to my selects, which then get color and tone adjusted and saved into another folder. Then, those selects get edited down again and moved into another folder meant to go towards various social media or websites, including this one. When I go to make a new blog entry, I browse the Pointing at Stuff website folder and see which images are still feeling good enough to post or are no longer feeling as excited and get scrapped.

Anyway, none of this may make sense and you may dislike this image, but I’m enjoying my new found perspective on photography and plan to continue pursuing it to see where it takes me.

-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 4/19/24 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 4/17/24 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 4/15/24 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 4/13/24 Clayton Hauck 4/13/24

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 4/10/24 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

Clayton Hauck 4/7/24 Clayton Hauck 4/7/24

2024 04 07

This blog is at a serious risk of becoming a place that only reposts Noah Kalina videos, however, per the rules of the blog, if I watch a video I enjoy I need to write about it here. Since Noah is posting videos like every damn day, this space is going to get all cluttered up with hashtag Kalina Content, which honestly might not be a bad thing.

Anyway, enjoy your Sunday, while taking in a few recent videos from Noah’s youtube channel, posted below.

-Clayton

Clayton Hauck 4/5/24 Clayton Hauck 4/5/24

2024 04 05

Sunsets are like a photographer cheat code. It’s easy to make a nice photo with a brilliant sunset. Because of this, sunset photos are cliche and not really something professional photographers like to make photos of, unless they are mentally-healthy mainstream photographers.

One of my best ideas was an app that has one and only one task (aside from gathering emails to monetize): send you a push notification when a pretty sunset is happening near you. I’ll never act on this idea so I will give it to you, dear reader, to act on and become an overnight millionaire.

Yesterday I briefly partook in a “photo walk” now that I am a film photographer and people take me seriously (before sneaking off early and going back to my studio to edit my client’s digital photos which are due before I can leave town and make more digital photos for another project). I spotted a fun scene in an alley and raised my Contax to make a serious film photo. It was subtle, just the way a car’s headlights were bounding off a puddle halfway between us, but just after snapping a frame, I heard an audible sigh from a photo walk participant as he mockingly-proclaimed, “an alley photo!” Just as instant shame set in, but before I even had a chance to turn around and awkwardly defend myself, but annoyingly just after I made the image, a massive airliner dramatically emerged from the overcast skies perfectly placed in my composition like a phantom sign that I indeed was on to something.

*Sunset scene with a skateboarder making use of the popular Slappy Curbs spot outside the Kimball Arts Center. Chicago, Illinois. February, 2024. © Clayton Hauck*

Follow your instincts. Don’t let the haters bring you down. Shoot the pretty sunset if it makes you happy. Shoot more film (and digital to pay for the film).

-Clayton

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

2024 04 04

Well, it finally happened. Was it inevitable? No, actually! But I’m (so far) very glad to be back shooting film again.

I’ll admit it, I regret ditching film over a decade ago now. Digital was just so easy, required for every paid job I’ve done, and in most ways better than film. Of course, this is subjective and many people will disagree (myself sometimes included). The one thing film has that digital never will is je ne sais quoi, or rizz as the kids are now calling it (I think?). Sure, you can fake it in post but what’s the fun in that?!

I could probably go way deep on this topic and perhaps soon I will as I start to get some rolls developed, assuming this camera I picked up at an estate sale even works, but for now I’ll keep it brief and proclaim my excitement to be back to film. The camera I purchased (for way too much money) is a Contax T2, which was always a dream camera even though it’s a trendy motherfucker and way overpriced for what it is. I don’t care, though, it’s beautiful (assuming it works)!

*Photo of an old car for sale that I would’ve made with a film camera if I’d had one at the time. Grand Detour, Illinois. February, 2024. © Clayton Hauck*

Well, it finally happened. Was it inevitable? No, actually! But I’m (so far) very glad to be back shooting film again.

The first roll is already rolling to a lab in Cleveland (shoutout Dodd Camera, I’m open for sponsorships!) to get developed. Amazing how this once ubiquitous process is now a specialty service. I will report back soon with some results.

Another observation was how annoyed Allison was upon my return home and excitement with my new (hopefully functional) Contax. She rightfully so gave me shit for my constant negativity towards her anytime she busted out a film camera over the years. Damn. It’s so true and regrettable! Instead of getting excited for her to be shooting film I was secretly jealous of her for using it and had been knocking it as expensive or difficult or whatever as a self defense mechanism. Ugh. I’m sorry, Allison! Let’s go make some pretty film photos together!

Anyway, let’s hope this damn things works or I’ll be back soon to complain about how stupid film photography is.

-Clayton

Clayton Hauck 4/3/24 Clayton Hauck 4/3/24

2024 04 03

I’m out of town on assignment, expanding my mind through experience, so today will leave you with a quick quote from a famous American author and, perhaps more noteworthy, the namesake of my middle school in Wheeling, Illinois.

“A mind that is stretched by new experience can never go back to its old dimensions”

— Oliver Wendell Holmes

*A Chicago greystone without immediate neighbors stands among grey cars. Chicago, Illinois. February, 2024. © Clayton Hauck*

“A mind that is stretched by new experience can never go back to its old dimensions”

— Oliver Wendell Holmes

-Clayton

PS - I’m in Nashville. Maybe leave a comment and let me know about that cool secret dive bar nobody knows about, will you?

Clayton Hauck 4/2/24 Clayton Hauck 4/2/24

2024 04 02

I got an email with a job offer the other day. It’s weird because I haven’t applied for a job in at least a few decades, nor do I have a university degree or a CV, while my LinkedIn profile is a mess. Thinking it spam, I went to hit delete, however, was intrigued by the writing in the email. It had a tone I’m not at all familiar with and got me curious to hear further details. After giving the entire short-but-direct message a read, my bullshit detector was activated but not enough to make me go away just yet.

Admittedly, the job sounded easy. It was almost tailor-made for me, which also had me wondering how this person even found me. I went to Google and started digging but no information about the email sender, or his company, was found anywhere online. Again, thinking it spam but still somewhat curious about a potential easy-money gig that would still allow my the personal freedom of my existing freelancer lifestyle, I crafted a reply to get a bit more information: who is this person, what is this company, how did you find me, why me?

The salary being offered was generous. The task was essentially to be a photographer, as I already am. I would be supplied an ongoing, never-ending, list of things, people, places, that I would be tasked with photographing and videotaping. Quality is somewhat important but not the highest priority. Most importantly, the copyright of all the work I produce would remain with me — no work for hire clause at a full-time position seemed too good to be true, and in hindsight was the tell.

Sidetracked with visions of how this new assignment could completely change my lifestyle for the best, I bypassed consulting with any friends or loved ones experienced with having normal-people jobs unlike myself and instead told the mysterious emailer to send me the contract with a verbal commitment to take the job, while thinking I could quit at any time if it did turn out to be a scam or something weird I hadn’t considered. It was a fully-remote position with paid travel and no office to report to. They have no physical location and he told me he himself was based overseas and I would likely never even meet him in person.

*Life finds a way. Chicago, Illinois. October, 2023. © Clayton Hauck*

Admittedly, the job sounded easy. It was almost tailor-made for me, which also had me wondering how this person even found me. I went to Google and started digging but no information about the email sender, or his company, was found anywhere online. Again, thinking it spam but still somewhat curious about a potential easy-money gig that would also allow me to maintain the personal freedom of my existing freelancer lifestyle, I crafted a reply to get a bit more information: who is this person, what is this company, how did you find me, why me?

The salary being offered was generous. The task was essentially to be a photographer, as I already am. I would be supplied an ongoing, never-ending, list of things, people, and places, that I would be tasked with photographing and video recording. Quality is somewhat important but not the highest priority. Most importantly, the copyright of all the work I produce would remain with me — no work for hire clause at a full-time position seemed too good to be true, and in hindsight was the tell.

After receiving the contract mere seconds after emailing him the request, I sat on it for a day, then two. Feeling a need to come clean to someone, I called my agent and told her the situation. That I would be mostly unavailable for new commercial assignments for a while and I hope she’d understand but this opportunity was too good to pass up. She is great with legal contracts so offered to read it over for me and agreed with my take that it almost sounded too good to be true; not at all what we’ve been familiar seeing from clients lately who ask for the world on most assignments. Sad to see me go, she did ask one request of me before accepting the position. Even though I woundn’t be working directly with my new boss, she said I should at the very least meet him over a zoom call to catch his vibe and a feel for who I’d be further enriching through beautiful imagery. I agreed, as this sounded very reasonable and smart, so requested the meeting as my last stipulation before signing on to my new job.

The reply came in a bit more delayed than his usual promptness and the tone was a bit concerning. Still, I had visions of Japanese travel and strolls through our national parks in my mind so I gave him the benefit of the doubt.

Now look, even with my new-found blindness to reality while dreaming the big dream, I’m still a professional photographer, trained on visuals, pouring over them endlessly day and night. Because of this, when the mysterious emailer joined our zoom call, precisely at the time scheduled, my heart sank, pools of sweat developed in my armpits and my face turned red. I’d been had.

AI technology has become very good, very fast, but it’s still not perfect. My future boss who I was now meeting on a video call was not-in-fact human but an artificial intelligence personality. Upon learning I was no longer buying his routine, he calmly (and weirdly) asked me if I was still open to working with him on the assignment while ensuring me the money was real and that he could prove it by send some to my bank account iNsTAntLy! He said he was already working with dozens of great photographers who would become my co-workers, while listing their names in hopes of convincing me. He just needed more content! Get mE the cONteNt! When he mentioned both Ansel Adams and Annie Leibovitz were on staff, I started laughing, which had the terrifying effect of enraging him. Immediately, the previously humanlike face began shifting and deforming into a vile creature while he hurled insults and threats at me. He firmly let me know he’d be directing all of his dark web resources into hacking my computers to gain access to my digital photos and simply take them for freeeee.

…

A few days later, the news reports started to come out. Tech bros had been funding fully autonomous corporations and letting them loose into the economy. Many failed, sure, but some started doing very well, growing their bank accounts into the millions and a few even into the billions. One artificial corporation got so drunk on success it tried to file for an IPO on the NYSE. I was never able to dig up any info on my specific almost-boss, however, there were a bunch of similar companies who had been making lots of money by growing social media accounts and selling merch on various ecommerce sites. The machines apparently figured out that all the imagery they were sourcing from the web was fairly easy to trace or a noticeable tell to prospective buyers, so in order to gain a competitive advantage over the other AI competition, a few of the artificial corporations tried to hire humans to make the imagery for them to give it a more human touch.

This is a true story, written by a human, March 28, 2025.

-Clayton

Pointing at Stuff by clayton hauck