2024 12 28

Thank you (for shopping at my imaginary photobook shop). Chicago, Illinois. June, 2024. © Clayton Hauck

Becoming a Photobook Shop Owner in 2025

Oh, man. The photobook store. I’ve been secretly obsessing over this idea for at least two years now. The immediate and obvious inspiration for opening a small (physical & web-based) shop dedicated to photobooks and photography shows/talks/meetups is Baltimore Photo Space. I already have a(n amazing) photo studio space, so it seems like somewhat of a no-brainer to expand the existing operation into something beyond what it is already. 

Quick backstory for those not already familiar with what photobooks are: Photo books. Books featuring the work of one or multiple photographers. Monographs. Printed visual essays. Printed visual narratives. Art books. Photo zines. It’s a genre of book, featuring photography (obvs), that is sort of seeing a resurgence in popularity as photography becomes an increasingly popular hobby (and job!) for more and more people. Making photos is easier than ever. Printing books is easier than ever. It’s sort of an obvious connection that more people than ever are releasing photobooks, many of which are very good (and some of which that are not)!

Let’s explore some pros and cons of this idea:

• PRO: Will gain a ton of experience and understanding of what other photographers are up to. Endless inspiration (aka things to steal)!

• CON: Will possibly have too much exposure to other people’s work, to the point that it will affect my own work a bit too much, in a bad way, or burn out on photography.

• PRO: Will gain a huge photobook library that will be impressive (to some people)!

• CON: Will have a huge photobook library that I will need to put somewhere and transport somehow (hard!).

• PRO: Will make a living and/or have a bit more consistent income through doing something that I love to do (assuming the business does work as I think it would!)

• CON: Will spend a lot of my time working in the photobook store, sourcing inventory, packing and shipping (my local post office has 1.9 stars on google. I stopped in there yesterday and they were not accepting customers because “the clerk was out,” as told to us by the apparently-not clerk), and generally doing things that take away my time and opportunities for creating new work of my own vs sharing the work of others in exchange for money.

• PRO: Will make many new connections in the photo industry and likely some new friends as well!

• CON: Will be forced to do more things I dislike doing, such as legal paperwork, taxes, bureaucracy, posting and responding to people on social media.

• CON: lots and lots and lots of breaking down boxes.

While doing this thought experiment, it became apparent why I have only so far taken baby steps towards making this idea a reality. It would be a ton of work and there’s no clear way of knowing how much I would enjoy doing it longer term without committing and giving it a go. It sort of feels like the chances of it being a net positive on my life are about equal to the chances of it being a net negative. All that said, I have this vague urge to just make it happen. Like it’s a calling of sorts. Perhaps it runs in the family. Perhaps it’s in my blood, as my uncle had an underground rare book shop a few decades back. 

In my ideal, wave a magic wand and make it happen scenario, I would go for it…along with a tight core of one to three other people, so that none of us would be tied to the shop full-time should other opportunities arise (as they will). The trick is finding those people. I do feel oddly confident in the vision and think it could be a lot of fun…in addition to being a lot of work. Work. Work. Shipping. Sourcing. Taxes. Documents. Fun. Work. 

-Clayton

This is one entry in a multi-part series of self-exploration and contemplation-out-loud in advance of the new calendar year. Some of this may happen; none of this may happen.
For the complete list of posts, please see 2024 12 25.

2024 12 24

It me! Chicago, Illinois. November, 2024. © Clayton Hauck

It hit me this morning that I’m a few days shy of a full year of posting daily to this here blog. Wild! I then thought I should spend some time contemplating the year ahead, and began writing up short blurs on the various things I am focusing on in the new year.

Today, we are celebrating Christmas. Merry Christmas and happy holidays to you and your loved ones!

I’ll be back tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after, to discuss more things…

-Clayton

2024 12 20

Channelling Duchamp. Chicago, Illinois. November, 2024. © Clayton Hauck

Photography isn’t art. It’s too easy to make a photo. There’s no skill involved, therefore no artistic value.

I disagree with this, of course, however completely understand and agree with the logic behind it. Seeing photography as art will never be something everyone can do, I don’t think. Anyone can make a good photo (good is relative in any art form, of course). Anyone can also make a good painting (good to someone, at least!), even if they’ve never painted once in their life, but the “barrier to entry” is far more difficult. To make a photo, you just take the phone of our your pocket and push a button. To make a painting, you’ll at least need to find a store that sells the necessary supplies, or place an order on Amazon and wait a few days.

In my younger years as a photographer, I would often scoff at fine art photography, mostly because I didn’t understand the thought process or put in the time necessary to understand what the photographers were trying to do or say. I’d see them using a giant large format film camera to make some images I often found boring and label the whole process unnecessary and self important. Sure, I still dislike plenty of photography that is overwhelmingly embraced by the more formal art world, however, I do now have a far larger appreciation for, and valuing of, photographic art that is challenging to make. Using 4x5 film instead of a 100mp digital medium format camera, for example, should earn you some respect, even though at the end of the day it’s the work (and the person doing the work, but that’s another topic for another day) that most matters.

Yesterday, this video popped into my feed which I found fascinating in many ways. While the clickbait headline is off topic for this blog post, his sentiment at the end is spot on. The guy makes a technologically-impressive camera that produces terrible images, however, the process is what makes the images incredible, and therefore, in his opinion, art.

“I know this thing makes worse pictures than a camera that costs $2… but when I use this thing, I fee like I’m making actual art, which I do not feel when I’m using a digital camera.”

As always, art is in the eye of the beholder, but it is also made in the decisions of the person making the art.

That toilet image would be much better art if I made it on 4x5 film instead of a film-emulating smartphone camera.

-Clayton

2024 11 27

“Half Way To Hell” Cadillac Ranch. Amarillo, Texas. 2021. © Clayton Hauck

Hey, look! It’s another print giveaway! This image was made in the waning days of Covid when most people weren’t yet out and about. I hate to admit it, but if I could do it all over again, I would’ve been out exploring the world all through Covid. I know that’s wildly selfish — we took covid very seriously in our house! Of course, hindsight is also different. My point is, I think, that you only have one life and the change to see the world without all the crowds was an amazing one, even if I only had a few short days doing so.

On that note, I need to take a Covid test before dinner tomorrow. Are these things even accurate anymore, though?

In the spirit of giving, I’m giving away yet another limited edition signed print! If you’d like this one in your home, fill out the form atop the print shop and/or leave a comment below! Doing either, or both, will give you one entry into The Contest. Considering there are currently only four entrants with a few days to go (contest runs through the end of the month), you have a pretty dang good chance of winning!

-Clayton

2024 10 31

The Camera You Have #0015 “Human For Scale” General Sherman. Sequoia National Park, California. January, 2021. © Clayton Hauck

In the waning days of covid lockdowns, I drove out west for work. Afterwards, I connected with my sister and we headed to Sequoia National Park for a little exploration and visit with the famous General Sherman. It turned out to be a perspective-changing experience, as we arrived right at open and had the entire park to ourselves for hours! Standing alone among the world’s largest living creatives was an experience I will never forget and this image is one of the favorites I’ve ever made.

Lately I’ve been spending a bunch of time printing photos at the studio, so I was excited to release another limited edition on my ongoing series dubbed The Camera You Have. This image looks great printed and can be yours for free if you win my giveaway or if you simply purchase one via my online print shop. It’s a perfect time to get your holiday shopping started!

GIVEAWAY! To enter, simply leave a comment on this post (make sure your email is accurate!) and/or like, comment, reshare the Instagram post on my @claytonhauck IG account. Good luck!

-Clayton

2024 08 27

The end of the line for ole fishy. Ocean City, Maryland. August, 2024. © Clayton Hauck

Caught a fish haul returning to dock while out scouting for our shoot. The boat set out at 3:30am and travelled seventy miles off shore. While this was a paid trip for tourists looking for a bit of deep-sea action, it was an interesting scene to encounter and got me thinking about how vastly complex our world is, and how typically these days most of our food ecosystem takes place behind the scenes and out of sight. We choose a number or place an order and minutes later, a hot fresh plate is waiting. I just had a chicken sandwich for dinner, and while seeing a few dozen dead fish on the dock is one thing, I can’t imagine what the equivalent scene would look like down the road at the chicken factory.

-Clayton

2024 04 28

Spring flower pops up in an unexpected place. Chicago, Illinois. April, 2024. © Clayton Hauck

If you read yesterday’s post, this is the scene we came across while walking home from bar dinner.

If you read Thursday’s post, this is me embracing using new photographic tools. I’ve written about it here before, but I’ve been loving the Lapse app in my iPhone. While I’ve been trying to use my phone less for image making (thus, carrying around a Ricoh everywhere I go), I do love the snapshot aesthetic this app provides, along with the date and time, which is a fun throwback to point and shoot film cameras. The only downside is the files you get from it are not very big. I imagine the app creators don’t want to host full-sized images on their servers to save money, but if you could pay for a “pro” version which allowed maximum resolution, I would totally give them my money.

For the first time in my pro photography career, I’m finding myself wanting more, new, different cameras! I just need to make sure I don’t revert back into the gear-head person who cared more about what equipment he had than the images being made from that equipment.

-Clayton

2024 04 06

“Just Desert” (2019) limited edition print from The Camera You Have series. © Clayton Hauck

Self Promotion Clayton is back to let you know about another fun side project I kicked off last year. Art prints! Among my recent efforts to become more thoughtful about my artistic endeavors, I’ve been doing a limited run of really high quality mounted prints made from photos I’ve enjoyed over the years. The general concept of the series is to offer wall-hanging worthy works at affordable prices sourced from spontaneous photos I’ve made, sometimes with my pocket Ricoh camera, sometimes with an iPhone, thus the camera you have being the series’ name which is a saying I’ve always enjoyed (although don’t know the origin of).

This image was made in Phoenix at the Desert Botanical Garden at the very tail end of a trip to Arizona with my sister. The place is beautiful and, while I love desert landscapes generally, Phoenix is not one of my favorite places despite a few redeeming qualities such as the existence of this beautiful place. That said, considering I am a lifelong Chicagoan, it’s highly likely I will one day call Phoenix home since it serves as the unofficial retiring place of most Chicagoans. Until then, it’s just desert.

GIVEAWAY!

Each time I offer a new print from this series, I give away the first one. To enter, you can head to my Instagram account (@claytonhauck) and leave a comment on the post, like the post, or share the post to enter yourself into the drawing. Additionally, you can leave a comment here, below, to also enter yourself into the free giveaway (make sure I know how to contact you!).

Fine print: No purchase necessary. Winner chosen at random roughly seven (7) days after initial offer. Void where prohibited. Clue Heywood will automatically win a print if he somehow sees this post and leaves a comment.

-Clayton

PS - if you want to support the series monetarily, you can always buy one of these prints over on the website or reach out directly to inquire!

2024 01 16

Night street scene in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood. November, 2023. © Clayton Hauck

I came across this scene while walking home and snapped a few images with my Ricoh. It’s just a simple little scene but I love the odd tree, ambient night lighting and gritty noise from the high ISO.

THEN, a few months later, I again came across this scene and immediately thought back to this image I had made. Instead of making yet another image with my Ricoh, I pulled out the iPhone, opened a new app I’ve been using called Lapse, and snapped a few new images.

I must say: I’m a bit obsessed with this app. After getting over the initial data grab app-trickery bullshit that makes me want to throw my phone into a river, Lapse surprised me! The way they implemented the camera is fun and impressive; the concept being that your phone is a “disposable film camera” so you get the expected filter look, which is nice, but you also get a really well-blended strobe look from the camera flash (which is something I’d always fully avoided using on my phone camera even in the darkest environments). It reminds me of my old Yashica T3 film camera and the many years I spent shooting nightlife strobe photography. Of course, it’s still digital and still a highly compromised phone image, but the convenience and social factors are hard to compete with.

I bought my Ricoh, which I keep in my pocket at all times, as a way to get away from solely using my phone camera out of sheer convenience and it’s one of the best decisions I’ve recently made, however, this app might have me once again using my phone camera more than I’d like to.

-Clayton (@claytonhauck on Lapse)

Lapse app version of the above scene made a few weeks later than the original above. © Clayton Hauck