2024 05 10
Someone posted that Steve Albini had more effect on Chicago than most mayors do, and thatās 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 āIn the Loopā why he stayed in Chicago in a 2017 interview:
āThereās 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 āindustryā is much more cemented. In L.A. there is a pop music industry, in New York there is a pop music industry, and thereās 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.ā
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! š
The official Nirvana twitter account posted the 4-page letter he wrote to the band before recording In Utero with them and itās 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
Old van that sits by my house collecting parking tickets. Chicago, Illinois. March, 2024. Ā© Clayton Hauck
Someone posted that Steve Albini had more effect on Chicago than most mayors do, and thatās 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 āIn the Loopā why he stayed in Chicago in a 2017 interview:
āThereās 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 āindustryā is much more cemented. In L.A. there is a pop music industry, in New York there is a pop music industry, and thereās 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.ā
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! š
The official Nirvana twitter account posted the 4-page letter he wrote to the band before recording In Utero with them and itās 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
2024 05 06
Are you familiar with @paulie.bās āWalkie Talkieā series on YouTube? If youāre not, you should be!
https://www.pointingatstuff.com/2024/2024-05-06
Bart Simpson caught in the act at Slappy Curb. Chicago, Illinois. March, 2024. Ā© Clayton Hauck
Caught this video over the weekend and had so many wonderful thoughts about it. Per the rules, we must discuss and share the link here. Iāll preface by saying this channel, by Paulie B, is fantastic and highly worth digging into for anyone even remotely interested in photography and definitely for anyone interested in street photography. The "walkie talkieā series has him tagging along with various street photographers and getting a peek into their process while an interview plays out alongside.
This specific episode featured a photographer I was not previously familiar with named Trevor Wisecup. His enthusiasm for the craft, perspective on life, and positive energy were all refreshing, inspiring, and had me wanting to pick up my camera and hit the streets. In general, the video reminded me of my younger self while also serving to push my current self a bit harder in the sense that, as you get older, sometimes you start to overthink things or self-doubt a bit more, or generally just lose the insane drive your younger self mightāve had.
As a lifelong Chicagoan, whenever I see videos like this I immediately regret not living in NYC. While making work of this nature is definitely possible here in Chicago (shoutout Vivian Maier) youāre going to need to put in twice as much time to get half the results as you will in a place like NYC which simply has the density of humanity needed to provide consistantly amazing street moments. Paulie B himself previously lived in Chicago and has since relocated to NYC. All this to say: I shouldnāt allow this one challenge to stop me from producing any work! Perhaps it could even allow me to think outside the box and make something more unique to me. I have ideas, they just need to be manifested, which can only happen once you leave the house. Thanks to Paulie for the endless inspiration to do just that (once I finish watching his channel, of course).
-Clayton
2024 05 03
Iāve returned from my big job in Atlanta and catching up on things. Maybe Iāll write more about photographing big production assignments sometime. Itās 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 āsunā 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
Slappy Curb in late afternoon sunlight. Chicago, Illinois. March, 2024. Ā© Clayton Hauck
Iāve returned from my big job in Atlanta and am catching up on things. Maybe Iāll write more about photographing big production assignments sometime. Itās 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 āsunā 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 heād end up, which worked a bit but didnāt quite nail it. The fun thing about shooting film is these imperfections often only enhance the image, anyway.
-Clayton
2024 04 23
Running late today. Hereās a picture of our neighborās dog from my first roll of film.
Itās 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
Roo the dog looks up at me as I figure out how to use my Contax T2. Chicago, Illinois. March, 2024. Ā© Clayton Hauck
Running late today. Hereās a picture of our neighborās dog from my first roll of film.
Itās 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
2024 04 20
Itās beer oāclock for me. Iāve been running nonstop lately and need a day or two (will get one, at least, since Iām working Sunday).
Anyway, nobody cares about my grind. Itās just nice to be workingā¦ Hereās another film scan from my first roll of film in a decade or so. Itās nice to be back to the film game, even if itās just a few frames here and there. Maybe Iāll make it a bigger part of my work. Maybe I wonāt. Weāll see. My only regret is not sticking with it and then shunning it even more when it became cool. I still feeling like Iām trend chasing but what can you do?
Enjoy.
-Clayton
Dan drinks a delicious Maplewood beer. Chicago, Illinois. March, 2024. Ā© Clayton Hauck
Itās beer oāclock for me. Iāve been running nonstop lately and need a day or two (will get one, at least, since Iām working Sunday).
Anyway, nobody cares about my grind. Itās just nice to be workingā¦ and I havenāt had a chance to bank some juicy blog posts in a while.
Hereās another film scan from my first roll of film in a decade or so. Itās nice to be back to the film game, even if itās just a few frames here and there. Maybe Iāll make it a bigger part of my work. Maybe I wonāt. Weāll see. My only regret is not sticking with it and then shunning it even more when it became cool. I still feeling like Iām trend chasing but what can you do?
Enjoy.
-Clayton
2024 04 19
āItās not my job to create meaning, but to charge the air so that meaning can occur.ā
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 Hidoās 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 youād 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 itād 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 itās important to let things steep for a while.
-Clayton
Neighborhood construction scene image made on film; my first roll in at least a decade! Contax T2 Kodak Gold. Chicago, Illinois. March, 2023. Ā© Clayton Hauck
āItās not my job to create meaning, but to charge the air so that meaning can occur.ā
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 Hidoās 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 youād 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 itād 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? āLonger than you think. And itās important to let things steep for a while,ā says Hido, which is proving to be a completely accurate assessment.
-Clayton