2024 05 19

An Alvaro Ilizarbe art installation at the Fashion Outlet Mall in Rosemont, Illinois. November, 2023. © Clayton Hauck

Here’s another view of Alvaro Ilizarbe’s amazing art installation at the mall, which I mentioned yesterday. It’s hard to tell in this image since there is no point of reference, but the painting here is like 30ft high and the overall area he painted in the mall is pretty big and much of it is on the ceiling, which he painted while laying down horizontally atop a huge metal scaffold. I’m still impressed when I see this in person and offended by all the shoppers who whizz right past it on their way back to the parking lot. But that’t the case with all the art in this mall — out of context, things take on a different meaning and hold different value. If 40% Nike Outlet discount codes were embedded into this art piece, it’s likely people would all of a sudden become far more interested in it.

Now, I use this image as one of over 400 and rising in rotation as backdrops of my Keep it 100 portrait sessions.

-Clayton

2024 05 18

Mall selfie. November, 2023. Rosemont, Illinois. © Clayton Hauck

Hello. It’s Saturday and I’m working. Gotta pay these studio bills one $100 portrait session at a time. I’m good at business!

This photo was made at the Fashion Outlet Mall in Rosemont, Illinois while my car was charging. The art is by the amazing artist Alvaro Ilizarbe. I was commissioned to document the art installations at this mall a decade or so back and spent a few days hanging with Alvaro up on the scaffolding while he hand painted this entire piece. It is incredible and worth a trip to the mall just to see it.

-Clayton

2024 05 17

Parking lot cat. Rockford, Illinois. March, 2024. © Clayton Hauck

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

2024 05 16

Cat on stairs. Nashville, Tennessee. May, 2024. © Clayton Hauck

A photo a day keeps the doctor away.

Have I said this before? Probably so. It’s getting to be the time in this daily brain dump where I start repeating myself without even realizing it.

Anyway, I did just notice that there is a severe lack of cats featured on this here photo blog, so needed to address this dire situation.

-Clayton

2024 05 14

Super grainy image of a green-lit tree at night with some stars and planets and sensor artifacts. March, 2024.Wheeling, Illinois. © Clayton Hauck

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.

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

2024 05 13

Buddy the dog being timid at the bar. Chicago, Illinois. October, 2023. © Clayton Hauck

It’s common sense, but interesting to me, how without experiencing something firsthand you tend to not notice it happening all around you. I’ve never been a dog owner in my forty plus years on earth and it was only recently that I learned, while watching dogs for friends, that a dog will tuck its tail firmly between its legs when sensing trouble. This is not a profound realization by any stretch, but now that I know it, I notice it all the time.

It was never a goal to make this blog a personal life update space, but perhaps a weekly check-in might be useful? Let’s give it a shot, since I don’t have anything else lined up.

Life Updates (in no particular order):

• My buddy (and owner of Buddy the dog) Mr. Kenneth Yoder is screening his feature-length documentary tonight at Consignment Lounge. It’s picture lock, he claims, so maybe this beast is finally in the can. I give him shit, because the project has dragged on for years, but I am super proud of him! (UPDATE: he really elevated this thing from the working edit I saw last year. Nice work, dude! You made something really worthwhile)

• I might (might!) be venturing down the path of becoming a documentarian myself. More on this later.

• Planning a wedding is stressful.

• I now own a “pro” printer and will be spending much time in the coming weeks learning to make (and possibly even sell?!) really quality photo prints.

• Planning a wedding is expensive.

• I’m doing a photo show in my studio with a cool photographer later this year. More info on that as it becomes official.

• I’m planning to document both the DNC and RNC, for myself, both in words and images. I have no special access and this might be a challenge. Also, if a fancy commercial project comes up, I’ll prob skip it and take the money. Sorry, it’s politics.

• Planning a wedding is time consuming.

• I have another great idea for a group photo show I’m hoping to host at my space later this year. More on that later.

• I now have some prints showing at the Kimball Arts Center, where my studio is located.

• Even when you “win” in the stock market, you often lose. I’ve been buying stock in this website (Squarespace) because I think longer term the company will be at least 5x what it’s currently valued at. Apparently, a private equity firm agreed with me and bought the company for slightly more than its current valuation, meaning I will no longer have access to further financial gains via an increase in stock price. Back to bitcoin, I go.

• Planning a wedding sucks, but the wedding will be awesome and my partner is even more awesome, so it’s all worth it!

-Clayton

2024 05 12

Flowering tree in spring. Vincennes, Indiana. April, 2024. © Clayton Hauck

Happy Mothers Day! Apologies for posting late, mom. Yes, everything is fine… I’m just falling behind on my blog post scheduling. Hope you had a great day, moms!

-Clayton

2024 05 11

My new Contax T2 next to a Tesla Cybertruck. Effingham, Illinois. April, 2024. © Clayton Hauck

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

2024 05 09

Woman finds the light in downtown Chicago, Illinois. April, 2024. © Clayton Hauck

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:

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? Probably not. Back to listening, I go.

-Clayton

2024 05 08

Fish, just hanging around at Warlord. Chicago, Illinois. September, 2023. © Clayton Hauck

Are you still taking pictures?

It’s something we photographers get asked, usually from relatives who don’t realize it’s a bit insulting, or perhaps can’t imagine somebody sticking with a hobby for their entire life. I’ve been doing photography as a job for about two decades. There have been long stretches of time where I wasn’t also making photos in my down time. It was my job and I still mostly loved it but I’d had my fill of it during the hours I was getting paid to make images.

I’ve long found I go through phases of interest in things. I get obsessed with roller coasters and travel the country riding them; then I get obsessed with coffee and want to open a coffee shop; then I get obsessed with cocktails and want to open a bar; then I get obsessed with geopolitics and want to become an intellectual. Typically these obsessions turn into phases and fade away in time. It’s only logical that photography, though it’s my job, will also ebb and flow in how excited I am to participate in it. Fortunately of late, I’ve found myself in an uptrend and have been motivated to make pictures, and perhaps soon video, at all hours of the day, whether it’s for myself or for a client.

There’s no shame in taking time off, doing something else, starting a new hobby. I can only image how challenging it must be for someone like Peter McKinnon, who built a massive name for himself through photography, to have to navigate what to do once the passion has worn thin and his livelihood is attached to posting thoughtful videos, and his staff is reliant on the income from posting thoughtful videos, but his thoughts are now elsewhere on things his audience may not give a shit about.

I have more complex thoughts on Peter the photographer but have no doubts he’ll find continued success because of his strength as a communicator and storyteller. He became as big as he did not because he’s an amazing photographer (not saying he isn’t!) but because he’s so great at connecting with people through his videos, like this one.

Peter, are you still taking pictures?

-Clayton

2024 05 05

Allison Ziemba basking in the sun. Chicago, Illinois. March, 2024. © Clayton Hauck

Happy sunday, y’all. I’ll be back next week with some new posts and hopefully dig a little deeper on some stuff if I can find more time that I had this previous week.

-Clayton

2024 05 04

A man walks down Elston Avenue. Chicago, Illinois. March, 2024. © Clayton Hauck

This blog post is being written from my studio office, which is inside the Kimball Arts Center. Before I signed the lease on this space, I spent a few years searching, scheming, and dreaming about buying a building which I’d then convert into my own space. This building, pictured here for sale off Elston Avenue, is kind of exactly what I was looking for. The problem was, anything I could find that fit what I needed was either a) well over a million dollars and out of my budget or b) so far away from anywhere I wanted to be that it didn’t make sense.

One building popped up and looked promising, however, I knew it would need some work (as they all do) so hired a brick guy to come out and look at the space with me. Upon arrival, he told me he’d crossed the street to avoid walking next to said building because the condition was so bad he figured the top might topple over at any moment. I got the point and didn’t make an offer on the $400,000 property, which seemed like a great deal at the time.

Before we got to this point, I’d gone to scout out the building and the surrounding area myself. While wandering the nearby alley, a man yelled to get my attention from a dark rear vestibule. Clearly a man down on his luck, sleeping on the floor with a wheel chair next to him, my suspicions were high but I nonetheless approached him cautiously. He asked me to help him get up into his chair. This is when I noticed he didn’t have any legs and the only way he was going to get back into his chair was with the help of someone passing by, such as myself in this moment.

What do you do at this point? Your only choices are to make some jumbled excuse and leave the man helpless on the ground or do your best to get him back up into his chair, so that is what I did. That’s the story of how I held a homeless man in my arms while trying to scout some cheap real estate to fulfill my professional photography career dreams.

Fellow photographer Noah Kalina recently joked on social media that the only ways to get rich in photography these days are to either win a copyright infringement lawsuit or buy real estate in SoHo in the 1980’s. So funny, sad, and true.

That building is still standing, however, the ornate stone crown atop the structure, which my inspector was worried would collapse, was nowhere to be seen the last time I drove past. Be careful where you’re walking.

-Clayton

2024 05 02

People are inside doing things as day turns to night. Chicago, Illinois. March, 2024. © Clayton Hauck

Me, walking into a hotel room for the first time: Oh, nice room, glad I upgraded! The view is decent but I wish the windows were bigger. Why is the sink not draining fast? Why does the sink’s faucet handle come like a millimeter from hitting the mirror? Do people not plan ahead before installing these things? Why do hotels give you giant bar soaps that you end up mostly wasting and without any sort of tray… where are you supposed to put this bar without it getting messy? Nice, one of those Martin Schoeller mirrors… I wonder what he’s up to now. There’s definitely a stain of something on the floor by the toilet. Free water… but it’s Dasani, of course. Oh great the phone is blinking so now I need to figure this out so it doesn’t blink for four days straight and keep me up at night… why are these new phones so impossible to figure out? Clearly whoever designed this thing didn’t expect anyone to use it. Gotta move this weird pillow out of the way. Why are the reading lights on? The air conditioning is kinda loud. Oh great, a text from the hotel, now, too.

Text from hotel: Welcome! Thanks for being a valued member. How is everything with the room?

Me: good, thanks.

-Clayton

2024 04 30

Sunset on Milwaukee Ave. Chicago, Illinois. February, 2024. © Clayton Hauck

Today I’m in Atlanta making photographs in an airplane at the airport for a major commercial client. While I have no idea how the shoot is going since I am writing this a few days before it happens, I have no doubt it’s going smooth and the images we are making are incredible. The big challenge on this specific project will be to light the airplane as if it’s 30,000ft in the sky with sun streaming into the windows, when in reality we will be parked on the ground in a likely dark hangar with a bunch of mechanics driving around and grumpy about all of the people who don’t belong in their workspace.

Sorry, mechanics.

-Clayton

2024 04 29

A car rest wrapped in the drive awaiting nicer weather. Peru, Illinois. March, 2024. © Clayton Hauck

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

2024 04 27

A wintry Chicago scene, devoid of color and life aside from one jacketed child. March, 2024. © Clayton Hauck

Getting drunk and then trying to write is tricky; I’m not sure how Bukowski did it (probably it was scripted). You think all of your thoughts are brilliant but then wake up the next day to realize the opposite. It’s kind of like dreaming; Some of my most amazing ideas have come while deep asleep — I wake up in a pool of brilliance and then doze back off drenched in the cool confidence that I have the Next Big Idea — only to wake up again, once the sunlight is drenching the room in hot reality, and realize the sleepy thoughts were actually complete bullshit.

While walking home from the bar, we came across a brilliant flower poking up from the earth. It reminded me about my new-found Spring Perspective I’ve been dwelling on this year… bare trees have become beautiful to me for the first time in my life! I’ve realized the magic a lack of leaves allows: by letting through light and colors and birds and whatnot, we’re able to view a more complex scene, which a fully leafed-out tree does not allow. It’s a simple idea, yes, but if you’re not paying attention to these sorts of things, they go completely ignored.

Anyway, back to bed I go.

-Clayton

2024 04 26

Car parked at night. Chicago, Illinois. March, 2024. © Clayton Hauck

Sometimes when The Office is on, you get sucked into an Office Hole and forget to finish all the work and blog posts and life stuff that you needed to do. But also sometimes it’s nice to just check out and let your brain decompress for a few hours.

-Clayton

2024 04 25

Bare tree on a sunny winter afternoon, dusty Ricoh sensor for character. Chicago, Illinois. March, 2024. © Clayton Hauck

When it comes to making photos, I’ve tended to be pretty vanilla throughout my professional career from an equipment perspective. Basically, whatever the most recent pro-level Canon SLR body is on the market is what I’ve used with little to no variation, aside from mixing up my editing style. Sure, I love their cameras (reach out about about sponsorship opportunities!) and they do pretty much exactly what I need them to do, however, this was a mistake. Thankfully, I’ve been fully embracing using different tools for different jobs lately. After purchasing my first Ricoh (reach out about about sponsorship opportunities!) and basically carrying it with me in my pocket everywhere I go, my horizons have been expanded and I’ve seen the light! Even now (after over a year of constant use and abuse) that the camera has an ever noticeable layer of dust lining the sensor, forcing me to shoot everything at f2.8, I’m finding myself not much annoyed about it. The dust, while yes maybe not ideal in most situations, also adds a bit of uniqueness to each image, like the imperfections of film or making a photograph through a window or reflective surface. Basically, finding ways to turn otherwise ordinary images into something that has a bit more character.

It’s been a trend for a few years now that photojournalists covering boring political assignments will use fun optical tricks to spice up otherwise bland photos of old, white, male politicians standing on a stage in front of a mic. Using an iphone to add a mirrored reflection; shooting through sparkley stuff to add visual interest; greasing up your lens with a bit of spray tan. Soon, I imagine, you’ll see presidential press conferences (if we ever have those again) covered by the New York Times using a busted Holga (reach out about about sponsorship opportunities!) with funky light leaks because, why not? It’s different.

-Clayton

2024 04 21

Philosophical graffiti as seen in a Humboldt Park underpass. Chicago, Illinois. March, 2024. © Clayton Hauck

This is a strange video to share, but them’s the rules…

My friend Jack texted me a link to this 4 hour 13 minute youtube video that has well over 6 million views. Clear your afternoon, hit play, and take it in. I know, it sounds weird and grim but this thing is really powerfully edited, fascinating, dark, and unlocks all sorts of memories you probably had hiding away in the dusty cabinets of your brain. Or, for the youngs reading this, take a trip into American history and live the day all of us olds remember. Personally, I was scheduled to move into the big city on 9/11/01 to start college so I ended up moving the following day instead.

The video is a timeline playback covering the morning of 9/11 and made up of live tv broadcasts, synced up video footage, and perhaps most interestingly, radio communications between air traffic controllers and various pilots.

Did you know: the pilot of one of the hijacked planes (before it was taken over) made visual ID of another one of the hijacked planes as it was headed off-course towards NYC?

Did you know: one of the hijacked planes nearly collided with another flight, coming reportedly 300ft from a mid-air collision?

Why president Bush’s staff delivered the news to him in front of a classroom full of people and news cameras is baffling to me when put into this context. I guess his administration isn’t known for its competence.

Anyway, I haven’t yet finished the video so don’t spoil the ending for me (okay, terrible dark dad humor… time for me to wrap this up).

-Clayton

2024 04 18

Dark but sunlit kitchen scene. Chicago, Illinois. March, 2024. © Clayton Hauck

Once again, thanks to the modern miracle of air travel, I am back home in my own bed after spending the day down south in Atlanta. For lunch, I had a fried chicken sandwich (because the server told me I’m in the south when I ordered it grilled. Fair enough, boss) and for dinner I had a burrito at Lonesome Rose in Logan Square. I know this is of no interest to anybody reading this, however, I bring it in an attempt to set up to set up a vibe.

Picture this: your plane lands on time. You’re the first one off the plane for the first time in your life (thanks to the Comfort+ on Delta exit row seat). You traveled super light with just a backpack and small camera bag so you high tail it to the people mover (did you now Delta flies out of the international terminal at OHare?), which automatedly takes you to the main terminal where you go downstairs to make your way to the underground CTA blue line stop. The moving walkways briskly move you towards the turnstyle where you tap your phone to gain access, move downstairs to the waiting train, board, then almost immediately hear the chime signaling the doors are about to close. You text your girflriend that you’re on your way home and see if she wants to meet you for dinner at the tex mex spot. She agrees and asks when so you check google maps and it says you’re 15 minutes away. Next thing you know, you’re at the bar, margarita in hand.

I say all this in an attempt to describe a feeling I get when on the move, riding trains, planes and public transit. When shit is working, and you’re moving faster than the endless line of cars stuck on the highway in construction, and the sun is set but things are still bright and alive, it’s one of the greatest feelings in the world. The hustle and bustle of being on the move with a destination and things to do. Even if it’s just a margarita with dinner.

Then, when the subject of The Line (Saudi Arabia’s crazy project which I never expected to actually happen) comes up, for the first time I understood what they had in mind when they proposed this thing. Maybe it is the future of cities, after all.

I’m likely not making much sense to anybody reading this, so off to bed I go.

-Clayton