2025 08 23
It’s important to have friends. Chicago, Illinois. July, 2025. © Clayton Hauck
A quick self check-in today, as I scramble to get a bunch of shit done before tomorrow’s tenth Realm photobook and portrait popup. I’ve been putting a lot of hours into this new side project (thanks, Covid!), and it’s important to take a moment to consider why. The monetary gain is far from guaranteed, so why sink countless hours of my already precious time into an endeavor with no promise of success? There are many reasons, really, most of which I won’t get into here today. But perhaps the biggest reason for doing a photobook popup shop, for me, is to get out of my comfort zone. Much as this here blog has been an outlet for me to post dumb photos on the internet for not many people to look at, the larger mission is to retrain my brain to see and think about things differently than I had previously. To expand my horizons.
This image is one I’m a fan of and it was made solely because I was out of the house working a Realm popup. While this example is quite literal (and you don’t need a bookshop to get out of the house and make photos), the larger benefits of putting time into a book shop have all been far more indirect and even abstract. The simple act of spending time looking at the work of other talented photographers has felt a lot like school (in a good way, not the shitty way). It has reshaped my view of what is possible with my own photography and it has changed the way I see my relationship with the medium and that has me quite excited. And perhaps most importantly, I’m making new connections and forming new friendships with other photo-obsessed humans like myself.
Yesterday, our humble lil Realm got its business banking account (after snagging an LLC and EIN the week prior), so we are legit in the eyes of our government. I hope that in the weeks and months to come, we can turn the venture into something that both feels legit to us and to the broader photography community in Chicago and beyond. Stop by Parson’s tomorrow (Sunday) from 12-6pm and see what we have going on. It should be a fun one.
-Clayton
2025 06 10
A glance back in time. Pontiac, Illinois. June, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
I was sent this video (below) and told to watch it, after seeing it pop into my feed and deciding not to (I follow Smarter Every Day but am trying my best to cut down on my youtube time lately). I’m glad it did seep into my brain (thanks Dave!). Honestly, the video resonates with me in so many ways I’m not even sure where to begin. Instead, I will only suggest you give it a watch yourself and see what you take away from it (it’s entertaining, too!).
The one thing I will relate it to here is my ongoing “Ill Wandering” photo project. While out exploring the state, I encounter so many places that clearly feel lost to time. This idea that America has declined, or at the very least changed beyond recognition, is real for so many people. I won’t even begin to get into the complexities here, but will say it’s something I spend a lot of time pondering and hopefully even more time documenting in the months and years ahead.
Oh! Also, I will be showing a few images from the series, for the first time ever, on June 20th during a photography show at my studio… just need to figure out which ones, which is always the hard part for me.
-Clayton
2025 05 29
Another Busted Car. Chicago, Illinois. March, 2025. © Clayton Hauck
It feels like an appropriate day for another Busted Car. While making this image on my walk home from work, a woman came out of her house and asked, clearly suspicious of my actions, “Why are you taking a photo of the car?”
“Art.” I replied, as I walked off into the sunset.
-Clayton
2025 05 16
Cool red car at Casey’s. Franklin Grove, Illinois. May, 2025. © Clayton Hauck
As my hands were filled of gas station snacks, I fumbled for my camera but didn’t get to it before this classic vehicle drove off. Alas, this iphone snap was all I came away with. It is, however, a nice reminder to myself that I’ve really been enjoying my time out in rural Illinois. This town, in particular, is one I will likely be spending much more time in in the years ahead.
-Clayton
2025 05 04
Dont Slam Doors, a reminder. Chicago, Illinois. April, 2025. © Clayton Hauck
May the forth be with you.
-Clayton
2025 04 13
Classic car in Thawville, Illinois. June, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
If you’re in the neighborhood, check out Artesia Brewery.
-Clayton
2025 04 11
Another Busted Car. Chicago, Illinois. January, 2025. © Clayton Hauck
Some days you find the Busted Car, and some days the Busted Car finds you.
-Clayton
2025 04 09
Car. Chicago, Illinois. January, 2025. © Clayton Hauck
Spent too much time writing the studio newsletter. I’m still getting over the mental hurdle that despite the time it takes and the relatively low number of people who will see it, much like this here blog, the benefit is more so to myself than in some quantifiable metric. Perhaps if I was trying to make money off of the newsletter, things would be different. I’m not not trying to do that, but it’s not the motivation.
-Clayton
2025 04 07
Haley, somewhere in northern Illinois. December, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
I started an account on the new Foto app. While I’m not super optimistic it will become the next big thing in photography sharing, I do like what they seem to be trying to do. Social media has transformed drastically since the innocent early days of Instagram, and I’m finding myself less interested in again reshaping instant-gratification-based phone apps and more interested in slow & steady approaches, such as this here blog and my new site, everyoneisfamous.
All that said, there is no doubt in the potential power social apps hold, and I’m simultaneously finding myself considering a much-reluctant sign up to Tik Tok, as my career pivot will be far more reliant on consistent eye balls than it had been previously. And TikTok is where the eye balls are.
Anyway, if you do happen to be on the Foto app, give me a follow @claytonhauck (be my tenth friend)! The devs will apparently be rolling out a web-based presence later this year, which might be a nice compliment to the mobile app, which has been enjoyable in my experience thus far.
-Clayton
2025 04 04
Car. Chicago, Illinois. January, 2025. © Clayton Hauck
There’s this car on my block that I have obsessively been making photos of. I don’t know enough about cars to know why I like it, but I think it’s a Japanese import, and I love the old-school lines. This is one of the pictures I made, edited in a style that I don’t normally do. The digital grain melting into the fine snow particles is nice, I thought.
-Clayton
2025 02 19
Off-season tune-up. Somewhere in Northern Illinois. March, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
This video by Bryan Birks is nice and is inspiring me to get back on the road asap. So many ideas I hope to explore in the not-too-distant future…
Also, I’m realizing I need to do a far better job of documenting where I make images as I make them.
-Clayton
2025 02 07
Another Busted Car. Chicago, Illinois. December, 2024. © Clayton Hauck
Have I posted a Busted Car yet this year? I don’t think so!
I still need to find the time to do a test run of zines. I’ll probably use some Busted Car photos to fill the pages. They continue to call to me for reasons I don’t fully understand. A sign of the times, perhaps.
Also, I think it’s only a matter of time before minivans are cool again. Sure, nobody is having kids anymore but everyone loves their big fucking cars. Plus, they are more comfortable to live inside of!
-Clayton
Update: I did already post one, and it was the same car! See: 2025 01 13
2025 01 13
I’m going to print some zines this year. I’d been planning to do a zine of my Busted Car photos, but since Nathan Pearce just put one out, I’ll probably skip that idea.
Creativity is hard!
-Clayton
Another busted car. Chicago, Illinois. December 2025. © Clayton Hauck
I’m going to print some zines this year. I’d been planning to do a zine of my Busted Car photos, but since Nathan Pearce just put one out, I’ll probably skip that idea.
Creativity is hard!
-Clayton