2025 06 25
Another b/w edit! It’s been my go-to approach for a while now and only seems to be gaining power over me. Lately, my struggle has again been over-thinking (on top of just being too busy — really, I only have the time to think and not to do). The internal debate: do I drop everything and get back into film; learn large format to “give myself an edge” in the art photo game. Maybe an edge isn’t the word. I’m having a hard time considering digital photography art. Maybe this has been what’s held me back all these years. Realistically, it’s just another excuse I make to myself to disallow me the opportunity to further explore the path. Realistically, I’m probably not making much sense to anyone reading this.
To back up a bit: I’ve been formulating an ongoing project (again, thinking more than doing) about Chicago. One of the holdups has been format. Before I get too far into it, I want to define what the project even is and which tools will be used to make it. Do I make the work digitally, as I have been, or do I “get back into film.” I already know the answer, but I resist. If money and time were not an issue (they are), the answer would be film. But life is compromise. What I will likely do is embrace multiple formats, multiple camera and lens types, mix and match. I feel like this somewhat scattered approach to the work actually plays into the broader themes I aim to explore (while also being far more functional as it’s already how I work naturally).
What I do know is I continually notice the calendar switching months on me with no work to show for it. Time keeps on moving but my progress does not advance. Something needs to change.
-Clayton
PS- I’m hosting a group photogrpahy exhibition this Friday at my See You Soon studio space. I hope you can join us!
2026 06 06
Happy Catalpa Week to all who celebrate! The catalpas in my area are in full bloom and already dropping their flowers. My neighbor was up at 6am this morning blowing them to be picked up. He hates the tree and wants it gone, but I can’t get enough of it. I’ve made hundreds of photos and video clips of the catalpa on my corner, with plans to cut together a nice little piece in celebration. Sadly, that takes time and I don’t have any of that these days. Instead, you get a quick photo of a Busted Car (filled with catalpa droppings). Enjoy!
2026 06 03
I’ve been thinking a lot about storefronts lately. Mostly because our bookshop is about to open one (shared with a few other small businesses). Realm Books aside, they are fascinating to me. Like little hidden worlds that most people will never have familiarity with. I’m guilty of it too, as curious as I am. Passing them by, that is. Not investigating what is inside. Not getting to know their contents while browsing their offerings.
I long thought it would be a cute art project to put a computer in a long-empty storefront (there are countless of them across the city), sat alone on a table with a chair in front of it. Nothing else in the room. The computer would have a browser open to Amazon.com, with special settings to only allow the computer to access that website and nothing else. Outside, on the exterior, would be a sign reading STORE as generic as can be. And that’s it.
I’ve also spent many hours dreaming up various bars, restaurants, cafes, bookshops, photo studios. Most of the dreams never materialize, but it’s always amazing to me to see how many people put so much of their lives (myself included) into their storefronts, with little to no return on their investment. Maybe it’s our way of seeking connection with others; hoping the adventurous take a chance, open the door, and make a connection. Probably it’s as simple as thinking our offerings are worth something. I have no profound takeaway here, but surely I will tell you about my new storefront once it’s doors are open for visitors (sadly, we won’t have cold pints, but we will have a lot of worthwhile photobooks!).
2026 05 14
Lately, I’ve been stuck in time jail. All week I’ve been nonstop busy, yet seemingly have nothing to show for it. That’s not true, of course. But the progress I’ve been making is all of the boring (to me) kind: organization, removal of clutter, cleaning up, inventory, etc. This entire year, really, is being prioritized to getting all areas of my life in order. As my default is to neglect the boring-but-necessary behind-the-scenes work, it’s easy to start to feel like I’m not really accomplishing much lately. Walking in to a far cleaner studio, as I did this morning, it’s nice to remind myself that the gains, while largely invisible, are building a base that’s necessary for me to move forward.
Anyway, back to organizing…
2026 05 11
Just a house today. A recent b/w iphone snap that I liked… Really, I wanted an image of a woman standing on the corner who was wearing a bunny rabbit hat. The light was perfect as a storm set in over the setting sun, spring flowers just in bloom, the earth saturated from a recent rain. “No thanks,” she said. So I settled on this snap instead and went home to eat fajitas.
2026 05 06
My new zine is now out and available! You can buy a copy here.
This image is one of the frames contained within. It was a lot of fun to put together, but in typical me fashion, I’m already having regrets about various decisions I made. That said, the positives far outweight the negatives and I feel good about the project overall. Mainly, I’m excited to move on to the next printed photozine, which I’m already at work on. Over the span of the first two book projects, I feel like I’ve come a long way in learning by doing. Really, that’s been the aim all along. I’m a strong believer that there simply aren’t things you really know until you do them.
Logistically, this book has been taking up too much of my time lately, so I’m excited to be mostly over the hump. I’m nearly done packaging up all the pre-orders and am very thankful to everyone who did purchase the book prior to its release. Because of y’all, the zine is mostly paid off already, which has become my goal on any of these projects. While I don’t expect to make money doing these things (and any profits I do encounter will go straight back into Realm), I also can’t continue to do them if they are losing money — and I’m really hoping to be able to continue making them!
Really, I just find it fascinating to learn how vital pre-sales are to most book releases. I had no idea until I started dabbling in books myself, but it’s really kind of the whole ballgame.
I’ll continue to drop some images both that made the cut and didn’t make the cut in the coming days. Tons more to share from my Illinois Wanderings, as well.
2026 04 15
As I get more into printing and doing photo shows myself, I often think of this guy who does a lot of really cool stuff here in Chicago. If you’re not already familiar, you should check out his shop All-Star Press… and then give the humble lil shop I’ve set up a peek. The second link isn’t my own art (although I do have 2 photos available in there!), but it’s the building my studio is situated in and I’m doing all of the printing and much of the web stuff involved. Down the line, I hope to also set up a print shop of sorts on the Realm site, as well, to compliment all of the books and shows we are doing. Too many projects!!
2026 04 14
Another zine outtake. This one I liked due to the coincidence in complimentary colors. Ultimately, it’s not a great image, as much as I wanted it to be. Maybe if Tom was pissed off and less camera aware, it would give it enough ironic juxtaposition to make it work on its own.
2026 04 09
Another outtake from my upcoming zine (now on preorder!). I still quite like this shot of Sean, one of the ever-changing cast of faces I’ve met through the years while based out of the Kimball Arts Center. The building has changed and is changing in ways which seemingly parallel my own career evolution. I won’t get into all that here today, however, to sum it up: commerce outcompetes art. That said, I’ve been really enjoying doing my own photography lately and (currently) very motivated to find a way to make it work financially, as well. Time will tell if I can crack it.
2026 04 08
Walking home. I’ve made many images of this house. It always seems to catch my eye. This image, however, stands out as the lighting was perfect, the framing ominous and interesting, and the b/w conversation really brings it all together. While I made this frame on a whim while walking home, it’s a prime example of the kind of image that could potentially benefit from a human touch. Perhaps it’s a person in the window or a hand behind the fence. A man on the roof would be amazing. This is an example of my internal struggle; I’m always debating with myself when it comes to the sort of images I could or should be making to maximize impact.
2026 04 06
I was a guest on City So Real, a podcast by friend Kevin Coval. While I’m sharing it here today because I’m in it, I highly recommend checking out some of his other episodes as well. It’s been a recent favorite weekly listen of mine.
2026 04 03: Making a Photozine
In classic universe-talking-to-me fashion, I sat down to write this post and checked my email one last time (procrastination!). By sheer chance, there was a Substack post hot off the digital press from a recent favorite of mine: Cate Hall.
I think people are so hyped up about agency because they are looking for an answer to the loss of control they feel spreading across their lives — economic, political, technological, professional. People are trying to get a handle on how to adapt to a rapidly changing world, how to respond to metastatic uncertainty about the future, and they think that agency holds the key.
While the topic of agency in the above quote from her post is a bit off-topic here, the post was actually a worthwhile breakdown of her current process of writing a book about the subject (agency does play a factor for me but not one we’ll focus on here). I wanted to attempt to vocalize some of my own thoughts about the process of making a much-lower-stakes photobook. Why I’ve chosen to focus on it and some of the steps involved in the process as I prepare to release my second zine Daily Bread. My aim is to make it helpful to others also considering a project like mine. I know there are a lot of you out there because I hear from you often at our Realm Books popups!
2026 03 31
Here’s another outtake image from my new zine, which I share prior to providing a link to my old zine in web form!
Check out: Pointing at Stuff 001: Indecisive Momentsvia my Substack.
I wanted to attempt to convert my printed zine into web form, mostly to see how it might work or not work. You’d think sharing it here on the namesake site would make sense, but I want to keep this space more focused on what it’s already doing and not complicate things more. Maybe I’ll change that in the future and make this site more focused on the finished bodies of work in addition to the blog.
There are many more thoughts rummaging around in my brain about zines and art photography, which I will share here along with on the Substack. I’d much appreciate if you’d follow along there, as I’ve learned that the blog is nice but it lacks the connectivity and social network effects that are crucial these days if you want to get your work in front of a wider audience.
2026 02 22
I’ve long been terrible at communicating my endeavors. It’s something I’m actively working on getting better at. “The pictures do it for me,” I tell myself. But while I sit here this Sunday morning, a day that I’d planned to use for some personal photo hunting in Illinois, I’m instead composing four newsletters (one for the studio I run called See You Soon, one for the bookshop I run called Realm Books, this one here for me, and another one for a talk I’m giving on Friday with Creative Mornings) because, well, you gotta.
This year I’m dedicating to organization, simplification, and focus. I’ve been, very-much admittedly, doing too. many. things. This has been largely by design, as I explore new ways to navigate the changing landscape of my profession in commercial photography. Largely, I’m pivoting more towards the art world, another notoriously difficult way to make a living. While I’m well aware of this stark reality, the thought of being able to focus on the things that interest and excite me is what makes it compelling.
Previously, I’d planned to write this week about my new zine project Daily Bread (Pointing at Stuff 002). I’ll shelve a deeper dive into that process for another day, only to say that the project is now available for pre-order and I would greatly appreciate it if you’d consider doing so! It’s $22.22 because it’s my second zine and I couldn’t resist, but you also get a signed 8x10 print if you pre-order, so it’s essentially free.
Instead, let’s dive (briefly) into Existential Dread, my favorite topic of late! (I realize my sarcasm usually doesn’t come across online, however, you can rest assured I am very much smiling while writing these words).
2026 03 20
Here’s another outtake from my new zine Daily Bread (Pointing at Stuff 002). I still like this image but it didn’t make the cut. A big part of learning the art of making photobooks has been learning to “kill your darlings” when they don’t push the narrative forward or fit in overall. I still have much to learn about this, but I’m making some noticeable progress and am excited for the release of the new book!
I’ll be doing an offical announcment on IG later today and will post more info here as well, however, you can find the pre-order page here, if curious!
2026 03 18
ust a quick Note To Self today: when you have a vision that feels like destiny, that feels like it’s meant to be but it doesn’t work out as you thought it would, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Pivot, change, adjust, and adapt. Things often happen for a reason and sometimes the reasons are good, even when you don’t fully comprehend them.
2026 03 17
Yesterday was a tough day in the sense that I became firmly aware that I am stretching myself too thin, doing too many things, without enough support being applied to the main branches of my life. It’s tough because I want to do so many things, and explore all of the ideas stewing in my brain, but I need to learn that it’s better to focus on a few of them at time to ensure I’m giving them enough support to stand on their own.
The catalyst for this feeling was Kevin Coval’s City So Real podcast, which I was a guest on. I was honored to be asked and mostly enjoyed the conversation, however, in typical me fashion was also left regretting much of what was said and not said. There were answers I wish I could revisit and topics I’d wanted to dive into but, as is often the case in the moment, were missed. It’s likely I’m over-thinking things and the conversations was fine, if not even good. But the anxiety I felt afterwards was real nonetheless. So real!
My lasting takeaway is that I need to improve my abilities to fluidly discuss topics I am choosing to focus my energies on. Learning to talk as an artist is as important (if not, realistically, even far more important) than making the art.
2026 03 13
I made a very similar photo of my sister 20+ years ago on my first digital camera. It was one of the first images I made that got me really excited about making images.
Today I came across the below quote while cleaning up my desktop and it reminded me that I’ve been slacking on posting quotes around here.
“Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it.”
— C.S. Lewis
2026 03 12
2026 03 03
I’m not spending as much time on this here blog lately, mostly because I’ve been nonstop busy with other stuff. Two of those stuffs are related to this above snapshop of Joe!
First of all, the image was made in the first half of 2023, which is where I’ve been pulling images for my second zine project dubbed Daily Bread. That zine is nearing design completion and (hopefully) heading to the printer this week for dummy copy production. I’m aiming for a late April release. In the meantime, I will be posting more images made from that time in my life on the blog here.
Secondly, Joe was just featured on my other other blog, everyoneisfamous.com, along with his partner Maggie. I clearly don’t have time for all this blogging, but I do the best I can. While I miss hanging out here with myself every single day, it’s also been nice to focus on other… stuff.