2026 07 15
Hitting the road today for a week. Wisconsin and UP Michigan. Excited but hoping I don’t take a ton of photos. I want to, but am still so buried in photos. The list of things I want to do before the year is out is long. Wish me luck, I’m going to need it. Happy summer, everyone.
2026 07 09
It’s been too long, blog friends!
The infinite weight of summer has me trapped in its grip. There’s a lot going on, so this here blog has been firmly neglected. I don’t like it, but it is what it is.
We were on the road last week and it was glorious. Many images made. Some good, perhaps? If I’m being honest, I’m quite down on myself these days about the work I’m making. Too many mid photos and not enough direction. I’m flailing a bit while I search for my new voice. The hard understanding is that I believe I’m on the right path, but much more hard work and rejection is needed before I can maybe get to where I’m trying to go. This is all vague and harsh sounding, I realize. It might not even be accurate. It’s just one of these things you go through as an artist in search of his big defining project. My standards are high; the art needs to be meaningful and that’s not an easy thing to accomplish.
Currently, I’m working on my third printed zine project. The good news is, it’s happening. The bad news is my enthusiasm has waned as I’m culling the images. Likely, I will expand my archival reach in an attempt to make the book stronger. This is, I think, the exact takeaway I should be having as I strive to learn and grow as a photographic artist.
Another compromise I’ve reached with myself is to write and post about the trips I am making in search of images. I’ve been getting down on myself that nothing is coming from these trips. I go out, shoot a bunch, get home and then the images mostly sit around on hard drives while I remain too busy to give them the time the require to go somewhere. Writing about, and sharing some of the images as I make them, will hopefully help me justify the time I’m dedicated to the process — and perhaps convince me to dedicate even more time (because much more is needed!) to finally give them an outlet in the world.
Lastly, today Realm is opening a small shared storefront space here in Chicago. It’s exciting! While a modest step towards hopefully achieving the larger space of our own we are dreaming about, the fact that we now have two stores in Chicago with photobooks available to purchase just after one year of operation is no small feat, I think.
This post feels like the above image. I’m here — I’m over there. I’m bright, I’m dim. I don’t like apologizing but I do so here in this frantic attempt at getting a post up without the required time to properly digest my thoughts. Anyway, off to get some yard work done and then open a damn shop! We’re at 2949 W Armitage Ave and will be open tonight (Friday, July 9th) from 5:30pm-7:30pm. Then, every Friday & Saturday from 1pm-6pm.
2026 06 19
It’s been too long, blog! I’ve got so much going on in my life, cuts needed to be made and sadly this here blog has been one of them. On the positive side of things, I forced myself to take a weekend off while a friend was in town staying with us and it was a much-needed perspective shift that has me feeling lighter and more optimistic about the future. I’ll try to get some words down on digital paper to further explain (and to capture them before they float off and/or Workaholic Clayton pushes them out of the way).
And yes, I’m still very sensitive about not getting out to make personal work either Ill Wandering style or even here at home in Chicago. The reality of this year is that far more time will be spent catching up on things that have been neglected for some time now. The shooting will resume again soon, but hopefully with a more firm base of understanding to drive it further along.
Happy summertime, y’all!
2026 06 08
In trying to figure out why I’ve been so drawn towards rural Illinois lately, my most frequent conclusion is that it has been offering me visuals that I’m far less familiar with. Having lived in Chicagoland my entire life, I’ve become quite accustomed to city living and the textures and sights that come along with it. Smaller towns, however, offer something a bit more fresh, metaphorically-speaking. Lately, however, I’m wondering if the reason isn’t a bit more simple: the simplicity itself. My life these last few years has been nonstop, chaotic, stressful, relentless… anything but easygoing. Perhaps it is this more slowed down lifestyle my body is craving. I’m not sure.
What I do know is that I’m excited to get back out and do some more Ill Wandering. Soon, hopefully. I’ve committed to showing some of this work at Filter Photo later this year. A paid portfolio review twenty years into a successful commercial photo career is in ways humbling, but in other ways really exciting. Things feel new again, in a small way. This image won’t make the cut at the review, but I like that it got me thinking more broadly about why I’m making the images I tend to be making lately.
Anyway, back to work.
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 06 02
Very much looking forward to some downtime here this summer. Even after (sadly) cutting this here blog out of my daily routine, I’m severely short on time to do all of the things I need to do. On the positive side, there are likely some exciting new developments happening soon. Until then, I keep on keeping on.
2026 05 20
I’m still wandering down a dozen different paths these days. In reality, things will continue to be a struggle until I commit to one path and really nail the thing into the ground with steel stakes and wooden crossbars. Only then will the grand landscapes of the beyond become an opportunity. Of course, I could continue to wander for the rest of my days and be perfectly happy with it, but I need to acknowledge the costs associated with such a decision. Not deciding is also a decision.
Thank you for listening to my inner monologue with myself.
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 09
Today, I’m hosting a photo zine show at See You Soon that I’m really excited about. I met Nathan Pearce a few years back at a different show I also hosted at my space, and since then, he’s been a big inspiration for me when it comes to the need to print my images and get them out into the world in physical form. He’ll be bringing 50 of his zines, which is what I find so impressive. The fact that he’s been able to so consistently put out projects as a photographer, while also working a job outside of photography, has me feeling like I need to play catch up in this area of my practice that I’ve so thoroughly neglected.
Obviously, success is relative. The simple fact that you have released a bunch of zines doesn’t automatically make you great at what you do. But what I’m finding (all too late in my career) is that the two small book projects I have so far released, while not perfect, are more fulfilling to me than most anything else I’ve done to this point in my photo career. In large part, I think, it’s the process you need to go through to get to the end product. Round after round of further distilling your output and ideas until it reaches a point that it becomes essentially frozen — printed — for other people to digest and interpret. It’s all very cool, and likely what I’m going to spend much of the next decade focused on myself, despite the difficulty associated with such work (honestly, the challenge is in part what attracts me to book making).
Anyway, off the the studio to get set up. If you happen to be reading this today, come join us! We’ll be looking at and discussing photozines (and snacking and drinking, of course) from 4pm-10pm at my space in the Kimball Arts Center.
2026 05 01
FARMER CITY, ILLINOIS
Ain’t no people here. Except the two kids rolling by on bicycles who say to me, “Hello. Hello.” as they pass, while staring me down like I’m from another planet. There are eyes all over town. But the eyes are not human. They’re painted on various surfaces from a likely-bored artist I’d very much like to meet. I imagine he’s behind a curtain up in one of these buildings on Main Street, peering down at me right now. He’s painting more eyes onto a large canvas while a police scanner crackles in the background. Another old man nearly walks into me, startled by another person walking down the sidewalk. I want to ask him about this place but he’s in a hurry so I let him continue and keep it a mystery.
2026 04 27
A few weeks back, we decided to rank the seasons in order of our favorites. At the time, my list was:
Spring
Fall
Summer
Winter
Since then, my allergies have kicked into full gear and I would like to revisit and revise my Official List to this:
Fall
Summer
Winter
Spring
Jokes aside, I think this actually touches on an interesting point. I like to romanticize things based on their strongest properties. In my head at the time, I loved everything about spring: the rebirth and renewal, the return to life, growth, reintroduction of colors, plants, and animals; it’s a fresh start. In practice, however, spring is a sloppy mess and I can hardly function half the time because I’m congested.
I think this is a nice observation that I need to keep in mind when deciding on major life choices. Oftentimes, the efforts required aren’t worth the rewards.
2026 04 21
Yet another image that could use a human… While walking this trail a few days back, I got very excited by the idea of hosting photography workshop/retreats to this property sometime in the future. A lot to consider, as I’m already plenty busy with a hundred other projects, however, I love to keep a big backlog of ideas floating around in the ole brain to help keep me going. If you happen to be reading this and like the idea — let me know!
2026 04 20
Here’s another image I like, but again think it’s missing a lil something to make it great. A human element, perhaps. Maybe I’ll start doing self portraits when I come across scenes like this. Kidding — that will never happen (I’ve tried it and it does not work).
2026 04 19
We pulled into Kingdom a few nights back determined to show Haley a good time for her belated birthday celebration. As Allison was about to put a fresh homemade pizza into the oven, and I struggled over making cocktails without the prep I’d neglected to do, the house power shut off. Outside, a massive rush of wind had just moved through the surrounding farmland area, which properly spooked me enough to rush back inside, while struggling to close the kitchen door behind me. Would this be our first tornado experience?!
One problem you face inside a 150-year old stone farm house in the middle of nowhere is that you’re basically alone. Sure, the farmers across the road protecting their livestock are technically around, but there’s no municipal warning siren to alert you to take shelter. The small interior windows don’t give you much visibility to the potentially-impedning doom awaiting you outside (this must by why wrap-around porches were invented!). Best thing you can do is head to the basement and hope for the best. We, of course, finished our pizzas as the power thankfully kicked back on; I passed out some mediocre cocktails to help take our minds off the twisters; and once the storm passed we rode into town to partake in the weekly karaoke bar night along with a rather robust crowd, considering the situation.
That’s springtime in the Midwest.
2026 04 17
Heading out this way soon to spend some time with Haley and very much looking forward to it, even with possible tornadoes in the forecast. Especially because of that, really.
Have a nice weekend, y’all.
2026 04 12
I’m finally getting on top of my Ill Wandering archives and edits from the last 2+ years. While I haven’t made this ambiguous project a priority, I do have quite a few nice images and hope to make it more of a focus this year. I’ll start to post more images here in hopes of keeping it top of mind.
2026 04 07
This was a spur-of-the-moment attempt at something while passing through Quincy last year on an Ill Wandering outing. Alec, a bank employee, was nice enough to pose for me as he was leaving work. There’s definitely something here, but not sure my vision fully translated in the final image. Mainly, I’m obsessed with the church spire sticking out from Alec’s head and wandered around town capturing it from every angle imaginable. If you’d like to see a dozen more, let me know! Thanks to Alec for being a good sport and entertaining my artistic whims.
2026 03 28
Stumbled upon the below video while editing images at the studio and wanted to share it here. I was not previously familiar with Jared’s work, but I’m glad to be now! He does a nice job of explaining many things that have been rummaging around in my brain for some time now. These concepts are a big part of why I’m adjusting my approach to my personal IG page and, well, kind of reconfiguring my entire photography career.
It’s good to see the kids are alright and nature is healing.