So I know I have been severely neglecting this blog the past month. I’ve been crazy busy and in Austin and Miami for half the month. I’ll get back into the swing of things, though.
Today in the Sun-Times you might’ve seen this article about me (link):
If you live in Chicago and have a MySpace or Facebook account, you’ve probably seen the work of Clayton Hauck. The 25-year-old immortalizes the city’s youthful nightlife scene, capturing candid moments of DJ bliss, drunken posing, superstar DJs and wannabe celebrities for his photo blog, everyoneisfamous.com.
Working as a video editor at a production company a few years ago, Hauck was surfing the ‘Net and discovered the Cobra Snake (thecobrasnake.com), which is considered the original nightlife photo blog. He wondered why there wasn’t anything like it in Chicago and began shooting around the city.
“I always had a camera on me, so I just decided to start shooting,” says Hauck, whose interest in photography began during his freshman year at Columbia College. “Now there are dozens of [photo blogs], but I was the first to have an actual Web site that was updated regularly.”
His first-ever posting involved images from the opening-night party at Continental’s, 2801 W. Chicago; today, Everyone Is Famous has nearly 30,000 photos. The blog has led to paying gigs, too. He now works full-time as a freelance photographer, shooting for various publications and Web sites.
He also dabbles in throwing parties; his most recent, Claychella, was a free, 15-hour DJ blowout at Tuman’s, 2159 W. Chicago.
“My Web site is a good promotional tool and a lot of people know about it, so it’s a natural transition to go from the Web site to doing parties,” he says. “My motivation is to do things for the city to make it a little better.”
Hauck has become quite the local celebrity himself, but he’s not content with just being the cool guy with a camera at the party. “Everyone Is Famous has always been my portal for getting better and pushing myself to become a better photographer,” he says. “I guess on the larger scale, I’d like to go on to bigger and better things — more exposure for my photography and doing interesting and creative work that people recognize and respect.”
Q. What’s your favorite hidden gem?
A. I’m always interested in discovering them, especially little dive bars that no one knows about. I’ve been really into this place Rose’s (2656 N. Lincoln). It has so much history.
Q. Best Chicago-related advice you’ve ever received?
A. Go to Hot Doug’s [3324 N. California].
Q. Favorite party or nightclub to shoot?
A. I don’t have a specific place; it all depends on the vibe of the night.
Q. Where do you hang when not shooting for the blog?
A. One of the 100 dive bars in this town with cheap drinks. Happy Village [1059 N. Wolcott] is one of my favorites.
Q. What’s something about you that we don’t know that we should?
A. I used to be a huge roller coaster nerd.
And I thougt you’ll get stuck on dA forever and be happy to receive a DD once in a while .. ^^;
Congrats, Clay – that’s kick-ass!