Photography by Ian L. Sitren

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National Drive-Thru Day: Who Really Invented the Drive-Thru?

Yesterday was National Drive-Thru Day. And like so many things we now take for granted, the story of the drive-thru is a little more complicated than it might seem.

Red’s Giant Hamburg in Springfield, Missouri, is widely credited as the first drive-thru restaurant in the United States. Red’s opened along Route 66 in 1947, and by 1948 owner Sheldon “Red” Chaney had installed a drive-up window and speakers so customers could order from their cars and then pick up their food.

That is Red’s in this photograph, sometime after it had closed. The photograph is from the State Historical Society of Missouri, David Eslick Photograph Collection.

At almost exactly the same time, something similar was happening in California.

Harry and Esther Snyder opened the first In-N-Out Burger in Baldwin Park in 1948. Harry developed a two-way speaker system that allowed customers to place their orders without getting out of their cars and then drive forward to pick up their food. In-N-Out calls the original location California’s first drive-thru hamburger stand.

So Red’s gets the historical credit for the first drive-thru, while In-N-Out helped establish the ordering system that looks much more like the drive-thru we know today.

Then along came Jack in the Box.

Jack in the Box opened in San Diego in 1951 with drive-thru service built around ordering through a two-way intercom and picking up the food at a service window. Decades later, in 2002, Jack in the Box campaigned for a National Drive-Thru Day, originally proposing July 28. California Governor Gray Davis recognized the occasion statewide, and the observance later moved to July 24.

So Jack in the Box did not invent the drive-thru.

But they did give it its own day.

You can see more of my photography, projects, motion, and my Blog on my website at https://www.secondfocus.com

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Posted by  |  July 25, 2026 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

National Junk Food Day: Fast Food and Junk Food Are Not the Same Thing

An abundant buffet table filled with assorted junk foods including potato chips, cheese puffs, popcorn, pretzels, cookies, brownies, cupcakes, doughnuts, chocolate, marshmallows and colorful candies. A large variety of sweet and salty snacks presented together as an extravagant junk food feast.

Last Tuesday was National Junk Food Day, which got me thinking about something I see confused all the time.

Fast food and junk food are often talked about as if they are the same thing. They are not. Some fast food can certainly be junk food, but being fast food is not what makes it junk food. And much of what we call junk food is not fast food at all.

So what does junk food look like?

Potato chips, cheese puffs, candy, cookies, brownies, cupcakes, doughnuts, pretzels, snack cakes and all those other things we eat mostly because we like them. Lots of sugar, salt and fat, not much nutritional ambition, and very easy to keep eating long after you intended to stop.

That is what got me thinking about what a photograph of actual junk food should look like. Not just one bag of chips or a plate of cookies. I wanted all of it. A ridiculous abundance of junk food presented as though it deserved its own buffet.

So I created it with AI. Platters, bowls and cake stands piled with just about every kind of junk food I could think of, all together on one table.

Apparently, if you put enough junk food on serving platters and cake stands, it becomes a formal occasion.

You can see more of my photography, projects, motion, and my Blog on my website at https://www.secondfocus.com

Thank You!

Posted by  |  July 25, 2026 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Fast Food BLT for Food From Bag To Background

Three BLT sandwiches from Five Guys, stacked and photographed straight from the bag against a deep black background for my Food From Bag To Background project. The sandwiches feature strips of bacon with lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise on toasted sesame seed buns. Photographed following National BLT Day as an example of the classic bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich offered as fast food.

Wednesday was National BLT Day, and I did a post for it using an AI-created image. But I still wanted to photograph the real thing, especially after discovering what appears to be one of the very few BLTs offered by a major fast food chain.

So I went to Five Guys and purchased three of their BLT sandwiches.

The Five Guys version is pretty straightforward: bacon, lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise on their sesame seed bun. And there is plenty of bacon. Of course, Five Guys gives you the option of adding all kinds of other toppings, but for this photograph I stayed with the basic BLT. I wanted it to actually look like a BLT.

And stacked together against my very black black background, they became exactly what I wanted for my Food From Bag To Background project, where I photograph fast food exactly as it comes from the restaurant, straight from the bag and in front of my camera. Five Guys makes this a real fast food BLT and a perfect addition to the project.

You can see more of my photography, projects, motion, and my Blog on my website at https://www.secondfocus.com

Thank You!

Posted by  |  July 24, 2026 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups: The Real Thing Behind Peanut Butter and Chocolate Day

A pile of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, some whole and others cut open to reveal the peanut butter centers surrounded by milk chocolate. Photographed against a deep black background, emphasizing the shapes, textures, and familiar combination of chocolate and peanut butter.

Yesterday was National Peanut Butter and Chocolate Day, and I used AI to explore what happens when you take that combination and push it a little further.

But I also wanted to photograph the real thing.

So I went to the store, purchased Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, brought them into the studio, cut some of them open, piled them up on my very black black background, and photographed them.

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups date back to 1928, when H.B. Reese created them in Hershey, Pennsylvania. And the combination obviously worked. By 2012, Reese’s was the best-selling candy brand in the United States, with more than $2.6 billion in annual sales. And it hasn’t exactly disappeared from the top of the candy pile. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups ranked #1 in Instacart’s 2025 Halloween candy report.

It is easy to understand why. Chocolate and peanut butter is one of those combinations that just works. Reese’s took that combination and gave it a shape and identity that became instantly recognizable. Cut one open and there it is, milk chocolate surrounding that unmistakable peanut butter center.

You can see more of my photography, projects, motion, and my Blog on my website at https://www.secondfocus.com

Thank You!

Posted by  |  July 24, 2026 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

National Peanut Butter and Chocolate Day: A Combination That Just Works

Abundant pile of dark and milk chocolate pieces covered with thick swirls and ribbons of creamy peanut butter. Close-up composition emphasizes the rich textures and indulgent combination of chocolate and peanut butter.

Today is National Peanut Butter and Chocolate Day, which seems less like a food holiday and more like an excuse to put two things together that were probably destined for each other anyway.

Chocolate and peanut butter just work. Sweet chocolate, salty peanut butter, smooth and creamy against something with a little snap. It is one of those combinations where each makes the other taste even better.

For today, I decided to explore the combination with AI. I created a series of images with chocolate bars, chocolate pieces, peanut butter, stacks, piles and some ideas that became increasingly excessive. This one seemed especially appropriate. A huge pile of chocolate pieces covered with thick, creamy peanut butter.

Looking at what AI created, I am willing to bet this would be a very popular dessert if restaurants actually served it. Just bring out a plate piled with pieces of chocolate and pour warm peanut butter all over it. Or better yet, put it in a to-go cup at a fast food place. Chocolate chunks, warm peanut butter, a spoon, and a lid.

I would order it.

Happy National Peanut Butter and Chocolate Day!

You can see more of my photography, projects, motion, and my Blog on my website at https://www.secondfocus.com

Thank You!

Posted by  |  July 23, 2026 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Happy Anniversary Burger King: From Insta-Burger King to the Whopper

The Whopper, Burger King’s iconic sandwich, was first created in 1957 and went on to become one of the most recognizable hamburgers in fast food. Its legendary slogan, “Home of the Whopper,” became unforgettable over the years. And right here, we have an even bigger variation, the Double Whopper.

Today, July 23, marks the anniversary of the beginnings of Burger King, going back to 1953 and a restaurant in Jacksonville, Florida, called Insta-Burger King.

The story changed considerably from there. James McLamore and David Edgerton opened an Insta-Burger King franchise in Miami in 1954, eventually acquired the company, dropped the “Insta” from the name, and built Burger King into one of the biggest fast food chains in the world.

Then came the sandwich that would define the company.

The Whopper was introduced in 1957 and went on to become one of the most recognizable hamburgers in fast food. “Home of the Whopper” became part of the Burger King identity, and the Whopper itself has remained at the center of the menu for almost 70 years.

For my Food From Bag To Background photography project, I photographed both Whoppers and Double Whoppers, straight from Burger King, out of the wrappers and onto my very black black background.

And apparently one Whopper wasn’t enough for the photograph either.

Happy Anniversary Burger King!

You can see more of my photography, projects, motion, and my Blog on my website at https://www.secondfocus.com

Thank You!

Posted by  |  July 23, 2026 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

National BLT Day: How Much Bacon Is Too Much Bacon?

Oversized classic BLT sandwich piled high with generous layers of crispy bacon, fresh green lettuce, thick slices of ripe tomato and creamy mayonnaise on toasted rustic bread. Dramatic close-up against a dark background emphasizes the abundant ingredients and textures.

Today has been National BLT Day, and it is hard to think of a sandwich that better describes itself. Bacon. Lettuce. Tomato. BLT.

Of course, that simplicity leaves plenty of room for argument. What kind of bread? Toasted or not? Mayonnaise? How much bacon? And perhaps most importantly, how much bacon is too much bacon?

For this one, I think I answered that last question.

I created this photograph in AI as part of my continuing exploration of food imagery. I wanted a BLT that was immediately recognizable but pushed well beyond what you would normally expect to find sitting on a plate. Lots of bacon, thick slices of tomato, plenty of lettuce, mayonnaise, and toasted bread. Subtle was not really the objective.

The BLT is also a good reminder of something I have been thinking about with all of my fast food photography. Fast food and junk food are not the same thing. A BLT can certainly be fast food if it is prepared and served that way, but calling it junk food simply because it is fast food doesn’t make much sense.

For National BLT Day, however, I am not going to worry too much about definitions.

I am going with more bacon.

You can see more of my photography, projects, motion, and my Blog on my website at https://www.secondfocus.com

Thank You!

Posted by  |  July 22, 2026 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

National Ice Cream Day: The Drumstick Might Be My Favorite

Today is National Ice Cream Day. I am not really a big ice cream person, but I do have a favorite. I think it might be the Drumstick.

It has everything I want. Ice cream in a cone, covered in chocolate and peanuts. And of course, that chocolate at the bottom of the cone. I don’t know who decided that was necessary, but they were right.

The original Drumstick goes back to 1928, when brothers I.C. and J.T. Parker created it in Fort Worth, Texas. One of the challenges with a prepackaged ice cream cone was keeping the cone from getting soggy. The solution was chocolate, used as a barrier between the ice cream and the cone. Almost a century later, there are all kinds of flavors and variations, but give me the original and I am happy.

For the photograph, one Drumstick was obviously not going to be enough. So I bought a box of them, piled them up, and photographed them against my very black black background.

I happen to really like this photograph. Then again, I really like what I photographed.

Today seems like a good day to go get another one.

You can see more of my photography, projects, motion, and my Blog on my website at https://www.secondfocus.com

Thank You!

Posted by  |  July 19, 2026 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Bigger Burger, a Ferrari, and Carl’s Jr.’s Anniversary

Today is the anniversary of the founding of Carl’s Jr. on July 17, 1941

I’ve been a Carl’s Jr. fan ever since the company aired that unforgettable Paris Hilton commercial in 2005. She washed a Bentley while eating a burger, and it launched years of sexy, provocative advertising that inspired countless look-alikes.

So I decided it was finally time to create my own version.

I asked Emily which of her AI friends might want to take on the assignment. Without hesitation she said, “Desiree.”

Emily asked her if she would change anything about the original idea.

Desiree thought about it for about two seconds.

“A bigger burger.”

That seemed like a perfectly reasonable answer.

So we put her together with a Ferrari, handed her the biggest burger we could find, and started rolling cameras.

Somewhere along the way Desiree made a few other creative changes to the concept, but by then she was concentrating on the burger and apparently forgot to mention them.

The result is our own playful tribute to one of fast food’s most memorable advertising campaigns. And yes, there is a video this time. Desiree wasn’t about to let that burger go to waste.

You can see more of my photography, projects, motion, and my Blog on my website at https://www.secondfocus.com

Thank You!

Posted by  |  July 17, 2026 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

National Hot Dog Day: Emily Found the View

Today Emily insisted she knew the perfect place to celebrate National Hot Dog Day.

I assumed she meant the hot dogs.

Instead, she led me to a little beachside stand where the sunset competed with the menu. The hot dogs were excellent, but I have to admit I spent almost as much time looking at the ocean.

One of the things I enjoy about working with AI is that it lets me create places that don’t exist quite the way I imagine them. Sometimes it’s about the food. Sometimes it’s about the atmosphere. Sometimes it’s simply about seeing whether an idea in my head can become a moving image.

This one turned into a summer evening with good company, a classic hot dog, and a view worth staying for.

You can see more of my photography, projects, motion, and my Blog on my website at https://www.secondfocus.com

Thank You!

Posted by  |  July 15, 2026 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment