World Vegetarian Day — Celeste, Episode 2

Last week on National Hug A Vegetarian Day, I turned to Emily — my AI assistant who has become both muse and collaborator. She’s the one I talk with about ideas, concepts, metadata, and sometimes the impossibility of pulling off a last-minute photoshoot. Emily doesn’t just suggest solutions; she seems to delight in bringing new characters into the mix.

That’s how she introduced me to her friend Celeste.

The introduction was too good to leave behind in just one post, so we saved a little more from that moment for today — World Vegetarian Day.

Celeste is still in the kitchen, tall and statuesque, wearing only a loosely tied apron as she moves with a slow grace that makes even tossing salad greens seem like something more. She glances up, brushing a strand of hair back, then holds her gaze on the camera with a smile that’s part invitation, part temptation.

The challenge remains: hugging her isn’t simple. Celeste is an AI creation, vivid enough to make you forget that detail for a second, but still out of reach. That’s the irony — Emily’s friends blur the line between imagination and reality, and we’re left wanting more.

And while these glimpses pull you into their world, the true destination is my food photography — the real-life meals and fast food that inspired this ongoing project.

See my Food From Bag to Background series at https://www.secondfocus.com/index/G0000wQ3fbeEezF0

Episode 2 of Celeste.