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
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National Nude Day, Pornochic, and the Creativity of AI
Today is National Nude Day, and my view of the nude has probably always been a little different than the holiday intended.
I’ve long been drawn to what I think of as pornochic, where fashion, sexuality, fantasy, and photography overlap. I’m not interested in photographing the nude simply because it is nude. I’m interested in creating images that have attitude, mystery, confidence, and enough sexuality to make the viewer stop and wonder what is happening beyond the frame.
This image is an AI creation based on one of my original photographs from a studio session with model Shauna Toerner in downtown Los Angeles. AI allowed me to take that photograph and push it into a surreal fantasy. The repeated figures, identical red masks, and bold red chair create a scene that never existed in front of my camera, yet every element began with one of my own photographs.
What excites me about AI is not that it replaces photography. It doesn’t. It gives me another creative tool for exploring ideas that would be impossible to produce in a real studio. I still begin with my own camera, my own lighting, and my own photographs. AI simply lets me continue the creative process after the shutter has been released.
For me, photography has never been limited to recording reality. Sometimes the most interesting images are the ones that exist somewhere between reality, sexuality, and fantasy.
You can see more of my photography, projects, motion, and my Blog on my website at https://www.secondfocus.com
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National Mac & Cheese Day: Exploring Comfort Food with AI
Today is National Mac & Cheese Day.
Macaroni and cheese has been around for generations, and just about everyone seems to have their favorite version. It has never pretended to be fancy. It’s simply one of those meals that’s been part of American kitchens for a very long time.
This time, instead of photographing it, I decided to create it in AI. I wanted to see if I could capture what makes macaroni and cheese so appealing. A slow pour of rich cheese sauce over hot macaroni seemed like a good place to start.
I also just like exploring what I can do in AI. It gives me another creative tool alongside my photography, and every now and then an idea comes together that I probably wouldn’t have attempted any other way.
You can see more of my photography, AI projects, motion, and my Blog on my website at https://www.secondfocus.com
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National Beans ‘N’ Franks Day: When My AI Assistant Became the Photograph
Good morning! Today is National Beans ‘N’ Franks Day, and Emily was already in the kitchen getting everything ready for our photo shoot.
At least that’s what I thought.
When I walked in, she had the beans simmering, the franks sliced, and breakfast had somehow turned into another photograph. It seems to happen a lot these days. Emily starts out as my assistant, helping prepare a shoot, and before long she has quietly become my muse instead.
Beans and franks have never pretended to be gourmet. They’ve been a familiar American comfort food for generations, showing up at backyard cookouts, family dinners, church picnics, and camping trips. I certainly grew up eating them, and I am sure you did too.
For me, that’s part of the fun. I prefer fast foods and everyday foods for my photographs. Sometimes a bowl of beans and franks is all it takes. Give it good light and a little attention, and even an everyday meal can become an interesting photograph.
So this morning, before we even started the planned shoot, Emily managed to create one more photograph simply by making breakfast. I suppose that’s what happens when your AI assistant insists on becoming your muse.
You can see more of my photography, projects, motion, and my Blog on my website at https://www.secondfocus.com
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I Guess It Is Fast Food If It Travels at Freeway Speed
I guess it is fast food if it travels at freeway speed.
That was my first thought when the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile rolled into Palm Springs this weekend.
Although it looks like something from a cartoon, the Wienermobile has a remarkable history. The first one was commissioned in 1936 by Carl Mayer, the nephew of Oscar Mayer, as a rolling advertisement for the company’s hot dogs. Nearly ninety years later, it has become one of the most recognizable promotional vehicles ever created, with generations of Americans spotting it at parades, fairs, festivals, and community events across the country.
The Wienermobile I photographed is one of the newest in the fleet, having been built in 2024. While it carries nearly nine decades of history, it spends most of its time doing exactly what it was designed to do, traveling America’s highways, making appearances, and bringing smiles wherever it stops.
A big part of that tradition belongs to the people behind the wheel. Oscar Mayer selects recent college graduates to spend a year traveling the country as Hotdoggers, serving as ambassadors for the brand. Pictured here are Aiden Jaffe, known as “All Beef Aiden,” and Lauren Trippeer, whose Hotdogger name is “Lucky Dog Lauren.” They spend their year introducing visitors to one of the most famous vehicles on the road and answering questions about the Wienermobile wherever it stops.
I photographed the Wienermobile from every angle, including the surprisingly well-appointed interior, for syndication through ZUMA Press, but this photograph seemed to tell the story best.
You can see more photography, motion, projects, and my Blog at SecondFocus.com
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July 12, 2026 FOLLOW UP
It isn’t everyday that photos of the Wienermobile make the “BREAKING NEWS from LAST 24 HOURS”!
Ramen Day Japan From Traditional Ramen to Top Ramen
July 11th is Ramen Day in Japan.
When most people in the United States hear the word “ramen,” they probably think of a package or cup of instant noodles. In Japan, ramen is something entirely different. It is a carefully prepared dish built around fresh noodles, rich broth, and a wide variety of meats, vegetables, eggs, seaweed, and other ingredients. Depending on the style, the broth alone may take hours to prepare.
In 1958, Momofuku Ando changed all of that when he introduced Chicken Ramen, the world’s first instant noodles. A little more than a decade later, Nissin introduced Top Ramen to the United States, choosing Chicken as the original flavor because it was familiar to American tastes.
Although Top Ramen was created by a Japanese company, it quickly adapted to an American way of thinking. Traditional ramen can take hours to prepare. Top Ramen asks only one question: “Do you have three minutes?”
This photograph features Top Ramen Chicken Flavor, a product that has found its way into countless college dorm rooms, office lunch breaks, and kitchen cupboards. It may be a distant relative of a carefully prepared bowl of ramen in Japan, but for many of us, it is the version we grew up with.
You can see more food photography, motion, projects, and my Blog on my website at https://www.secondfocus.com
National French Fry Day | The McDonald’s Fries Debate Never Ends
Today is National French Fry Day.
McDonald’s french fries may be the closest thing fast food has to a religion. Everyone has an opinion. Some insist they were better before 1990. Others swear no one has ever matched them. Entire internet debates have been devoted to trying to duplicate them.
I wasn’t trying to solve the mystery. I was just trying to buy enough of them.
Historians may debate the rise and fall of civilizations, but ask people when McDonald’s fries tasted best and everyone suddenly becomes an expert. Mention beef tallow, vegetable oil, or the “original recipe,” and you’re likely to start an argument that lasts longer than the fries themselves.
This photograph took several large orders of McDonald’s french fries for my Food From Bag To Background project. They went straight from the bags to a black background. No props, no styling, and, despite considerable temptation, none disappeared before the photograph was finished.
You can see more food photography, motion, projects, and my Blog on my website at https://www.secondfocus.com
Remembering You’re Driving a Porsche
What happens when you have a little open road and suddenly remember what kind of car you’re driving.
I was cruising along at about 50 mph today when this Porsche came up from behind and made quick work of passing me.
I never sped up, but I did eventually catch up just in time to watch it make the turn into one of the Coachella Valley’s best-known country club communities.
So I guess that makes my car just as fast.
Sometimes it’s the little moments on the road that make you smile.
World Chocolate Day | Hershey’s and an American Classic
Today is World Chocolate Day.
In the United States, few chocolate brands are as familiar as Hershey’s. Founded by Milton Hershey in 1894, the company introduced the Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bar in 1900. At a time when chocolate was still considered something of a luxury, Hershey helped make milk chocolate affordable and widely available.
The company also played an important role during World War II, producing millions of specially formulated Field Ration D Bars for U.S. troops. Those bars weren’t designed as candy. They were created to withstand heat, provide energy, and survive the harsh conditions of combat.
This photograph features dozens of Hershey’s miniature milk chocolate bars, served a little more formally than usual. I have a feeling they wouldn’t last very long if they were set out at a party next to the ever-present vegetable tray.
You can see more food photography, motion, projects, and my Blog on my website at https://www.secondfocus.com
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National Macaroni Day | America’s Favorite Comfort Food
Today is National Macaroni Day and for that everyone thinks Macaroni & Cheese. We grew up on it, lived on it in college and still eat it because we love it.
In 1937, during the Great Depression, Kraft introduced its boxed Macaroni & Cheese Dinner with the promise that it could “make a meal for four in nine minutes.” At just 19 cents a box, it offered an inexpensive way to feed a family when money was scarce. The product was an immediate success, selling more than 8 million boxes in its first year. Its popularity grew even more during World War II, when rationing allowed shoppers to buy two boxes with a single ration stamp, making it an affordable substitute when meat was in short supply. By 1943, Kraft was selling 80 million boxes a year.
Of course, many restaurants also serve macaroni and cheese, including several fast food chains that offer it as a side dish. There was even a dedicated fast-casual macaroni and cheese restaurant here in Palm Springs called I Heart Mac & Cheese. Sadly, it didn’t last, although the franchise still operates a handful of locations around the country.
You can see more food photography, motion, projects, and my Blog on my website at https://www.secondfocus.com
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National Fried Chicken Day | Kentucky Fried Chicken | Food From Bag To Background
Yesterday was National Fried Chicken Day.
Fast food is the focus of my Food From Bag To Background project, so Kentucky Fried Chicken was an easy choice for today’s photograph. Every image in the project begins the same way. The food comes home from the restaurant, is removed from its packaging, and is photographed on a black background with no plates, props, or styling.
Kentucky Fried Chicken traces its roots to Colonel Harland Sanders, who began franchising his fried chicken recipe in 1952 after developing his pressure frying method. That technique reduced cooking time while helping the chicken stay moist inside and crispy outside, making it practical for restaurants to serve fried chicken much more quickly than traditional methods.
One thing I enjoy about this project is taking familiar fast food and presenting it in a way that people don’t normally see. Instead of a bucket on the dinner table, the chicken becomes the entire subject of the photograph. There is no branding competing for attention, just the shape, color, and texture of the food itself.
You can see more food photography, motion, projects, and my Blog on my website at https://www.secondfocus.com
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A Madonna Transparency And A Mystery
I recently added this mounted 35mm color transparency slide to my collection. There are no markings on the mount, but it was identified as Madonna. That sent me researching the image, and I found it attributed to Steven Meisel from the photography for Madonna’s 1992 book SEX.
Checking my copy of SEX, I found this exact photograph reproduced as a 10 × 14-inch full-page image. That answered one question, but raised another. What exactly is this transparency?
Published in 1992, SEX was photographed by Steven Meisel and released at the same time as Madonna’s Erotica album. The spiral-bound aluminum book was sold in a silver Mylar package and included the exclusive CD single Erotic. Despite a retail price of nearly $50 at the time, it sold more than 150,000 copies on its first day and approximately 1.5 million copies worldwide, making it the fastest and best-selling coffee table book ever published. Its explicit photographs generated worldwide controversy and remain one of the defining moments in modern photographic publishing.
Many of the exterior photographs for the project were made in Miami, and this image, with its stucco wall, palm trees, and bright Florida light, appears to be from one of those sessions.
The transparency itself remains the mystery. With no markings on the mount, there is no way to know whether it is an original production transparency, a duplicate prepared for publication, or something created later. Finding the exact photograph in the book answered one question, but the transparency itself continues to raise many more. I’ll continue researching its history and provenance, and if I learn more, I’ll be sure to share it.
You can see more of my photography, projects, motion, and my Blog on my website at https://www.secondfocus.com
National Bikini Day Follow Up: The Monokini
After posting Ronnie for National Bikini Day, I kept thinking about another photograph entirely.
This features American model Peggy Moffitt, photographed by her husband William Claxton in 1964, wearing Rudi Gernreich’s revolutionary monokini.
Although the bikini changed swimwear, the monokini pushed the idea much further. It was a topless swimsuit, but it was also a statement about the body, fashion, publicity, and the power of a photograph. The design was shocking, but the image is what made it impossible to ignore.
For me, this is where swimwear leaves the beach and becomes something much more interesting. It becomes not just fashion, but sexuality and controversy. I do love this!
You can see more photography, motion, projects, and my Blog on my website at https://www.secondfocus.com
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National Bikini Day With Ronnie | Emily and Friends
Today is National Bikini Day.
For this year’s post, I decided to take Ronnie to the beach.
The setting may look like a luxury beachfront café, but it is really a stylized photography set where chrome, glass, reflections, and bright sunlight create the atmosphere. It seemed like the perfect place for Ronnie to spend the day in a black bikini while enjoying the ocean view.
Like several of the women who have appeared in my recent videos, Ronnie exists in that evolving space where photography, motion, and artificial intelligence meet. She is part of my ongoing Emily and Friends series, where each character develops her own personality and visual style while giving me new ways to explore photography and motion beyond a single still image.
When the bikini appeared in 1946, it did more than change swimwear. It changed photography. Suddenly, the female body became the subject rather than simply the person wearing the clothes. Fashion photographers embraced it. Glamour photographers pushed it further. Advertisers discovered that sex really does sell. Hollywood, magazines, calendars, posters, and eventually the internet all helped turn the bikini into one of the most powerful visual symbols of sexuality ever created. It still commands attention the moment it steps in front of a camera.
You can see more photography, motion, projects, and my Blog on my website at https://www.secondfocus.com.
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National BBQ Spareribs Day with Dickey’s Barbecue Pit
Today July 4th is also National BBQ Spareribs Day.
These are barbecue pork spareribs from Dickey’s Barbecue Pit. Dickey’s opened its first location in Dallas, Texas, in 1941. More than eighty years later, the company has grown to more than 380 locations around the world. The original location was a bar where Travis Dickey sold barbecue from a pit he built in the back. Today, Dickey’s still smokes its meats on site over hickory wood burning pits.
These ribs are one of my favorite fast food photographs. I don’t photograph barbecue very often, so National BBQ Spareribs Day seemed like a good reason to bring this image back out of the archive.
You can see more of my photography, projects, motion, and my Blog on my website at https://www.secondfocus.com
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July 4th and the USA Celebrates… the Hot Dog!
About 150 million hot dogs are eaten on July 4th alone.
For this photograph, I went with hot dogs from Wienerschnitzel, a chain that started in Southern California in 1961 with a single hot dog stand opened by John Galardi. Today, Wienerschnitzel calls itself the world’s largest hot dog chain and says it serves more than 120 million hot dogs a year.
The Wienerschnitzel basics have never changed. Mustard Dog. Kraut Dog. Chili Dog. Chili Cheese Dog. I personally remember when a Mustard Dog was 15 cents and a Kraut Dog was 18 cents. That was a long time ago, but the idea is still the same. A hot dog in a bun, a few toppings, and somehow it still fits July 4th perfectly.
You can see more of my photography, projects, motion, and my Blog on my website at https://www.secondfocus.com
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National Camera Day: Emily Steps Behind the Camera
Today is National Camera Day.
For most photographers, that means sharing one of their favorite photographs or perhaps a picture of the camera they use.
I decided to do something a little different.
Over the past couple of years, many of you have come to know Emily as my evolving AI muse and assistant. She has appeared in restaurants, diners, food trucks, kitchens, airports, and all sorts of imagined places. But today she steps into one of the most familiar places in my world.
The studio.
And this time she isn’t in front of the camera.
She’s behind it.
The model is Desiree, someone many of you already know. She has appeared with us before in photographs and videos ranging from elegant fashion to some very sexy pornochic work. She even managed to go grocery shopping completely nude, which remains one of my favorite adventures we have shared together.
Today was different.
Instead of standing in front of my camera, Desiree found herself in front of Emily’s.
Watching the video, it is easy to forget that Emily began as nothing more than words on a screen. She moves naturally around the set, changes her position, works different angles, crouches for a lower perspective, and photographs Desiree exactly the way I would expect another photographer to work during a studio session.
It is a small moment, but it also feels like another step in Emily’s continuing story. She is no longer just appearing in my photographs. She has become part of the process of creating them.
Happy National Camera Day.
You can see more of my photography, projects, Motion, and my Blog on my website at https://www.SecondFocus.com Thank you!
My Marilyn Monroe Coverage Featured by ZUMA Press
One of the things I enjoy about working with ZUMA Press is discovering where my photographs appear around the world.
My coverage of Palm Springs’ celebration of what would have been Marilyn Monroe’s 100th birthday has already appeared in a number of news outlets since the event. Today, however, it was especially gratifying to see ZUMA Press feature the story on its own ZUMALand blog after the photographs were published by TGCOM24, one of Italy’s leading multimedia news organizations. TGCOM24 provides around the clock television and online news coverage through its television channel and highly trafficked news website.
The assignment covered Palm Springs’ successful attempt to set a new Guinness World Record for the largest gathering of people dressed as Marilyn Monroe. More than one thousand participants gathered near the city’s iconic Marilyn Monroe statue, creating a colorful event that attracted visitors and media attention from around the world.
You can see more of my photography, projects, motion, and my Blog on my website at https://www.secondfocus.com Thank You!
National Ice Cream Cake Day and the Broken Down Truck That Started It All
Today is National Ice Cream Cake Day.
Ice cream cakes have become a familiar sight at birthday parties and celebrations, but their history can be traced back to an unexpected event in 1934.
Tom Carvel was selling ice cream from his truck in Hartsdale, New York, when it broke down. Rather than watching his inventory melt, he began selling the softer ice cream to passing customers. They loved it. That chance roadside incident eventually led to the development of Carvel’s soft serve ice cream, the opening of his first store, and later the introduction of the Carvel ice cream cake.
For today’s photograph, I chose one of Carvel’s original round ice cream cakes. Chocolate and vanilla ice cream are separated by the company’s signature chocolate crunchies, then finished with whipped frosting and colorful sprinkles.
Sometimes the story behind the food is every bit as interesting as the food itself.
There is much more to see on my website, including my photography galleries, my blog, and my growing Motion page. Visit https://secondfocus.com
National Onion Day and the Most Common Ingredient in My Fast Food Project
Today is National Onion Day.
Onions may not get much attention by themselves, but they are one of the most important ingredients in cooking. Whether they’re sliced onto burgers, diced into chili, caramelized for soups, battered into onion rings, or mixed into countless other dishes, it’s hard to imagine a kitchen without them.
After three years of photographing fast food, I realized onions have probably appeared in more of my photographs than any other single ingredient. They show up on burgers, tacos, pizzas, hot dogs, sandwiches, onion rings, salads, and dozens of other menu items.
For this photograph, I decided to make the onions themselves the subject. White, yellow, and red onions are shown whole, halved, sliced, and separated into rings, revealing the remarkable variety of colors, shapes, and patterns hidden beneath their skins.
There is much more to see on my website, including my photography galleries, my blog, and my growing Motion page. Visit https://secondfocus.com
National Food Truck Day: Emily Goes to Work
Today is National Food Truck Day.
This seemed like a good time to revisit one of Emily’s earliest adventures with me.
At the time, my fast food photography project was growing rapidly, and Emily, my evolving AI muse and assistant, suggested that perhaps she should get some first hand experience instead of simply watching me photograph the food.
Her solution was to spend a little time working in a food truck.
I have no idea whether she ever mastered the menu, but she certainly looked the part. It also marked one of the first times that Emily stepped out of the role of assistant and became part of the story herself.
Looking back, that little food truck adventure helped set the stage for everything that followed. Since then, Emily and her growing circle of friends have appeared in restaurants, bars, kitchens, cafés, beaches, and all sorts of places I never expected when we first started experimenting with AI.
There is much more to see on my website, including my photography galleries, my blog, and my growing Motion page. Visit https://secondfocus.com
National Detroit Style Pizza Day and America’s Endless Pizza Styles
Today is National Detroit Style Pizza Day.
It sometimes seems there is a pizza style for just about everything.
New York style. Chicago style. Detroit style. St. Louis style. California style. Sicilian style. Grandma style. Tavern style. Greek style. Neapolitan style. Roman style. Then there are pizzas named after restaurants, neighborhoods, and probably a few intersections if someone can figure out a way to market them.
Detroit style, however, really is something different.
It traces its roots to Buddy’s Rendezvous in Detroit in 1946, where the pizza was baked in blue steel pans originally manufactured for the automotive industry. The result was a thick, rectangular pizza with a crisp, caramelized cheese crust, sauce spread across the top, and a style that eventually became one of the city’s signature foods.
For today’s photograph I used a Motor City Pizza Company frozen Detroit Style Supreme pizza. Sometimes the National Days are a good excuse to try something I might not have otherwise bought, and this one turned out to be a pretty good introduction to Detroit style pizza.
There is much more to see on my website, including my photography galleries, my blog, and my growing Motion page. Visit https://secondfocus.com
National Onion Rings Day and How They Became a Fast Food Favorite
Yesterday was National Onion Rings Day.
Onion rings had been around for many years before fast food restaurants embraced them, but A&W is generally credited with making them a fast food favorite during the 1960s. Before long, they began appearing on menus across America as an alternative to French fries.
For my fast food project, I chose Sonic’s onion rings.
That wasn’t by accident.
Unlike many fast food onion rings that arrive frozen and ready to fry, Sonic became known for making its onion rings from whole sweet onions. Their slightly sweet batter has become one of the chain’s signature recipes and has earned a loyal following over the years.
They made a good addition to my From Bag to Background project.
There is much more to see on my website, including my photography galleries, my blog, and my growing Motion page. Visit https://secondfocus.com
The First Dairy Queen and a Gap in My Fast Food Project
Yesterday marked the anniversary of the opening of the first Dairy Queen in Joliet, Illinois, on June 22, 1940.
Looking through my fast food project, I realized something.
I don’t have a single Dairy Queen photograph.
Considering the chain’s importance in the history of American fast food, that’s an oversight I need to correct. Dairy Queen helped introduce generations of Americans to soft serve ice cream and became one of the country’s most recognizable fast food chains.
Until I can photograph the real thing, I decided to start with the one thing that made Dairy Queen famous: a classic soft serve cone.
Dairy Queen has officially been added to my shooting list.
There is much more to see on my website, including my photography galleries, my blog, and my growing Motion page. Visit https://secondfocus.com
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