National Peanut Butter and Chocolate Day: A Combination That Just Works
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!
National BLT Day: How Much Bacon Is Too Much Bacon?
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!
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.
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Cornbread on a Stick
Today is National Cornbread Day.
Cornbread has been part of American cooking for centuries, long before wheat flour was widely available. Native American communities were grinding corn into meal and baking it into simple breads, a practice that carried forward into early colonial life. Over time, it became a staple across the South, evolving from basic survival food into something tied to comfort, tradition, and regional identity.
I mentioned this one to Emily, my AI partner, thinking we might keep it simple. Something grounded. Something that respects the history.
We ended up at a carnival.
Lights, noise, movement, everything competing for attention. And there it was, right in front of us.
Cornbread. On a stick.
Because of course it is. Somewhere along the way, everything ends up on a stick. Easier to carry, easier to sell, easier to turn into something just a little more exaggerated than it needs to be.
Emily just smiled. That was the point.
A familiar idea, pulled out of its place and dropped somewhere unexpected. That’s where it changes. That’s where it becomes something else entirely.
This is a bit of a departure for me. A more complex scene, built rather than found. Proof that these ideas don’t have to stay simple.
My food photography, pornochic photo adventures, and more can be found on my website at https://www.secondfocus.com
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