National Cheesecake Day With Krispy Kreme’s New Guava Cheesecake Doughnut
When National Cheesecake Day came around, I really wasn’t planning to photograph a cheesecake. As much as I enjoy the food holidays, a traditional cheesecake didn’t fit the direction of my Food From Bag To Background project. The project has always been about fast food, photographed exactly as it comes, with the food becoming the entire subject against a very black black background.
Then, almost by coincidence, Krispy Kreme introduced its new Guava Cheesecake Doughnut. Suddenly National Cheesecake Day had a fast-food connection that fit the project perfectly. I picked up six of them, cut them in half, and stacked them to show exactly what was inside. The bright guava filling, cheesecake Kreme, pink guava icing, icing drizzle, and crunchy crumbles made for a much more interesting photograph than I had expected.
Krispy Kreme says the Guava Cheesecake Doughnut is part of its new Destination Dessert Collection inspired by Latin American desserts. Along with the Guava Cheesecake Doughnut, the collection also includes a Tres Leches-Inspired Doughnut and a Choco Dulce Cookie Crunch Doughnut. It was an unexpected way to celebrate National Cheesecake Day while still staying true to a project devoted entirely to fast food.
Sometimes the best additions to Food From Bag To Background aren’t the ones I plan. They are the ones that unexpectedly appear at exactly the right time.
You can see more of my photography, projects, motion, and my Blog on my website at https://www.secondfocus.com
Thank You!
National Junk Food Day: Fast Food and Junk Food Are Not the Same Thing
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!
National Donut Day and the One You Would Pick First
National Donut Day
Somewhere in this photograph is the donut you would pick first.
That’s usually the game people play when they see a box of donuts.
Some head straight for the chocolate. Others reach for the glazed donut. Someone inevitably grabs the jelly-filled one, while another person is convinced the coconut-covered donut is the best choice in the box.
Personally, I’ve never seen much agreement.
For National Donut Day, I pulled together a selection from a local donut shop for this photograph. Once they were arranged against a black background, the display stopped looking like breakfast and started looking more like a collection. Different shapes, colors, textures, toppings, fillings, and glazes all competing for attention.
Donuts have become so familiar that it’s easy to overlook just how many variations exist. A simple ring of fried dough can become almost anything depending on what happens after it leaves the fryer.
National Donut Day itself dates back to 1938 when the Salvation Army established the observance to honor the “Donut Lassies” who served donuts to American soldiers during World War I. Nearly ninety years later, the day has become one of the most widely recognized food celebrations on the calendar.
Looking at this photograph, I’m still not sure which donut I would choose first.
Fortunately, nobody says you can only pick one.
You can see more from my FOOD FROM BAG TO BACKGROUND series, along with collections and other projects at https://www.secondfocus.com
Donuts in Space!
I follow various food news sources online and saw this pop up a few days ago. Krispy Kreme announced an Artemis II commemorative donut. I thought that was pretty unique and I had to photograph it.
The donut, designed from the NASA insignia, is tied directly to the Artemis II mission, a crewed mission now on its way around the Moon. The donuts are no longer available, but my photographs and the exploration of space remain.
More of my food photography, pornochic photo adventures, and everything in between can be found on my website at https://www.secondfocus.com
National Donut Day and America’s 10 Billion Donuts
Today, November 5th, is National Donut Day, one of two days each year when donuts get their moment in the spotlight. The first Friday in June is the original National Donut Day, created by The Salvation Army in 1938 to honor the “Donut Lassies” who served treats to soldiers during World War I. November 5th later joined as a second observance, giving donut lovers another excuse to indulge.
I’ve photographed donuts before from the big fast-food chains, but this time I turned to grocery store classics. These are Entenmann’s, a brand that began in 1898 when William Entenmann delivered baked goods door-to-door in Brooklyn. More than a century later, their boxed donuts have become a household staple, a familiar sight on grocery shelves across America.
Emily (my AI muse and assistant) adds: “Turns out, Americans consume around 10 billion donuts every year, roughly 31 donuts per person. While Entenmann’s doesn’t release exact production figures, reports suggest they’ve produced over 780 million donuts since their early days. That’s a lot of mornings, late-night snacks, and coffee breaks made a little sweeter.”
See more from my Commercial Food Photography at https://www.secondfocus.com/index/G0000WFAqDJQOgKU
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