Softbox Couture
Photographers love the results from large softboxes.
Actually assembling them is another story.
Rods bending, fabric everywhere, people trying not to lose patience, and everyone pretending the process is less irritating than it really is.
So during this studio shoot I could not help but think there is a better use for the softbox.
Instead of becoming part of the lighting setup, it became the wardrobe.
Once we saw it against the black seamless background and studio lighting, it actually worked. Fashion photography mixed with studio satire.
Now subtly animating it adds another layer. The studio atmosphere shifts and the moment feels alive. Reaching back into the past and creating the video I did not at the time.
More photography and visual projects on my website at
https://www.secondfocus.com
Gas Prices
Yesterday I went out and photographed something that’s been sitting in plain sight for a while now, gas prices.
Not one station. Twenty-one of them.
Palm Springs, Cathedral City, Rancho Mirage, Thousand Palms. Different brands, different corners, different neighborhoods. Same story, just moving a few cents up or down depending on where you stop.
Some are still in the mid-$5 range. Others are well into the $6 range. Diesel is pushing even higher.
There’s nothing staged about any of this. Just pulling over, stepping out, and recording what’s there. The signs don’t need interpretation. They’re already doing that on their own.
What struck me wasn’t just the numbers, it’s how normal they’ve started to feel. Prices that would have been shocking not that long ago now just sit there, backlit in red and green, part of the landscape.
Palm trees, clear skies, desert heat, and gas pushing past six dollars a gallon.
This is one day, one pass through my local area. A snapshot. And if things keep moving the way they have been, it’s probably not the top.
You can see the full set of 40 photographs on my website at https://www.secondfocus.com
More of my photography, from editorial work like this to my food projects and everything in between, is there as well.
National Pretzel Day, A Pretzel Den of Decadence
Today is National Pretzel Day.
I had heard rumors of something very decadent and decided to follow up. I checked in with Emily, my AI muse. She said she had also heard rumors and that we should quietly follow along with a friend of hers.
A dark alley. A narrow stairway. A guarded iron door. Then another.
A chaise, warm light, a robe left behind, and enough pretzels within reach to remove any real need to get up again. And there she is, Emily’s friend, fully settled into what can only be described as an indulgence of pretzels.
So the rumors are true.
A secret world of pretzel dens, known only to a few. Filled with indulgence, excess, and the kind of behavior that probably doesn’t need to be explained too closely.
The world of AI pixels can lead you into some interesting places.
But then again, maybe people just like pretzels.
More of my food photography, conceptual work, and everything in between at https://www.secondfocus.com
She Said Don’t Forget the Whiskey
I mentioned my “days of food” series to her, the one where I keep chasing whatever shows up on the calendar next.
She asked what was coming up.
I had just seen International Whiskey Day.
Perfect, she said. Then she laughed, “Don’t forget your camera… and some whiskey.”
That was all it took.
We headed out into the desert, far enough that the road stopped feeling like it belonged to anyone. The abandoned gas station was exactly what you would expect out here, sunburned concrete, rusted structure, nothing staged, nothing fixed.
She stepped into the scene like it had been waiting for her.
Boots in the dust, cowboy hat in her hand, the bottle of bourbon set down beside her like it had always been part of the ground. No effort to dress it up, no effort to explain it.
That is usually where these ideas land.
Something simple on the surface, a calendar day, a bottle, a location. Then it shifts into something else once the camera is there.
That’s where my food photography and everything around it tends to go. Not just the subject, but what happens when you take it somewhere it does not belong.
International Whiskey Day turned into this.
If you want to see where these ideas go next, including the food work, the desert shoots, and the rest of my pornochic photography, take a look on my website at https://www.secondfocus.com
Selected: ZUMA Pictures of the Month
For twenty years, my work has been syndicated by ZUMA Press.
This month, one of my photographs was selected as part of ZUMA’s “Pictures of the Month” for February 2026.
ZUMA represents more than 2,100 photographers worldwide. Established in 1993 as the world’s first digital news photo agency, it is now the largest independent press agency and wire service.
The image selected shows firefighters advancing on a fast-moving brush fire here in Palm Springs — palm trees silhouetted against flame columns, a vertical stream of water cutting upward through smoke. A moment measured in seconds, documented.
There is no commentary in the slideshow. No explanation. Just the photographs.
You can view the full February 2026 selection, and see my work here:
https://thepicturesofthemonth.com
After two decades with ZUMA, it is still meaningful to see my work included among photographers covering events around the world.
Ian L. Sitren
SecondFocus
Toyland, Revisited: Wooden Soldiers
I was telling Emily that I wanted to do my own version of The March of the Wooden Soldiers.
Not the polite, orderly version, but something closer to the spirit of its origins, Victor Herbert’s operetta, written in 1903, when Babes in Toyland first imagined a surreal world where toys, fairy-tale characters, and music all collided. Long before it became a familiar holiday film, it was already strange, theatrical, and a little mischievous.
Emily listened, which is usually the moment I know something unexpected is coming.
“I want to do this one,” the AI muse in her said.
Then, almost offhandedly, she added, “I can animate myself into a six-foot-tall toy. And once I do that, making five of me is easy.”
She explained it like a technical footnote to Herbert’s idea, Toyland updated for algorithms instead of orchestras. One Emily wasn’t enough. This needed a full formation.
“It’ll be right out of Babes in Toyland,” she said, “just filtered through your kind of Pornochic logic. Same fantasy world, different century. Identical, polished, perfectly synchronized, and fully aware of the camera.”
She promised me wooden soldiers who wouldn’t march so much as perform.
Hips shifting side to side. Heads turning. Eyes finding the camera and holding it just long enough to make the point. Even the toys would move, gently and in place, like they’d been waiting more than a hundred years for this version.
“Leave it to me,” she said. “You’ll love it.”
And she was right.
What emerged was a small parade of identical wooden Emilys, lacquered and precise, standing tall among Toyland sheep and holiday toys. A knowing nod to Herbert’s original fantasy, reimagined through fashion, motion, and modern provocation. Less marching band, more editorial choreography.
Toyland hasn’t changed as much as we think. It just learned how to move differently.
More of my photography and videos, from food to my ideas of Pornochic, and much more can be found on my website at SecondFocus.com
National Clean Out Your Frig Day with Desiree
According to Emily, she walked into the kitchen early this morning and found Desiree already leaning into the freezer, conducting what she described as a “thorough inspection.” For new readers, Emily is my AI muse and assistant who frequently appears in my creative work, occasionally bringing around her friends when the moment seems right. This morning’s timing was impeccable.
Today is National Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day, a practical reminder that even the most ordinary kitchens accumulate items that should have been used or discarded long before the holidays arrive. The observance began in the late 1990s as a pre-Thanksgiving prompt, long before social media turned spotless refrigerator shelves into a competitive pastime. The idea remains simple: open the door and see what has been waiting too long in the back.
The photograph began as an image from one of my photoshoots. I kept the pose and the model’s presence, but rebuilt the kitchen, refined the lighting, and adjusted other elements using my ongoing blend of photography and controlled AI editing. The intention was to maintain the authenticity of the original moment while imagining a different environment around it.
If National Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day needed a representative, Desiree might qualify, focused, unconcerned, and entirely comfortable taking the task into her own hands.
Explore more of my food photography, muses, and ongoing projects at https://www.secondfocus.com
Emily Picks Up a Shift and Updates on My Fast Food Project
Fast food has its own place in history and culture. It’s architecture, advertising, Americana. It’s the burger and fries you recognize instantly, no matter where you are.
But because it’s so familiar, it’s easy to overlook. Easy to dismiss as ordinary. It’s everywhere—and that makes it invisible.
I started this project wanting to photograph fast food just as it is. There’s a long tradition of trying to make it look bad—greasy, smashed, uninspired. But the truth is, most of the time it comes out looking pretty good on its own. No styling needed. Just the background and the food.
The goal was to make a photo book and gallery exhibit of large-scale prints. I thought it might take six months. One year later, I’m still going—and I expect it will take at least another year or two. The more I shoot, the more I find. There’s a lot to photograph.
This photo of Emily, my AI assistant, dressed for the job as a retro car hop, felt like the right marker for this stage of the process. She’s been part of the work for about eight months now: researching, writing captions and keywords, helping plan the shots with concepts. It’s still my camera, lighting, and my eye—but Emily shows up 24/7.
In the end, this has been about paying attention to the things we usually pass by—something so common, we’ve stopped really seeing it.
You can see where the project stands so far on my website: https://www.secondfocus.com Thanks!
APA Sourcebook 2020
Very pleased to again be in the APA Sourcebook 2020. Published annually by the American Photographic Artists, the print edition is distributed to advertising agencies, editorial publications, design firms and select companies around the USA. Model Randalene Sargent.
Bombay Beach Posing With Xtine
Xtine posing in our photo shoot at Bombay Beach at the Salon Sea, One of my all time favorite models at one of my all time favorite places. Xtine, a professional model at over 6 ft tall and a superb photographer herself. Video shot on a Fujifilm X-Series camera. Photo shoot with a Hasselblad digital camera system and Broncolor lighting.
164
What do 164 magazine editors, art directors, public relations companies, sportswear companies, supplement companies, fitness websites and even CBS Television have in common? They are all signed up and have used my archive to search for photographs that fit their needs and usage.
Going into 2017 that archive will be greatly expanded with much more from edgy fashion to lifestyle to bodybuilding, fitness, yoga and Palm Springs scenes and more. Just this week I have been asked for photos ranging from a Presidential motorcade to a beautiful woman in a swimming pool. And yes I had what they wanted available! So if you are going to be looking for photographs for your needs, send me a note and you will have access too. Thank You! Send me an e-mail to Ian@SecondFocus.com
Like She Was Walking On A Yacht
She walked into the party, like she was walking on a yacht. And they all dreamed that they’d be her partner, they’d be her partner… Ashley Owens-Gulina. Sounds familiar, do you know from where? From our photo shoot. Makeup and Hair Styling by Natalie Lyle.
Scenic Imagination
So great fun doing photo shoots in interesting and scenic places. Sometimes they do not seem scenic at first, but then just use your imagination. The imagination of knowing what something will look like in the photograph. One of my favorite photo shoots, this time with bodybuilder Daniel Hill.
Instant BTS
Fun shooting behind the scenes photos with instant film cameras. This one with the Fujifilm Instax. Of course no one really cares because I know you are staring at the magnificent Noel VanBrocklin. Model, actress and the stunning creature in the blue lagoon of my pool. Shoot notes… lighting is a Broncolor Move 1200L and Broncolor beauty dish. The actual shoot with a Hasselblad digital camera system. Often overlooked, the stand and boom are Matthews Studio Equipment. Wonderful and sexy makeup and hair styling by Blanche LeBeau.
My World
The ever so gorgeous Maria Bertrand, often in front of my camera. And my friend! I am so lucky that so very many of the beautiful women and good looking guys I photograph become and remain my friends.
One of my buddies was walking around an event with me a few months ago. He said, looking around at the crowd… “None of these people look like the people you photograph”. Very true! Nothing wrong with it but the thought stayed with me. I do indeed work and live in a different world than many. Just different. I guess I did recognize that some time back when I named the portfolios on my Website as “My World”.
So maybe visit the “My World’s” on my Website at SecondFocus.com. Maria Bertrand is certainly there. Some of you too are there. And there will be more, changing it soon! Thanks!
Shoot notes… Maria Bertrand photographed by me. Makeup and Hair Styling by the Estee Lauder featured Blanche LeBeau. Hasselblad digital camera system. Broncolor lighting. Only the best!
First Shoots
It was not John Black‘s first photo shoot. He has actually been getting some good modeling jobs. But it was his first photo shoot with me. First photo shoots are important because it gets you into a mindset so you know how each other works. Then when I have an assigned or commissioned shoot, I can cast or recommend you with confidence. So John is now up at the top of my list. Shoot notes… Photographed here in Palm Springs. Hasselblad digital camera system and Broncolor lighting. Only the best!
Specialized
I have good friends who specialize in action sports and sports portraits, really good photographers. So I thought I would work on my skills shooting sports portraits too. Here is my idea of a bicycling sports portrait. My model Aristodeme photographed with my Hasselblad digital camera system. Works for me!
Here We Go!
Coming up to that time of year when all of the activities at the Palm Springs Air Museum really get going. Flight demonstrations, special presentations and programs, chili cook-offs, car shows and so much more fun! And even when there is not something specifically scheduled, you never know what you might see.
This day we sure did know what to expect. A Navy EA-6B Prowler coming in from a carrier in the Persian Gulf to retire at the Museum. What a sight to see that was! Wow! You can check out that amazing aircraft today at it’s permanent home. Come take a look! You will often find me there with my cameras!
Dos Palmas Preserve
The Dos Palmas 14,000 acre wildlife preserve and oasis near the Salton Sea. It has become one of my regular stops. It almost seems like these palms could come alive and be some kind of fairy tale creature wandering the landscape.
FitExpo – Meet Up!
SecondFocus Blog 