Photography by Ian L. Sitren

Posts tagged “from bag to background

National Grilled Cheese Day: Sonic’s Classic

Today is National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day!

This isn’t melted cheese for nostalgia’s sake. It’s ten Sonic grilled cheese sandwiches—photographed exactly as they came, stacked into a slightly chaotic, slightly perfect wall of toast and cheese. A quiet cult favorite on the Sonic menu for decades. Cheap. Unchanged. And still here.

📷 “From Bag to Background”
🧀 See the full series http://SecondFocus.com


Building a Stack: Sonic Grilled Cheese x10

A slow build of melted cheese and toasted Texas toast.

Ten Sonic grilled cheese sandwiches, stacked one at a time—no styling, no props, just what comes in the bag. This stop-motion video is a teaser for tomorrow’s full photo drop for “National Grilled Cheese Day” (April 12).

Fast food. Black background. Nothing extra.

📸 Watch the stack come together—
🧀 Come back tomorrow for the final shot.
🔗 http://SecondFocus.com


Stacking Burritos

“From Bag to Background”

This video shows how I work—no styling, no tricks, no gimmicks. Just the food, exactly as it comes. These are Taco Bell Bean Burritos, unwrapped and arranged by hand, straight out of the bag and onto the black background.

Nothing added. No fake grill marks, no glue, no tweezers. The beans, the cheese, the sauce—it all looks exactly like this when you open the bag.

Twelve identical burritos, photographed for National Burrito Day. More of my “From Bag to Background” at http://SecondFocus.com Thanks!


Twelve Bean Burritos For Today


Twelve Bean Burritos. Photographed for today, National Burrito Day!

First introduced in the 1960s, the Taco Bell Bean Burrito helped define the early fast food model—simple, cheap, and built for mass production. Refried beans, cheddar cheese, diced onions, and red sauce in a flour tortilla.

Today, it’s still on the menu—now customizable like everything else—but the basic version hasn’t changed much. It’s one of the few original items to survive decades of rotating trends, rebrands, and limited-time hype. A quiet icon in the story of how fast food reshaped what we eat.

See more of my Food Photos at http://SecondFocus.com Thanks!


Something On A Stick!

Today is National Something on a Stick Day, and nothing fits the description better than the corn dog. First patented in 1927 and made popular at state fairs in the 1940s, it remains one of the most recognizable American foods on a stick.

This is my latest photo—Foster Farms Honey Crunchy Corn Dogs, shown sliced and stacked against black. It’s part of my ongoing series examining fast food as cultural artifact.

View more from the series here at SecondFocus.com Thanks!


Today is International Waffle Day!

My photograph of Eggo waffles, arranged in a casual stack and drizzled with maple syrup. The waffles are straight from the freezer, oven toasted, and set against a black background—no styling, no props, just the familiar grid pattern and glossy syrup doing what they do.

Waffles date back to medieval Europe, but Eggo brought them to American freezers in 1953. Invented by Frank Dorsa in San Jose, California, they were originally called “Froffles.” When people started asking for “those egg waffles,” the name changed to Eggo. Dorsa also built a machine to mass-produce them—an early example of kitchen innovation meeting industrial design. By the 1970s, “L’eggo my Eggo” had taken hold.

More in my “From Bag to Background” gallery at http://SecondFocus.com Thanks!


A Deli Icon for National Reuben Day and My St. Patrick’s Day Favorite

March 14 – National Reuben Sandwich Day

A true deli icon. My photograph of a Reuben sandwich—layered with corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and Russian dressing on crispy grilled rye. A sandwich with history, tracing its roots to early 20th-century America. Some say it was created in Omaha during a late-night poker game in the 1920s, while others credit Reuben’s Delicatessen in New York City. Either way, it’s been a staple for over a century.

And with St. Patrick’s Day around the corner, this is my way to enjoy corned beef, instead of corned beef and cabbage, which I don’t like a lot!

See more of my food photography and other intriguing photo projects at http://SecondFocus.com Thanks!