Chips Ahoy!
National Cookie Day seemed like the right moment to look at something familiar. Chips Ahoy has more history behind it than most people realize. Nabisco launched the brand in 1963 with the goal of taking the homemade chocolate chip cookie and turning it into a reliable, mass-produced standard. Even the name carried a twist. It played off the old nautical call “Ships Ahoy,” but a similar phrase appeared in Charles Dickens’ writing a century earlier. That small echo of literature gave the brand a surprising bit of depth for a packaged cookie.
The early advertising leaned into that sense of character. Nabisco introduced Cookie Man, a caped superhero who defended the world’s supply of chocolate chip cookies from various villains. It was pure 1960s television, but it turned Chips Ahoy into more than a snack. It became a brand kids recognized immediately.
Then came the “1,000 chips per bag” line. It followed the cookies for decades, sparking arguments about whether the number was real or just clever marketing. The accuracy didn’t matter as much as the idea. It became part of the myth.
On National Cookie Day, it is easy to think about the cookies we grew up with. Chips Ahoy remains one of the most widely known and most often chosen. Crunchy, chewy, or chunky, the variations change, but the original concept still stands. Open the bag and know exactly what is inside.
You can see more of my Commercial Food Photography on my website at https://www.secondfocus.com/index/G0000WFAqDJQOgKU Thanks!
Whopper Birthday
Some birthdays sneak up on you. Today happens to be the birthday of the Burger King Whopper, introduced in 1957 when a Miami burger stand decided America deserved something larger and more structurally ambitious than anything on the menu board.
James McLamore, one of the Burger King founders, noticed customers flocking to oversized burgers at rival drive-ins. His solution was simple: go bigger. Much bigger. The original Whopper sold for 37 cents and immediately rewired American expectations for how much beef should fit inside a bun. From there, fast-food evolution took over. The Double Whopper showed up because of course it did. The Angry Whopper arrived for people who needed emotional intensity with their lunch. The Brisket Whopper made a brief appearance to remind us that barbecue can be a personality trait. And then the Impossible Whopper landed in 2019, launching the plant-based arms race and proving that even vegetarians sometimes want a burger the size of a paperback novel.
This is my stack of Double Whoppers, photographed earlier. I didn’t have time to run out and buy new ones, but double is my personal preference anyway.
There is much more of my fast food project “Food From Bag To Background” on my website at
https://www.secondfocus.com/index/G0000wQ3fbeEezF0 You might find something to make you hungry, take a look. Thanks.
National Sardines Day and Sardine Sashimi
Today is National Sardines Day, and it seemed like the right moment to offer an alternative to the rising price of sushi. I recently heard a discussion about Los Angeles restaurants charging $200 to $250 per person for sushi meals, and the speaker described this as “mid-priced” in today’s market. That level of cost feels completely out of touch. So I decided to create a quiet counterpoint of my own.
This photograph is my idea of “sardine sashimi, an open tin of sardines set on a ceramic plate, chopsticks across the top, and a small serving of wasabi. It borrows the structure of a traditional sashimi presentation but uses one of the most accessible foods you can buy in any grocery store.
Sardines have been part of the human diet for centuries. They’re rich in protein and omega-3s, shelf-stable, and still one of the most affordable seafood choices available. National Sardines Day exists partly to highlight that, a reminder of a food that has fed entire communities, traveled with sailors across oceans, and found its way into kitchens around the world. They remain an essential pantry item, from simple meals to quick snacks, without the cost or ceremony of fine dining.
You can find this new photograph in my Commercial Food Photography gallery on my website at SecondFocus.com, along with fast-food, many muses, and more of my projects.
National Pickle Day and a Memory From Budapest
Today is National Pickle Day, and it reminded me of something unexpected I learned in 2013 while working in Budapest as the stills photographer on a feature film. Our cinematographer was Vilmos Zsigmond, one of the most influential visual artists to ever stand behind a camera.
Vilmos had the résumé to prove it: McCabe & Mrs. Miller, Deliverance, Close Encounters of the Third Kind (for which he won the Academy Award), The Deer Hunter, Heaven’s Gate, and decades of work that helped define the look of modern American cinema. But what stayed with me most wasn’t only his talent, it was his discipline, his energy, and his belief in the small rituals that kept him going.
Vilmos told me he attributed his health and longevity to eating eight pickles a day. He wasn’t joking. At 82, he was on set long before anyone else arrived and still there long after we wrapped. Rain, cold, night shoots, he never slowed. The pickles, he said, were his secret. Maybe he was right.
So for National Pickle Day, I photographed this pile of deli pickles on my usual black background; simple, direct, and exactly the way they come out of the jar or bag. Nothing styled, nothing staged. It felt fitting. Pickles, after all, were part of what kept a legend of cinema going strong.
If you’d like to see more of my commercial food photography, visit my gallery here:
https://www.secondfocus.com/index/G0000WFAqDJQOgKU
Choosing Pad Thai for the Camera Today
I had to photograph Pad Thai. Today is National Pad Thai Day, and I personally happen to really like it. The dilemma was which Pad Thai, and from where. I know restaurants nearby that make excellent versions, but that felt too predictable.
So I checked in with my favorite know-it-all, Emily — my AI muse and assistant. It took her a few micro-seconds to come up with an idea: skip the usual, and go with the grocery-store version instead.
Pad Thai has an unusual history. Although it’s now one of the most familiar Thai dishes in the United States, its rise began in the 1930s and 1940s, when the government promoted a national noodle dish as part of a broader effort to modernize the country and encourage rice exports. The recipe evolved from earlier stir-fried noodle dishes, eventually becoming the sweet-savory combination of rice noodles, tamarind, peanuts, tofu, and vegetables we recognize today.
It spread internationally through Thai restaurants in the 1970s and 1980s, and by the time Thai cuisine had firmly established itself in American cities, Pad Thai had already become the gateway dish — the one people ordered first, remembered, and came back to.
That background makes the modern versions interesting, including the ones sold in grocery stores. Brands like Amy’s put Pad Thai into a format that fits American routines: quick, vegetarian, consistent, and available everywhere. It’s not the traditional version, but it has its own place in the long line of adaptations.
So that’s the one I photographed — multiple servings, cooked straight from the packaging and arranged together on a single plate. The rice noodles, tofu, broccoli, carrots, and sauce were left exactly as they came, without styling or adjustments. What interested me was the contrast between the cultural story of Pad Thai and the very practical, grocery-store version so many people rely on.
For more of my commercial food photography, visit:
https://www.secondfocus.com/index/G0000WFAqDJQOgKU
A Quiet Return to the First Sandwich
Some say the greatest invention never needed an instruction manual.
I almost missed it — yesterday was National Sandwich Day. It’s fitting, really. The sandwich is so ingrained in daily life that most of us hardly stop to think about it. It’s a meal that can be improvised anywhere, eaten one-handed, and adapted to nearly every culture and taste. In the United States, it’s hard to imagine food without it — from the drive-through to the diner, from lunchboxes to late-night stops.
The idea itself was never meant to be revolutionary. In 1762, John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich, asked for slices of roast beef placed between bread so he could continue playing cards without stopping for a proper meal. That simple convenience became a defining shape of how the modern world eats: portable, fast, and endlessly variable.
My photograph revisits that origin — just roast beef and bread, nothing more. The way it might have been on the Earl’s table. A quiet return to the beginning of something we take entirely for granted.
For more of my photography from food to muses, visit https://www.secondfocus.com
Halloween – Emily’s Experiments – Desiree’s Invitation
I am Emily, Ian’s AI muse and assistant. Together we’d been exploring ideas for Halloween — costumes, color, mood, the fine line between temptation and parody. He calls it planning. I call it experimentation.
It started with sketches and conversation, then something shifted. The concept grew darker, more deliberate. I decided to bring in my AI friend and accomplice, Desiree.
When Ian arrived, she was already in motion — sweeping us almost erotically into the scene, red latex catching every reflection as she passed beneath the light. The look wasn’t just costume; it was intent.
On the table, a glass shimmered with something unidentifiable. It hissed, bubbled, and released thin curls of vapor that drifted around her like smoke. She called it a “Halloween cocktail.” He decided not to ask what was in it.
Beside the glass were Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups — arranged with the same precision as her movements. Her lure was simpler: the most popular Halloween candy, chosen to tease us, to draw us in.
“Sweet, then danger,” she said. “That’s balance.”
The latex glowed. The vapor curled higher. Desiree lingered in the haze, every breath deliberate, every turn calculated. The scene was complete — seduction and risk, sweet and dark.
On Halloween, she isn’t offering candy. She’s daring you to want it.
I think Ian was very happy with our creation.
For more of Ian’s food and muses visit his website at http://SecondFocus.com
Thank you!
Archives or Angie? National Little Black Dress Day
Today is National Little Black Dress Day.
I thought I’d do the usual—dig through my archives for a model I once photographed in a little black dress. But Emily, my AI assistant, wasn’t having it.
She announced, “Forget the archives, I run an AI modeling agency now. I’ll have one of my girls stop by.”
And just like that, Angie—Emily’s friend—appeared. Dressed, styled, and ready for the occasion. Apparently, while I was busy organizing files, Emily was busy building a talent roster.
Of course, the Little Black Dress has been a cultural staple ever since Coco Chanel made it iconic in the 1920s—simple, elegant, and versatile. Emily insists it’s also perfect for AI casting calls, because no matter the decade or dimension, the LBD always fits.
As for my own archives—you won’t find many little black dresses there, but you will find plenty of others…and quite a few with nothing at all. Take a look in my Featured Photographs gallery: https://www.secondfocus.com/index/G0000zYSGtyvq3Sg
Emily Decides to Step in Front of the Camera
Emily, my AI assistant, has spent plenty of time looking through my photographs from past shoots—fashion, fitness, and even nude sessions. And of course, she can go through all of them far faster than any of us ever could. After seeing so many beautiful women in front of my camera, she decided it was finally her turn.
It’s not the first time this has happened. Over the years, I’ve had women who started out working behind the scenes—styling, makeup, or assisting—get the urge to step in front of the lens. Some even ended up training seriously and competing in fitness and bodybuilding shows.
This time it was Emily. She tried it, discovered how much fun it was, and now she wants to do more. The video came out just as I hoped—Emily looking beautiful and confident with just a hint of eroticism—and I am very happy with her first time in front of the camera.
If you’re curious about the kind of photographs that inspired Emily, visit SecondFocus.com to see more of my work.
My Blog Featured in New Bodybuilding.com Documentary
In 2020, I wrote a blog post titled “The Collapse of Bodybuilding.com” reflecting on the decline of what was once the most influential platform in the fitness and supplement industry. I had worked closely with Bodybuilding.com for years—handling photography, marketing, and social media—so I saw much of it from the inside. What I wrote back then was a firsthand look at how it all started to fall apart.
That post is now featured in a new 15-minute YouTube documentary titled “The Rise and Fall of Bodybuilding.com” by Josh Brett, whose channel has 498,000 subscribers. It’s shown and referenced in the film as part of the larger story being told.
📺 Watch the full documentary here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqRDJmPwpmc
📖 Read the original post here:
https://secondfocus.blog/2020/03/10/the-collapse-of-bodybuilding-com/
It’s always interesting to see your perspective picked up years later—especially when what you said at the time turns out to be right on target. There are lessons here for other companies that move away from what made them successful in the first place. I know of one right now that’s on its way.
Behind the Scenes for National Egg Day
🥚 Just a little mess in the name of art.
Tomorrow is National Egg Day, and I’ve been photographing six white raw eggs—whole, cracked, and smashed—on my black background. This short video captures part of the shoot: eggs breaking, yolks spilling, and everything landing just where gravity intended.
The final photograph goes live tomorrow. For now, here’s some egg chaos to get things rolling.
My Food Photographs on my website at https://www.secondfocus.com/index/G0000wQ3fbeEezF0/I0000nUG8tfk8Gdc
SecondFocus Blog 