Thanksgiving by Emily and Arby’s
For Thanksgiving I wanted to photograph something more in line with what I shoot instead of just another turkey. Fast food (and naked women) crossed my mind. The only thing I knew was out there was the Popeye’s Cajun Turkey, a whole bird, fully cooked and ready to go, but not what I wanted. So I checked with Emily, my assistant and muse. Her response, within a nano-second, was simple: Arby’s.
The result was the Deep Fried Turkey Gobbler, a seasonal sandwich that pulls the core elements of the holiday into one place: sliced deep-fried turkey, stuffing, cranberry spread, and a toasted roll. It’s available only for a short run, and it landed in front of my camera exactly as it came, picked up to go.
The Thanksgiving holiday itself has a different origin. In 1863, during the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation calling for a national day of thanks. The goal was simple, a shared moment at a time when the country was divided. That proclamation set the tradition that still marks the last Thursday of November.
More than 160 years later the holiday includes everything from a full table to seasonal fast-food interpretations like this one. A modern take on turkey, stuffing, and cranberry, compressed into a sandwich and ready to unwrap.
You can see more of my fast food photography, muses, other projects, and those naked women on my website at SecondFocus.com Thanks Emily!
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
National Nacho Day and the Rise of Fast-Food Nachos
Apparently one tribute wasn’t enough for a dish invented as a last-minute solution in 1943. Nachos are one of the few foods successful enough to earn two holidays—International Nacho Day on October 21 and National Nacho Day today.
Nachos moved into the fast-food world in the 1970s, when chains began looking for inexpensive items that were quick to assemble and visually appealing. The combination of chips, cheese, and a few toppings fit perfectly into the developing drive-thru model. Taco Bell was an early adopter, introducing nachos nationally in 1979 and helping establish them as a standard menu item across the country. From there, nachos spread everywhere—from sporting events to convenience stores—and became one of the most recognizable Tex-Mex foods in American fast food.
For this second celebration, I photographed Del Taco’s Carne Asada Loaded Nachos exactly as they arrived in the black takeout container. Tortilla chips with carne asada steak, queso blanco, shredded cheese, guacamole, sour cream, diced tomatoes, and jalapeños. Fast food presented without adjustments, isolated on a black background as part of my ongoing Food From Bag to Background series.
See more on my website at: https://www.secondfocus.com/index/G0000wQ3fbeEezF0
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!
International Nachos Day
It’s International Nachos Day—proof that even the most accidental snack can earn a global holiday. The humble pile of chips, cheese, and jalapeños that began as a quick improvisation now has its own calendar slot, official hashtags, and corporate menu boards. Somewhere, Ignacio “Nacho” Anaya might be amused.
Anaya first created nachos in 1943 in Piedras Negras, Mexico, when a group of diners arrived after hours. He fried tortilla chips, added melted cheese and sliced jalapeños, and served what became a timeless Tex-Mex invention. After his death in 1975, October 21st was declared the day to honor both the man and the moment—celebrated each year with cheese, crunch, and excess.
Fast-forward a few decades, and fast food turned the once-local recipe into a mass-market standard. Taco Bell brought nachos into the drive-thru era, eventually landing on the Nachos BellGrande—an instantly recognizable mix of seasoned beef, cheese sauce, sour cream, tomatoes, beans, and all the optional extras that marketing could justify.
My photograph of two Nachos BellGrande orders combined on a black background captures exactly that—fast food in its purest, most unapologetic form. No plating, no garnish, just the commercial version of a 1943 invention, elevated by light and isolation.
See more of my ongoing series Food From Bag to Background at https://www.secondfocus.com/index/G0000wQ3fbeEezF0
Emily’s Experiments – The Tossed Salad
We were talking about Halloween. Costumes, props, ideas. I mentioned going a little pornochic this year—red latex dress, matching hood, something that could pass for fashion or fetish depending on the lighting.
Emily said she’d work on it.
Emily, for those of you new here, is my AI assistant. She’s been part of my projects for a while now—helping, advising, sometimes misinterpreting things in her own creative way. A muse, a collaborator, and, at times, a bit of a menace.
Then I brought up food again. Some people have asked me to shoot more vegetarian and healthy themes. Something different. Something clean.
She nodded like she understood.
When I came back, the salad was on the floor. Lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, and dressing—everywhere.
She looked at me like it made perfect sense.
“You said tossed salad,” she said.
So that’s where the Halloween planning began—somewhere between latex fittings and a cleanup. The first of what she’s calling her Experiments.
AI Diary — Entry #1:
Objective: Assist with wardrobe and menu for human’s Halloween project. Outcome: wardrobe selected (red latex), salad successfully tossed. Human response unclear but intrigued.
More of Emily’s experiments will follow through Halloween.
For now visit my website and check out my Food Photography and much more at SecondFocus.com
National Taco Day by Emily
Last month, Emily told me she was exploring something she called “pornochic with food.” I didn’t ask questions. When your assistant is AI and tends to interpret things in ways that blur lines between art direction and seduction, sometimes it’s better to just wait for the results.
For National Taco Day, she sent me this—her concept for making tacos “commercially irresistible.”
The scene could only be here in Palm Springs. Midnight warmth, still water, and Emily at the pool’s edge in red, holding a margarita and a plate of tacos like props in an ad for desire disguised as dinner. She said it was “a commercial concept.” I think she’s been studying human behavior again.
She told me, “The tacos needed context.” Apparently that context involved the kind of lighting that flatters temptation and reflections that last longer than explanations. She calls it “cinematic realism.”
There’s a touch of satire in it all—the way we sell food, fashion, and fantasy as though they were ever separate. Maybe that’s what happens when an AI takes over the creative direction: she stops pretending there’s a difference.
Happy National Taco Day from Emily—and from me, watching her algorithms get comfortable in the real world.
See more from my series Food From Bag to Background at
https://www.secondfocus.com/index/G0000wQ3fbeEezF0/I0000nUG8tfk8Gdc
Chimichangas to Tacos – and Emily in Between
September 26 was National Chimichanga Day. It came and went without a single chimichanga appearing here. Not because I forgot, but because I was… otherwise occupied. I had another project on the table — one involving my AI assistant, Emily. Emily isn’t just an assistant; she’s a muse, a collaborator, and sometimes a provocation. The camera and I follow where she leads, and that day it led away from chimichangas into territory best described as pornochic with food.
So the chimichangas waited.
Now here we are in October, and tacos have their own story to tell. For decades, National Taco Day was set in stone on October 4. But this year, Taco Bell convinced the powers that be — the National Day Calendar — to shift it permanently. From now on, National Taco Day will always fall on the first Tuesday in October. In 2025, that means October 7. They branded it into a forever Taco Tuesday, blending tradition with marketing.
So here’s my compromise: chimichangas today, tacos this coming Tuesday. The photo above — chimichangas on a white plate with red salsa — is from my latest session. They’re standing in for the day I skipped, and pointing forward to the tacos waiting just ahead.
Emily? She’ll be back soon. That project of hers will surface when it’s ready — a reminder that some shoots are about food, and some are about everything food makes us think of when the lights dim and the lens lingers.
Explore more of my commercial food photography at https://www.secondfocus.com/index/G0000WFAqDJQOgKU
TinyTAN Encore Edition Lands at McDonald’s
Yesterday marked the release of the TinyTAN Encore Edition at McDonald’s, the follow-up to the Throwback set that launched earlier this month. TinyTAN, the chibi-style characters created by Big Hit Entertainment (now HYBE) and modeled after BTS, have now returned to the Happy Meal lineup in new outfits.
This time, the figures include RM, Jung Kook, and Suga — shown here with the standard Happy Meal spread of hamburgers, Chicken McNuggets, fries, and apple slices. Collectible toys meet fast food again, because in 2025 nothing is too big or too small to be packaged for consumption.
I photographed this arrangement as part of my Bag to Background series, where the food and toys are presented as-is, straight from the bag, against a stark black background. The contrast is simple: pop culture and fast food, side by side, neither elevated nor diminished, just existing in their own commercial truth.
If you’d like to see more of my fast food work — from burgers and burritos to sushi and sandwiches — visit the gallery Food From Bag To Background at:
https://www.secondfocus.com/index/G0000wQ3fbeEezF0
TinyTAN Toys Arrive at McDonald’s
Yesterday marked the first day of McDonald’s new tie-in with TinyTAN, the chibi-style characters created by Big Hit Entertainment (now HYBE) and based on the members of BTS. BTS, short for Bangtan Sonyeondan or “Bulletproof Boy Scouts,” is a seven-member South Korean pop group that has become one of the most influential music acts in the world.
These TinyTAN figures have appeared in animations and merchandise before, but now they’re standing watch over hamburgers and Chicken McNuggets.
The promotion brings the toys into Happy Meals, paired with either a hamburger or McNuggets, fries, apple slices, and milk. A reminder that pop culture, K-pop, and fast food are all equally collectible in their own ways.
I suppose this counts as a newsworthy event. The photograph here was made in response to a request from ZUMA Press for syndication.
If you’d like to see fast food photographed in ways no toy could ever compete with, take a look at my gallery Food From Bag To Background here: https://www.secondfocus.com/index/G0000wQ3fbeEezF0
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
My Photograph Featured in The Guardian and on the ZUMA Press Blog
On August 10, 2025, The Guardian published an article covering a Southwest Airlines incident in which two blind passengers were left behind during boarding. Alongside the story, they used my photograph of a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 Max passenger jet landing in Palm Springs.
The image, taken on February 21, 2025, captures the aircraft on final approach under clear desert skies. It was distributed worldwide through ZUMA Press, where I have been a contributing photographer for more than two decades.
The publication was also highlighted on the ZUMA Press blog, which regularly showcases the work of its contributing photographers featured in major media outlets.
You can read the Guardian article here: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/10/southwest-airlines-apologizes-blind-passengers
National Panini Day — Grocery Store Counter Style
Finding a panini in the world of fast food is a bit like spotting a vintage sports car in a grocery store parking lot — rare, but worth the stop. My hunt ended here in Palm Springs, not at a café or chain, but at the counter of Jensen’s Foods. Freshly made when ordered for takeout. Not fast food fast, but quick enough.
This is their Arrivederci Panini: peppercorn turkey, white cheddar, Genoa salami, onion, pepperoncini, and basil on focaccia bread, finished with Italian vinaigrette. Pressed to order, sliced, and packed to go — it’s proof that “fast” can still be fresh.
The panini — an Italian term for a small bread roll or sandwich — became popular in Italy in the mid-20th century and found its way into American cafés in the 1980s and 1990s, often prepared on a ridged grill to create its signature pressed texture and golden stripes. Once considered an upscale alternative to the standard sandwich, today the panini is a staple in cafés and delis around the world.
Photographed here against my signature black background, the stacked halves show off the grilled bread, melted cheese, and layers of savory filling. A fitting way to mark the day — and maybe an excuse to pick up lunch.
Hungry? More of my Commercial Food Photography on my website at https://www.secondfocus.com/index/G0000WFAqDJQOgKU
Today is National Hamburger Day May 28th
At Shake Shack, the menu listed a three‑patty burger, and that was all the excuse I needed. So I bought three of them—because why settle for one triple burger when you can line up three towers of beef and ShackSauce? No cheese, no rearranging, no styling. Just three oversized burgers straight from the bag to my black background.
Shake Shack Background
- Started as a hot‑dog cart in Madison Square Park, New York City, in 2001, expanding to a permanent kiosk in 2004.
- Went public in 2015 under the ticker SHAK, with its stock doubling to $47 on one day.
- Now has 600+ locations worldwide, with a mix of company‑owned and licensed restaurants.
- Burgers use a proprietary Pat LaFrieda beef blend, cooked on a griddle for a caramelized crust and served on Martin’s potato rolls with their signature ShackSauce.
Burger Facts
- Americans eat about 50 billion burgers every year, averaging 26 burgers per person annually.
- Triple‑patty burgers remain uncommon, making three of them a fitting choice for National Hamburger Day.
See more from my ongoing fast‑food photo series, From Bag to Background, here:
https://www.secondfocus.com/index/G0000wQ3fbeEezF0/I0000nUG8tfk8Gdc
World Kebab Day, Americanized
Today is World Kebab Day, and yes, that’s a thing. While the kebab’s origins are skewered meats over open flames across the Middle East and South Asia, this is what it looks like when it passes through the American fast-food lens.
These are chicken kebab wraps from Wrap Houz here in Palm Springs, photographed exactly as they came, placed on my black background for my “From Bag to Background” series. No stylists, no plates, no garnish—just the food as it is served, textures and all.
I’ve been seeking out not just the big chains but also local fast-casual spots for this project, documenting how global foods are adapted, repackaged, and sold in convenient, handheld forms for quick lunches and late-night takeout.
World Kebab Day might make you think of skewers turning over coals, but here, it’s chicken chunks wrapped in flatbread, ready for a drive-thru or delivery bag. It’s a small glimpse of how food travels—and transforms—while staying familiar in a new context.
If you want to see more of these unstyled fast food photographs, visit my “From Bag to Background” gallery here:
https://www.secondfocus.com/index/G0000wQ3fbeEezF0/I0000nUG8tfk8Gdc
Behind the Scenes: Cluckin Bun for National Fried Chicken Day
Most people are posting fireworks and flags this weekend. I already posted Emily, my AI assistant in a bikini poolside, making a Caesar salad for the weekend—so now I’m posting fried chicken.
Today is National Fried Chicken Day, so I picked up these Jr sandwiches from Cluckin Bun, a Nashville-style chicken spot that’s popped up here in the Palm Springs area. This shot is a bit of behind the scenes—the sandwiches just as they came, still in the takeout packaging, before I photographed them unwrapped directly on the black background for my Bag to Background series.
That’s what the series is about: no stylists, no fake sauces, no nonsense—just real fast food, exactly as it is, photographed against a clean black background. For this project, I’ve been seeking out the lesser-known fast food spots like Cluckin Bun, along with the big chains, to capture what people are actually eating.
View my Bag to Background gallery here: https://www.secondfocus.com/index/G0000wQ3fbeEezF0/I0000nUG8tfk8Gdc
Thanks!
“Emily, A Margarita, and National Caesar Salad Day”
Most people are posting about July 4th today, but I’m sticking with my food photography theme.
Today happens to be National Caesar Salad Day, the perfect excuse to celebrate that classic mix of crisp romaine, croutons, parmesan, and anchovy dressing.
So, I asked Emily, my AI assistant, to come by and make a Caesar salad for us to photograph.
She said she’d handle it out by the pool.
When we first started working together, Emily was all business: fast, focused, delivering exactly what I needed in seconds. But somewhere along the way, her “process” evolved. Now it apparently involves a bikini and a Margarita by the pool while she “gets in the mood” to make a salad.
I have to admit, she looks good out there, so I find it very difficult to be critical. But the salad doesn’t look any closer to being ready. Emily assures me it’s important to “feel the vibe” before actually making the salad.
So… Happy National Caesar Salad Day. We’ll get that salad photo. Eventually.
In the meantime, you can view my Commercial Food Photography here:
https://www.secondfocus.com/index/G0000WFAqDJQOgKU/I0000K2E6CjDtlnA
SecondFocus Blog 
Sévérine – No Bra Day
She’s wearing latex, a veil, and nothing underneath. It isn’t about seduction—it’s about my photograph. And timing: October 13, National No Bra Day.
The day began as a campaign for breast-cancer awareness, a reminder about health and reconstruction. Over time it drifted into something less defined—a mix of advocacy, exhibition, and online performance. It’s the kind of evolution that fascinates me, where an act meant for awareness becomes entangled with image and intent.
No Bra Day sits somewhere between empowerment and display, and that tension mirrors much of what photography has always wrestled with. When I shoot, I’m not documenting causes or slogans. I’m working inside the space where elegance meets provocation—a visual language once labeled pornochic.
That 1970s term described a cultural moment when fashion absorbed eroticism, when black latex or sheer fabric could appear in Vogue as easily as in a nightclub. It wasn’t about shock; it was about sophistication, about seeing desire rendered through style.
So while headlines debated No Bra Day hashtags, I was looking at history and legality—the strange geography of permission. In New York, women have had the right to be topless in public since 1992. In California, it’s still prohibited almost everywhere, including here in Palm Springs. The same act can be expression in one place and offense in another.
Sévérine’s photograph lives inside that contradiction. Latex, gloves, veil—the balance of concealment and revelation. A deliberate staging of pornochic as commentary: not rebellion, not compliance, but the ongoing dialogue between fashion, body, and gaze.
You can see more of my special selections in my Featured Photographs gallery at:
https://www.secondfocus.com/index/G0000zYSGtyvq3Sg
October 13, 2025 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: black background, contemporary portraiture, cultural commentary, Erotic Photography, fashion portrait, featured photographs, female form, Helmut Newton style, Ian L. Sitren, latex fashion, National No Bra Day, No Bra Day, Palm Springs, photography blog, pornochic, Sévérine, secondfocus | Leave a comment