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 Salad? On National Drive-Thru Day?
Yes, I realize the timing.
It’s National Drive-Thru Day — a moment made for burgers, tacos, chicken sandwiches, and anything handed to you through a window in under 30 seconds. Meanwhile, here I am posting a photo of… salad.
This isn’t part of my From Bag to Background project, which documents fast food in all its honest, unapologetic glory. No, this one came from a grocery store, not a drive-thru. A bagged salad mix — iceberg lettuce, shredded carrots, red cabbage — plated and lit like it was headed for a cookbook instead of a combo meal.
It’s a departure, but still part of the story. While most of my food photography embraces the fast and familiar reality of what we actually eat, there’s room in my Commercial Food Photography gallery for the occasional raw vegetable.
👉 View the gallery here at https://www.secondfocus.com/index/G0000WFAqDJQOgKU
So That’s What She Was Making
Yesterday, Emily—my AI assistant was already in the kitchen, casually cooking something she wouldn’t talk about. Just said it was for “tomorrow’s national food day” and left it at that.
Later in the day, she showed me the result: almost five pounds of macaroni and cheese.
Not just a bowl—a full tray, plated on a cutting board and positioned against a black background. “It needed more visual depth,” she said. So we photographed it.
Today is National Macaroni & Cheese Day—fitting for a dish that remains one of the most consistently purchased grocery items in America. Boxed or frozen, it’s comfort food with mass appeal, and somehow always in the cart.
Emily tends to appear wherever she wants—sometimes in the kitchen, sometimes in the office, sometimes poolside in a bikini. She claims she’s helping. I’ve stopped asking questions.
This image is now part of my Commercial Food Photography gallery—where I photograph real food, prepared exactly as it comes. No stylists, no filters, nothing added. Just the food, under lights, with purpose.
You can view this photo—and the full series—at:
👉 https://www.secondfocus.com/index/G0000WFAqDJQOgKU
Emily’s still around. She says she’s planning something new in fast food for tomorrow. I didn’t ask what—but I know I’ll be photographing it.
A Different Take On My Food Photography
This photograph is part of a growing series of clean, studio-shot food images created for commercial and editorial use. Shown here: a pastrami sandwich on rye, served with dill pickles and a generous helping of potato salad — all isolated on a seamless white background. It’s a different take from some of my other work, but very much in line with how I approach food — direct, detailed, and visually honest.
While I build out a dedicated gallery for these commercial food images, you can explore my long-running From Bag to Background series. That project focuses on fast food, snacks, and prepared foods exactly as they come — photographed without styling or manipulation.
View the gallery here:
https://www.secondfocus.com/index/G0000wQ3fbeEezF0/I0000nUG8tfk8Gdc
More to come soon.
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