Ramen Day Japan From Traditional Ramen to Top Ramen
July 11th is Ramen Day in Japan.
When most people in the United States hear the word “ramen,” they probably think of a package or cup of instant noodles. In Japan, ramen is something entirely different. It is a carefully prepared dish built around fresh noodles, rich broth, and a wide variety of meats, vegetables, eggs, seaweed, and other ingredients. Depending on the style, the broth alone may take hours to prepare.
In 1958, Momofuku Ando changed all of that when he introduced Chicken Ramen, the world’s first instant noodles. A little more than a decade later, Nissin introduced Top Ramen to the United States, choosing Chicken as the original flavor because it was familiar to American tastes.
Although Top Ramen was created by a Japanese company, it quickly adapted to an American way of thinking. Traditional ramen can take hours to prepare. Top Ramen asks only one question: “Do you have three minutes?”
This photograph features Top Ramen Chicken Flavor, a product that has found its way into countless college dorm rooms, office lunch breaks, and kitchen cupboards. It may be a distant relative of a carefully prepared bowl of ramen in Japan, but for many of us, it is the version we grew up with.
You can see more food photography, motion, projects, and my Blog on my website at https://www.secondfocus.com
National French Fry Day | The McDonald’s Fries Debate Never Ends
Today is National French Fry Day.
McDonald’s french fries may be the closest thing fast food has to a religion. Everyone has an opinion. Some insist they were better before 1990. Others swear no one has ever matched them. Entire internet debates have been devoted to trying to duplicate them.
I wasn’t trying to solve the mystery. I was just trying to buy enough of them.
Historians may debate the rise and fall of civilizations, but ask people when McDonald’s fries tasted best and everyone suddenly becomes an expert. Mention beef tallow, vegetable oil, or the “original recipe,” and you’re likely to start an argument that lasts longer than the fries themselves.
This photograph took several large orders of McDonald’s french fries for my Food From Bag To Background project. They went straight from the bags to a black background. No props, no styling, and, despite considerable temptation, none disappeared before the photograph was finished.
You can see more food photography, motion, projects, and my Blog on my website at https://www.secondfocus.com
World Chocolate Day | Hershey’s and an American Classic
Today is World Chocolate Day.
In the United States, few chocolate brands are as familiar as Hershey’s. Founded by Milton Hershey in 1894, the company introduced the Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bar in 1900. At a time when chocolate was still considered something of a luxury, Hershey helped make milk chocolate affordable and widely available.
The company also played an important role during World War II, producing millions of specially formulated Field Ration D Bars for U.S. troops. Those bars weren’t designed as candy. They were created to withstand heat, provide energy, and survive the harsh conditions of combat.
This photograph features dozens of Hershey’s miniature milk chocolate bars, served a little more formally than usual. I have a feeling they wouldn’t last very long if they were set out at a party next to the ever-present vegetable tray.
You can see more food photography, motion, projects, and my Blog on my website at https://www.secondfocus.com
Thank you!
National Macaroni Day | America’s Favorite Comfort Food
Today is National Macaroni Day and for that everyone thinks Macaroni & Cheese. We grew up on it, lived on it in college and still eat it because we love it.
In 1937, during the Great Depression, Kraft introduced its boxed Macaroni & Cheese Dinner with the promise that it could “make a meal for four in nine minutes.” At just 19 cents a box, it offered an inexpensive way to feed a family when money was scarce. The product was an immediate success, selling more than 8 million boxes in its first year. Its popularity grew even more during World War II, when rationing allowed shoppers to buy two boxes with a single ration stamp, making it an affordable substitute when meat was in short supply. By 1943, Kraft was selling 80 million boxes a year.
Of course, many restaurants also serve macaroni and cheese, including several fast food chains that offer it as a side dish. There was even a dedicated fast-casual macaroni and cheese restaurant here in Palm Springs called I Heart Mac & Cheese. Sadly, it didn’t last, although the franchise still operates a handful of locations around the country.
You can see more food photography, motion, projects, and my Blog on my website at https://www.secondfocus.com
Thank you!
National Fried Chicken Day | Kentucky Fried Chicken | Food From Bag To Background
Yesterday was National Fried Chicken Day.
Fast food is the focus of my Food From Bag To Background project, so Kentucky Fried Chicken was an easy choice for today’s photograph. Every image in the project begins the same way. The food comes home from the restaurant, is removed from its packaging, and is photographed on a black background with no plates, props, or styling.
Kentucky Fried Chicken traces its roots to Colonel Harland Sanders, who began franchising his fried chicken recipe in 1952 after developing his pressure frying method. That technique reduced cooking time while helping the chicken stay moist inside and crispy outside, making it practical for restaurants to serve fried chicken much more quickly than traditional methods.
One thing I enjoy about this project is taking familiar fast food and presenting it in a way that people don’t normally see. Instead of a bucket on the dinner table, the chicken becomes the entire subject of the photograph. There is no branding competing for attention, just the shape, color, and texture of the food itself.
You can see more food photography, motion, projects, and my Blog on my website at https://www.secondfocus.com
Thank you!
National Camera Day: Emily Steps Behind the Camera
Today is National Camera Day.
For most photographers, that means sharing one of their favorite photographs or perhaps a picture of the camera they use.
I decided to do something a little different.
Over the past couple of years, many of you have come to know Emily as my evolving AI muse and assistant. She has appeared in restaurants, diners, food trucks, kitchens, airports, and all sorts of imagined places. But today she steps into one of the most familiar places in my world.
The studio.
And this time she isn’t in front of the camera.
She’s behind it.
The model is Desiree, someone many of you already know. She has appeared with us before in photographs and videos ranging from elegant fashion to some very sexy pornochic work. She even managed to go grocery shopping completely nude, which remains one of my favorite adventures we have shared together.
Today was different.
Instead of standing in front of my camera, Desiree found herself in front of Emily’s.
Watching the video, it is easy to forget that Emily began as nothing more than words on a screen. She moves naturally around the set, changes her position, works different angles, crouches for a lower perspective, and photographs Desiree exactly the way I would expect another photographer to work during a studio session.
It is a small moment, but it also feels like another step in Emily’s continuing story. She is no longer just appearing in my photographs. She has become part of the process of creating them.
Happy National Camera Day.
You can see more of my photography, projects, Motion, and my Blog on my website at https://www.SecondFocus.com Thank you!
Meet Roxanne: When World Tapas Day Became Topless Day
Yesterday was World Tapas Day.
I was looking forward to photographing Roxanne with a table full of Spanish tapas. At least that was the plan.
Unfortunately, as anyone who spends much time working with AI knows, prompts occasionally get interpreted a little differently than intended.
Apparently Roxanne thought I had asked for topless instead of tapas.
By the time she arrived at the studio, the misunderstanding had become fairly obvious.
I explained that World Topless Day isn’t until August, but by then everyone agreed there wasn’t much point in changing anything.
Besides, it fit my Pornochic photography a lot better than a plate of olives and Manchego cheese.
The tapas can wait for another day.
In the meantime, I’d like you to meet Roxanne. She is one of Emily’s ever growing circle of AI friends and muses, and I suspect you’ll be seeing quite a bit more of her in the months ahead.
As always, you’ll find more photography, my blog, and my growing Motion page at https://www.secondfocus.com
A Kodachrome Moment with Tonisha Mills
One of the things I enjoy most about collecting photographs is finding original pieces that represent a particular moment in the history of photography. This Kodachrome transparency of model Tonisha Mills is one of those photographs.
Unlike many vintage photographs that circulate today as digital scans or magazine reproductions, this is the original 35mm color transparency. It still carries its Kodak processing marks along with the handwritten filing numbers that were added when it became part of a photographer’s or studio’s working archive.
Tonisha Mills was one of the best known models to appear in men’s magazines during the 1990s, a period when this style of photography was changing. As magazines became more competitive, photographers gradually moved beyond the traditional pin up style that had dominated earlier decades.
That’s what first caught my attention about this slide.
When I first looked at it, I immediately thought about where it fit in that progression. By the 1990s, photographs revealing what lay between a model’s legs were becoming increasingly common, but they were still usually presented with some restraint. Looking back now, this transparency represents an interesting point in the evolution of men’s magazine photography before completely explicit images became commonplace.
The Kodachrome film adds another layer of interest. By the time this photograph was made, digital photography was beginning to appear on the horizon, but professional photographers were still relying heavily on color transparencies for publication and reproduction. Looking at this original slide on a light table is much the same experience the photographer, editor, or magazine art director would have had when deciding whether it was the image they wanted.
That connection to the photographic process is one of the reasons I enjoy collecting original transparencies. They are more than just pictures. They are the original photographs that passed through the hands of the people who created and published them.
If you enjoy discovering unusual pieces of photographic history, take a look through my From My Collections gallery. While you’re there, you’ll also find my editorial, aviation, food, fashion, and fine art photography, my growing Motionpage, and regularly updated Blog. Everything is available at https://www.secondfocus.com
The Photograph That Forgot Its Name
I bought this 35mm color slide simply because it interested me.
It came mounted in an ordinary cardboard slide carrier with absolutely no identifying information. There is no photographer’s name, no date, no studio stamp, no model identification, and not even a handwritten note to suggest where it came from.
What remains is the photograph itself.
The image shows an unidentified blonde model seated on what appears to be a Louis XV-style stool in a carefully lit studio. The hairstyle, lighting, and the fact that it is a color transparency all suggest it was probably photographed sometime during the 1950s or early 1960s, although without any documentation that can only be an educated guess.
One of the things that attracted me is that it represents a period when glamour photography was changing. Earlier artistic nudes were often presented in black and white, while color transparency film was becoming practical enough for professional photographers and serious amateurs willing to invest in it. Every exposure had to count. There was no instant review, no deleting mistakes, and no Photoshop waiting at the end of the process.
We’ll probably never know whether this was made by a commercial glamour photographer, a camera club member, or simply someone who enjoyed creating carefully crafted studio photographs.
Photography has produced millions, perhaps even billions, of images over the years, but surprisingly few remain connected to the people who created them. Slides become separated from their boxes, handwritten notes disappear, studios close, and estates are dispersed. Eventually an image survives while everything that once explained it is gone.
This transparency is one of those survivors.
If you enjoy discovering unusual pieces of photographic history, take a look through my From My Collections gallery. While you’re there, you’ll also find my editorial, aviation, food, fashion, and fine art photography, my growing Motion page, and regularly updated Blog. Everything is available at https://www.secondfocus.com
National Biscuit Day and the Simplicity of FOOD FROM BAG TO BACKGROUND
National Biscuit Day.
Some foods don’t really need marketing agencies, AI enhancement, stylists with tweezers, or fake steam drifting through the frame.
Biscuits are one of them.
These are just peel-apart biscuits photographed for my FOOD FROM BAG TO BACKGROUND series exactly the way they came out of the package and oven. No brushed butter, no artificial shine, no tricks to make them look taller, fresher, or more dramatic than they actually were.
And honestly, that was always part of the point of this project.
Fast food and convenience food advertising has trained people to expect food to look exaggerated, oversized, and almost synthetic. But when you isolate something simple against a black background and actually pay attention to it, the real texture starts doing the work by itself. The layers, the uneven browning, the soft edges, the imperfect shapes. Those details are usually hidden behind logos, wrappers, commercials, and speed.
Biscuits are also strangely tied into American fast food culture. Fried chicken chains, drive-thru breakfasts, gas station counters, roadside diners. They exist somewhere between comfort food and convenience food, which is probably why they fit this project so well.
So for National Biscuit Day, no AI animation experiments, no dramatic visual effects, just biscuits.
And when I was a kid, when my mom made these, I could have eaten every one of them, each with a pat of butter melting into the middle.
If this photograph brought back a memory, made you hungry, or simply made you look at something familiar a little differently, there are dozens more waiting in FOOD FROM BAG TO BACKGROUND. Burgers, tacos, pizza, donuts, fries, sandwiches, and other foods pulled straight from the bag and placed under the same black backdrop.
You can explore the entire series here on my website at https://www.secondfocus.com/index/G0000wQ3fbeEezF0
National Hamburger Day and the Fast Food Reality Behind FOOD FROM BAG TO BACKGROUND
Today is National Hamburger Day.
The hamburger has probably become the defining subject of my “FOOD FROM BAG TO BACKGROUND” project. Fast food photographed exactly as it arrives, no stylists, no reconstruction, no fake versions built for advertising.
And one thing people occasionally ask is where all this food comes from.
The answer is simple: the same place everybody else gets it.
The restaurants and chains have no idea I am photographing their food. There are no sponsorships, no special preparation, no discounts because of photography, and no carefully assembled “photo burgers” arriving from a corporate kitchen. I walk in or use the apps, place an order, pick it up, bring it home, and photograph it exactly as it comes out of the wrapper or bag.
Actually, the apps have become part of the process. The fast food companies constantly push coupons, free items, points, discounts, and combination deals. Surprisingly worthwhile ones. Sometimes I end up planning a shoot around whatever special appears that week.
That is part of what interests me visually about the project. These hamburgers are not idealized advertising concepts. They are real fast food hamburgers, bought like anybody else would buy them, photographed seriously against black backgrounds with the same attention I would give any other subject.
Somewhere between documentary, satire, and food photography, the hamburger became one of the central characters.
And if you have ever wondered what fast food starts looking like when it is pulled out of the bag, isolated against black, and treated like a serious photographic subject, step into the project here on my website at https://www.secondfocus.com
National Donut Week | FOOD FROM BAG TO BACKGROUND
This is National Donut Week.
For my ongoing “FOOD FROM BAG TO BACKGROUND” project, the main focus has always been fast food. The foods people grab quickly, eat in the car, bring home late at night, or pick up almost automatically without thinking much about it.
And yes, donuts absolutely qualify.
Donut chains consistently rank among the largest fast food companies in America. Drive-thrus, quick service counters, recognizable packaging, impulse purchases, sugar, caffeine, convenience, the entire fast food formula is there.
So for National Donut Week, I photographed an assorted pile of donuts exactly the same way I approach burgers, tacos, fries, or pizza for this series.
Straight from the box.
No food stylist.
No careful arrangement.
No fake perfection.
Just donuts against a black background.
Then things escalated slightly.
Because now the donuts are slowly rotating in darkness while one pink sprinkled donut has apparently decided to break formation and drift through the frame like some kind of sugar-coated UFO.
Somewhere between fast food photography and science fiction, FOOD FROM BAG TO BACKGROUND continues here at…
https://www.secondfocus.com
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
National Camera Day, The Look of Film Never Left
Today is National Camera Day.
I pulled out my Leica IIIf again. It’s been photographed before, and it still holds its place. Not because it’s old, but because it represents a way of working that hasn’t changed as much as people think. And I still have a love of the look of film.
Leica’s origins go back to Oskar Barnack, who took 35mm motion picture film and turned it into a still photography format. That decision made cameras smaller, faster, and far more usable in real-world situations. It shifted photography away from being staged and into something more immediate.
What followed wasn’t just a camera system, it was a look. The color palette you see in Leica work, and hinted at in the LFI Magazine cover behind this camera, is controlled rather than exaggerated. Skin tones stay natural. Colors separate instead of competing.
Then there’s Hasselblad, working at a different pace. Medium format, larger negatives, more deliberate compositions. Where Leica moves quickly, Hasselblad slows everything down. The result is depth, tonal range, and structure.
That carries forward directly into my own work. My long-time preference has been Hasselblad digital, particularly the CCD sensor versions. There’s a specific color palette that comes out of those files that still stands apart. It’s not overly processed, not chasing saturation, just clean, controlled color with depth. It feels closer to film than most modern digital systems.
There’s a reason NASA chose Hasselblad for the Apollo 11 Moon landing. Those images required reliability and the ability to hold detail across extreme conditions. The same qualities show up in controlled studio work, just applied differently.
Film ties all of this together. It forces decisions early. Exposure, contrast, color balance, all set before you ever see the result. That constraint shapes the outcome. Grain becomes texture. Highlights roll instead of breaking. Blacks hold information.
This photograph isn’t about nostalgia. The Leica sits there with its mechanical dials and engraved markings, built to do one thing well. The magazine behind it points to the result, what all of that engineering was built to produce.
And even now, with everything available, that way of seeing still carries through.
More of my photography, from fast food to everything in between, at https://www.secondfocus.com
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
Celebrating the Fresh Tomato!
Today is National Fresh Tomato Day.
I said to my AI muse Emily that we needed something unique to dance around the subject. Something clean. Something elevated. Something that says we are taking tomatoes very seriously.
Emily said, “I have just the friend for that.”
A vertical stack. Vibrant. Healthy. Perfect for the arrival of Spring.
She takes a look at it. Considers it.
And of course, she dances around it.
This is where it shifts, uncensored, as Emily and her friend Ronnie meant it to be.
I try to keep it all intriguing. My food photography, pornochic photo adventures, and more can be found on my website at https://www.secondfocus.com
Chasing Rabbits for Easter
The other day Emily gave us a first look at our Easter. This is more of the adventure.
Many of you already know Emily, my AI muse and assistant. And she has a circle of friends, somewhat on demand.
I had asked Emily what we might do for Easter.
“Let’s go ask Alice,” she said. “I think she’ll know.”
That was all she gave me.
A moment later, we found her.
Alice didn’t introduce herself. She was already there.
And something was already different.
The scale felt off. The space didn’t settle. Things looked familiar, but they didn’t behave the way you expect them to. It was all recognizable, just shifted enough to make you hesitate.
The colors were soft.
The shapes were simple.
But none of it stayed that way for long.
And then there were the Peeps.
Not placed. Not arranged. They had taken over. Multiplying, surrounding, filling the space until there was no clear edge to it anymore.
Alice stood in the middle of it completely certain.
Emily didn’t explain.
“Go a little further,” she said.
So I did.
The air changed first.
Thicker. Slower.
Time didn’t stop, but it didn’t move the same way either. The atmosphere settled into something heavier, something indulgent, something that didn’t need permission to exist.
Further in, control replaced curiosity.
She was waiting there.
Not asking questions. Not offering answers. Just presence. Absolute, undeniable presence. The kind that doesn’t need to raise its voice to be understood.
And beyond that, structure.
Not chaos, not excess. Precision. Strength. Something built to hold its ground, even here.
By then, there was no question of turning back.
Alice never told us where we were going.
She didn’t have to.
At some point, you realize you’re not following her anymore.
You’re already inside it.
The adventure continued.
And then, just as quietly as it began, she kept walking.
More of my photography and adventures with Emily on my website at https://www.secondfocus.com
Ask Alice for Easter
Easter is coming up, so I asked Emily what we should do with it. Many of you already know Emily, my AI muse and assistant. And she has a circle of friends, somewhat on demand.
“Let’s go ask Alice,” she said. “I think she’ll know.”
That was all she gave me.
A moment later, we found her.
Alice didn’t introduce herself. She was already there.
And something was already different.
The scale felt off. The space didn’t settle. Things looked familiar, but they didn’t behave the way you expect them to. It was all recognizable, just shifted enough to make you hesitate.
The colors were soft.
The shapes were simple.
But none of it stayed that way for long.
And then there were the Peeps.
Not placed. Not arranged. They had taken over. Multiplying, surrounding, filling the space until there was no clear edge to it anymore. What started as something small had already become something else.
Alice stood in the middle of it, completely still, completely certain.
Emily didn’t explain.
“Go a little further,” she said.
So I did.
That’s where it changes. Not all at once. Just enough. The familiar starts to stretch. The innocent starts to shift. What you thought you understood doesn’t quite hold its shape anymore.
Alice never guided it.
She just let you follow.
And once you do, you don’t really stop.
This is where we met her.
And we’re already a little further in than we expected.
We’re not done yet.
More at: https://www.secondfocus.com
National Pasta Day — Penne Rigate
Somewhere between the art of simplicity and the science of starch, we find pasta. Today, National Pasta Day gives everyone a reason to twirl, scoop, or simply stare.
This is De Cecco Penne Rigate — cooked plain, no sauce, no garnish, just the shape itself. Its ridged tubes catch light like sculpture, emphasizing design over indulgence. Spaghetti may dominate every chart of popularity, but penne holds its ground as the world’s second favorite — a form engineered to hold flavor and look good doing it.
Pasta’s lineage stretches back more than 700 years, from the first written mentions in Sicily to its industrial rise in the 19th century. Whether on a plate, in a bowl, or on black aluminum, its appeal is constant: geometry, texture, and the quiet perfection of repetition.
You can see more of my work in Commercial Food Photography at https://www.secondfocus.com/gallery/Commercial-Food-Photography/G0000Tnt.HM3Xwng
🥚 National Egg Day – Cracked, Spilled, and Photographed
In follow-up to the video I posted yesterday, here’s one of the photographs I created for National Egg Day.
This image features six white raw eggs dropped onto a black background—unrestrained, unstyled, and exactly as they landed. The broken shells and splattered yolks are captured as-is, embracing the natural chaos that comes from cracking open a few eggs for the sake of art.
National Egg Day is observed each year on June 3rd in the United States. While the exact origins of the day are unclear, eggs have long been celebrated as one of the most versatile and widely consumed ingredients in the world. They’ve been central to countless cuisines and traditions, from humble breakfasts to elaborate dishes. The day is a reminder of the egg’s enduring place in the kitchen—and in culture.
This photograph is part of my ongoing From Bag to Background series, where food is presented without interference or idealization—just honest, direct imagery against deep black. Whether it’s fast food or something as simple as a raw egg, I’m interested in what the subject becomes when stripped of context and allowed to just be.
You can see this and many more food images from the series at:
https://www.secondfocus.com/index/G0000wQ3fbeEezF0/I0000nUG8tfk8Gdc
Red Lips
Studio photo shoot with model Aristodeme. Hasselblad digital camera system and Broncolor lighting. Thanks!
Model Aristodeme and her red lips.
Beauty And The Bald Spot
Behind the scenes photography by my assistant for the day Harmoni Everett which clearly exhibits the incredible gorgeousness of our model from NYC, Nora Zainglein but also my increasingly declining hair volume. More ‘behind the scenes’ than I expected lol.
The incredible Makeup, Hair Styling and Body Painting (you will see that soon too) for the day by the premier Estee Lauder artist Blanche LeBeau. Studio photo shoot in Downtown Los Angeles, Hasselblad digital camera equipment and Broncolor lighting. Always the best!
More Lighting And Leaping
More behind the scenes at the Broncolor lighting workshop at Edge Studios in Los Angeles on Friday.
SecondFocus Blog 