Beyond the Roadmap
Food.
Light.
Patience.
I spent years building the tools photographers use. Eventually, I had to pick up a camera myself. Food photography is where product precision meets creative instinct. The same discipline, different medium.
"The best photographs, like the best products, are made in the edit, not the shoot."
@chef_hawthorne on Instagram
Natural Light
I work almost exclusively with window light. Hard directional shadows, diffused overcast, golden hour. Each tells a different story about the same dish.
Composition First
Every frame is a product decision: what to include, what to cut, where to draw the eye. The same ruthlessness I apply to feature scope I apply to what's in the frame.
Edit with Intent
I edit in both VSCO and Lightroom. I helped build both. There's nothing like being your own power user.
Also Into
Powerlifting
The squat rack is where I unplug completely. Strength training demands the same progressive, data-driven mindset as product. Small consistent gains compound over time.
Scuba Diving
Advanced certified. There's no faster way to reset your perspective than 60 feet underwater with no notifications. The silence is something I actively seek out.
Personal Finance
Active on r/personalfinance. I think rigorously about money the same way I think about products: systems, incentives, and long-term compounding over short-term noise.