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 InstagramNatural 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 Lightroom — the same product I spent three years building. There's something satisfying about 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.