I took this photo on June 6, 2026, during a weekend-long family event in St. Louis, Missouri. The subject is a relative. But the photo was not posed and I believe it meets all requirements of a human-interest photojournalism photo. When I witnessed the subject eating snacks in the depicted manner, I asked him what he was doing. He explained that he likes Cheetos, but doesn’t like getting his fingers covered in orange goo. His solution to the orange-goo problem is to eat Cheetos with chopsticks. “Brilliant” was my first thought and I immediately reached for the only camera at hand - my trusty iPhone - to capture the technique in a photo. My son says the Chopsticks technique is Nobel Prize material. I’m more in the camp of thinking it could be used to make a very fine commercial. In any case, I present, “Chopsticks for Cheetos - they’re not just for noodles anymore.”
According to the Apple photos app, the settings were: 24 mm, f/1.78, 1/60 s, ISO 640. I did not attempt any post processing.
4 comments posted
Leslie Larson
How funny. If he weren't eating Cheetos with chopsticks, it wouldn't be an interesting shot at all, but once I zeroed in on what he was eating and reading your explanation, it was worth a good chuckle. Posted: 07/05/2026 11:03:03
Jen Fawkes
I do think there is a funny story here, and I absolutely agree that the gooey orange stuff that sticks to your fingers is a problem. I like your subject and his expression, even that t-shirt says someething about him (a 1-km fun run!!!) So while I like the story here, the way it's presented doesn't quite work for me. I do think that your emotional attachment to the moment (a relative, inside your house) may have obscured the potential for this image. I can see it was a quick capture, but this has meant that there are leaning walls, a sharp DOF and distracting elements. We often think that PJ is about quick moments, but a good PJ image requires more skill that people realise. Posted: 07/12/2026 22:43:35
Ron Davis
Hi Richard. A novel photo taken around the house at a party situation. I cannot say anymore that has been already been said other than have the Cheetos dripping with a sauce. Posted: 07/13/2026 05:43:24
Tom Brott
Richard, I too find this amusing with your description. With the comments that Jen indicated especially the crooked walls I thought a tighter crop might alleviate some of the distractions and also enlarge the image to make the Cheetos much clearer. Posted: 07/18/2026 19:29:38
