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Learning a lot with the last two shoots I’ve done for (and with) friends last week. My favorite shot below.

It’s been pretty exciting to see the turn out of the photos. This is all beyond my carefully controlled setups with my own kids. I need more lights, more experience with flash, and to beat it into my head to adjust the camera settings while looking through the eye piece (argh).

Have another shoot on Sunday at church of the staff and a family for Christmas cards. Will be my first away from studio of non-family. Checking out more a of a professional aspect to my hobby is a challenge, but fun and instructive.

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In other news I decided to change photo hosts. I’ll still keep the Flickr account. But I felt I wanted a bit more professional look. So I signed up at Zenfolio.

We’ve been hopping lately with my son’s birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas lists (I’ll spare the rants about all the recalls with lead in toys - but it’s put me in tears), trying to order presents for family, photo shoots, Christmas cards, trying to freeze a few things to get ahead for the holidays, etc, etc.

With Thanksgiving coming up my parents are coming out. My hope is to get a good shot of them while they are out. I have so few of them as a couple. Perhaps I can start a tradition?When will I find time to sew the capes for my daughter and a few friends for Christmas? Crossing my fingers to start tonight.

I have been digging into photography and doing more for my family at home, almost to the exclusion of other things. I thought, perhaps I could combine these two things and work up a few blog posts ta-boot, so the poor little blog isn’t so lonely anymore.

I think I’ve perfected a white bread recipe I found. The original recipe is Fluffy White Sandwich Bread from Mom’s Big Book of Baking. Before I would get inconsistent results with how much the bread would rise. Now I’ve had several loaves in a row turn out rising well above the pan edge.

What I changed:

1. I chose to use water in the recipe, because milk is darned expensive lately.
2. proof the yeast and I keep mine in the cupboard instead of the refrigerator.
3. Added gluten.
4. (Simplified the directions GREATLY.)

See! It’s rising nicely.

A few tips:

• I let the kitchen-aid mixer knead the bread for a good minute after the dough ingredients are mixed.
• I set my rising dough on my stove (which is running at 150-200 degrees).
• The original recipe said to cover the bread with plastic wrap. That has always been a disaster for me. I just get sticky plastic wrap and the dough falls when I take it off. Instead, I use a dish towel to cover the dough. If the dough is particularly sticky, I grease or flour the top the top of the bread.

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Fluffy White Sandwich Bread II

Makes one 9-inch loaf

1 1/3 cups WARM water (should be hot to the touch)*
1 envelope (2 1/2 teaspoons) rapid-rise yeast
1 tablespoon sugar

Combine and mix these ingredients and let the yeast proof for 5 minutes (look for the yeast to bubble or you know the yeast is old). *

3 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more if necessary
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons oil
1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons vital wheat gluten *
nonstick cooking spray

Combine and mix the remaining ingredients (except the cooking spray).

Slowly pour the yeast mixture into the dry ingredients. (Keep mixer running while doing this.) The dough should start to clean up the sides of the bowl. (If not add a bit more flour.)

Spray the inside of a large bowl with cooking spray, put dough in, cover it and let it rise in a warm place for at least an hour, until doubled. Punch down and place in greased pan, cover it, and let rise again until doubled (1 1/2 -2 hours). Bake for about 40 minutes at 350 degrees. Bread is done when you get a hollow sound after thumping it.