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To ensure delivery of future newsletters, please add news@email.myfamily.com to your address book.
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Volume 1, October 2007
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The New myfamily.com Newsletter
Welcome to the very first edition of Myfamily Connections, myfamily.com's monthly newsletter. In this volume, you'll find a great new seasonal recipe, some tips for how to make sure those Halloween photos come out just right, an overview of the Events feature on your myfamily.com site, and a chance to participate in our monthly photo contests.
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Tips For Great Halloween Photos
 Halloween is one of the best days of the year to take photos, but it can be difficult to take high-quality shots when you're outside at night. Here are some tips for helping you make sure those Halloween photos come out looking great:
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Charge up your battery - Shooting at night or in dark areas means you’ll use flash, which eats batteries quickly. Be sure your camera batteries are freshly charged, and if you use AA or AAA batteries, grab an extra set as you head out the door.
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Hold the camera steady - This is important in all photography but even more so at night because almost all cameras will shoot with a lower shutter speed. Resting the camera on a steady surface can make the difference between a great shot and a giant blur. If you don’t have the support of a steady surface, it's best to have your legs spread so that your feet are as wide as your shoulders, camera is to your eye, left hand supporting the bottom of the camera (make sure you don’t put your thumb in front of the lens) and the right hand gripping the camera and pushing the button to take the photo – your elbows should be in and touching your chest.
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Get close to your subject - A typical camera has 20 ft. of flash range or less. Get closer to the subject and you’ll need less flash power which means that the background around them won’t be as dark. The camera’s flash will cycle faster so you’re ready for the next shot quicker and your batteries will last for more shots.
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Set camera to "night mode" - “Night mode” is usually signified by a moon and stars on the mode dial or menu within your camera. If your camera doesn't have a "night mode" try manually changing the following settings:
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ISO (sensitivity to light): Change this to the highest available setting.
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Aperture (controls the amount of light allowed into the lens): Change this to the smallest available f-stop (i.e. f2.8).
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Shutter Speed: The slower the shutter speed, the longer the sensors are exposed to light. However, slower shutter speeds also increase the likelihood that blurring will occur. A good rule of thumb in a dark room or outside is 1/30th of a second for a wide angle and 1/125th of a second if you’re zoomed in.
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Fall Photo Contest
Best Fall Photo
Get out those cameras and participate in our first photo contest. All you have to do is take some great photos this fall, upload them to your myfamily.com site and send a share to MFContest@tgn.com
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Here's How It Works:
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Upload the photos you've taken this fall to your myfamily.com site.
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Use the 'Share' feature to send your favorites to us at MFContest@tgn.com.
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We'll select our favorite three and include them in next month's newsletter.
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All photos must be submitted by November 10th, 2007
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Organize Your Holidays
The Holiday Season is fast approaching. There's Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, New Year's Eve and the list goes on and on. With all the parties and get-togethers that accompany this busy time of the year, you can use the Events section of myfamily.com to keep them organized. You can also set reminders for each event to make sure you and your site members don't forget a thing.
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Get Involved
We want this newsletter to be more than just another email in your already crowded inbox. So contribute your own photos, recipes, stories and ideas and each volume will include some of the content we receive directly from our members!
Coming Next Month:
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Featured Recipe - Roasted Pumpkin Soup
Ingredients:
1 (2 pound) pumpkin, halved and seeds removed
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 plus a pinch freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
3/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped carrot
1/4 cup chopped celery
2 tablespoons minced ginger
1 tablespoon minced garlic
3 1/2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons pumpkin seed oil
15 to 20 small sage leaves, fried
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Place the pumpkin cut side up on a parchment lined baking sheet. Season with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Invert to the cut side down, and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Place in the oven and roast until the skin is golden brown and the pumpkin is tender, 50 to 60 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Once cool enough to handle, use a spoon to scoop the pumpkin flesh from its skin and set pumpkin aside until ready to use. Discard the skin.
Set a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and, when hot, add the cinnamon and allspice and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Add the onions, carrots, celery, ginger and garlic to the pan and saute, stirring occasionally, until lightly caramelized, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the chicken stock and reserved pumpkin to the pan and bring the stock to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook the soup for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft.
Remove the soup from the heat and process with an immersion blender (*or in batches in a blender) until smooth. Season with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and pinch of pepper. Add the cream to the soup and stir to combine.
To serve, place 1 cup of the soup in each of 6 warmed soup bowls. Drizzle 2 teaspoons of the pumpkin seed oil in the bowl and garnish with 2 or 3 fried sage leaves.
*When blending hot liquids: Remove liquid from the heat and allow to cool for at least 5 minutes. Transfer liquid to a blender or food processor and fill it no more than halfway. If using a blender, release one corner of the lid. This prevents the vacuum effect that creates heat explosions. Place a towel over the top of the machine, pulse a few times then process on high speed until smooth.
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