hello! my name is pete, and i like to bake stuff. bread, cakes, pies, deep fried cakes and pies…
me
i’m a 25-year-old living in washington dc and working in northern virginia. simply put, most of my income goes to flour, sugar and butter. you can email me at peter.andrew.ryan@gmail.com.
why i bake
i’ve grown up around delicious baked goods my entire life. there was never a birthday that was unaccompanied by a homemade cake. christmas meant between 10 and 20 different types of cookies. even with 3 other siblings, there were plenty of batter-dripping beaters to be licked. food always brought my family together, and the joy i felt in the kitchen as a kid has translated into a determination to tackle any delicious recipe i see. i love the sense of accomplishment i feel when i take cake out of the oven, but what i love even more is getting to share what i bake with people i love.
how i take pictures
for a while, i was using a canon powershot a540 exclusively (just a little point and shoot 6 mega pixel camera, but it got the job done). as of january 2010, i started using a canon rebel xs. as i’ve never had any formal camera experience, the best method for me to learn food photography has just been practice. most of my pictures are taken on the auto setting without a tripod and then tweaked a bit on my computer. my basic approach is to take literally millions of pictures and pick the one or two that actually come out decent.
the little i do know about food photography is that the flash is often too harsh for food. natural light has been my friend since i’ve started taking pictures, but it’s not always easy to capture it. i work until the evening most days so getting good shots often means rushing home after work and quickly baking and photographing while the gettin’s still good.
this photo (one of my favorites) was taken right as the sun was setting. apples are incredible at capturing light. if you’d like to use any of the images on this site, i just ask that you check with me for permission first. i will most likely allow you to use a photo as long as it’s not for commercial use. just email me for permission.
technical stuff
this blog is built on wordpress, which i’ve grown to love, despite some frustrations. i’m using the barecity theme as a base – highly recommended for anyone who likes minimalism and easy customization. i’m also using a ridiculous amount of wordpress plugins to tweak the site. i won’t go into all of them here, but i’m happy to answer any questions if you email me.
press
Washingtonian.com: Blogger Beat: Pete Bakes, July 1, 2009
Serious Eats: Blogwatch
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