HP Photo Books are perfect for sharing memories. In these interviews, mom bloggers share their thoughts on photography and the photos that captured the special moments of their lives.
Charlene Prince Birkeland credits her two sons Nol and Q. with exposing her to the world of the crazedparent. She is the editor of the online parenting community, Maya's Mom and a regular contributor to the San Francisco Chronicle. Her work has also appeared in Forbes, HallMark Magazine and on NBC News and AOL.
Charlene has always been interested in cameras and photography but until she was in her mid twenties, she mostly took snapshots of friends and family. After she got married, however, she started thinking more about composition and the art of photography, and began snapping more deliberately.
Charlene's first camera was a $20 drugstore point-and-shoot that she received as a gift back in high school. When she got more serious about photography, her husband bought her a good 35mm film camera, which unfortunately broke just before a family trip to Europe. She made do with a borrowed camera on that trip, and a few cameras later, she now uses a high-end digital point-and-shoot. After her son broke her most recent higher end digital camera, she thought a point-and-shoot would be more practical.
She feels she has a good eye, but "I have no idea why a picture turns out good. If I took the time to read the handbook or spent some time with a professional photographer, that would probably tell me all I need."
One of her favorite photos was taken in Italy with that borrowed camera. She recalls: "We were on the west coast of Italy in the Cinque Terre region. I was leaning out the window of the hotel, and there were some rowboats just under the window. Everything about the shot was sort of perfect, almost too good to be true."
Another favorite, also from the film days, was a black-and-white shot of her now six-year-old son when he was about 18 months old.
Charlene prefers casual candid photos: "Most of my favorite photos are informal, journalistic slices of life. Very natural, very real. Even in posed photos, when we set the timer, we're probably doing something ridiculous or goofy."
Her older son Nolan loves taking photos. Two years ago, for a trip to Hawaii, she gave him an inexpensive point-and-shoot from Target, and she enjoyed seeing the vacation from his "height and angle."
She wasn't sure how she would use the HP Photo Books, but "with the holidays approaching, I'll probably use one to make a gift for my parents. They aren't online, and I'm very backlogged on printing out pictures, so the Photo Book could be a nice year in review for them."
They got a new puppy earlier this year, and Charlene thought she might do a Photo Book as a record of Luna's very tumultuous first year. Another possible topic would be a chronicle of Lady's Rock Camp, "a rock and roll camp for women and girls that I attend every summer. You learn an instrument, form a band and perform live for your fellow campers. It's something I love, and it would be nice to have a record of it."
Print or Share online?
"Both. I use Flickr to share photos but my "family photos" are only shared with family and friends. I'm still unsure how I feel about photographs of my sons being public. Those photos that are public are usually ones from an angle that doesn't show their full face or body.
For printing, I use Snapfish and Shutterfly but am always very behind. I usually order large batches of photos -- as in 500-800 at a time. The problem is that when they arrive, they are never in order and so my motivation to put them in an album is snuffed by the need to organize them. A gargantuan task!"
Photos by Charlene Prince Birkeland Interview by Susan Getgood
Printable version
Charlene Prince Birkeland credits her two sons Nol and Q. with exposing her to the world of the 
Charlene's first camera was a $20 drugstore point-and-shoot that she received as a gift back in high school. When she got more serious about photography, her husband bought her a good 35mm film camera, which unfortunately broke just before a family trip to Europe. She made do with a borrowed camera on that trip, and a few cameras later, she now uses a high-end digital point-and-shoot. After her son broke her most recent higher end digital camera, she thought a point-and-shoot would be more practical.
Another favorite, also from the film days, was a black-and-white shot of her now six-year-old son when he was about 18 months old.