Photographic Memories

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.

To read an interview, select the woman's blog:

Kristen, Mommy Needs A Cocktail

Kristen has been blogging since 2005 when, as she reports on her blog Mommy Needs A Cocktail, she "realized that she was never going to keep a baby book and what better way to chronicle the life of her child than to share it with a random person with Internet access in Pakistan." A recovering lawyer, she runs Baby Brewing, an online t-shirt business that specializes in humorous screenprinted maternity Ts. Due to reader demand, she recently added a line of Mommy Needs a Cocktail shirts. She has two sons, Ethan and Nathan.

Kristen's introduction to photography was through her mom, who became an avid amateur photographer when Kristen was in the 5th or 6th grade. She recalls spending many sunsets with her three sisters standing just right for the perfect light, the perfect photo "Of course, someone was always cranky so good lighting didn't really help bad attitudes. That and she was forever forgetting to advance the film. There was a LOT of waiting. But every once in a while I would get a chance to take some pictures with her camera. It was very empowering."

She got her first 35 mm camera when she was about 16 and recalls:
"I thought I was all that and a bag of chips. Our senior class took a trip to Europe and that camera took some really amazing pictures. It was after that trip that I realized photography was all about capturing a memory that your mind will soon forget. My regret was that I didn't realize then how important it is to have pictures of people as part of your memories. I took a great picture of the Neuschwanstein Castle but never took a picture of my classmates trudging wearily up the hill because we were too cheap to take the trolley. That was the missed picture."

She switched from film to digital a few years ago and recently got a high-end digital SLR that she claims she'd put under her pillow at night if her husband would allow it. She also uses a digital point-and-shoot for those times that she doesn't want to carry the heavier SLR.

Given Kristen's comments about the importance of people in pictures, I wasn't surprised that her favorite moments on film were about people, not things or places. And people in extraordinary circumstances:
"The photo that stands out most recently is the picture of Melissa Hughes standing in front of her crushed red car, holding her baby in the aftermath of the I-35 bridge collapse. Another one that sticks out is a 1999 photo by David Bohrer of a police officer leading children, all holding hands, as they crossed the street to safety after a shooting at their Los Angeles day care. Any photo that can bring you right into the moment and make you feel exactly what is being felt right then is a photograph that has captured history."

Kristen's favorite photos of herself are some pictures from her wedding. "It was a series of pictures of our first kiss as husband and wife when my husband wouldn't let me get away. It shows him progressively moving me into a bear hug so the kiss continues. It's a very sweet series."

Her favorite shot that she took is one when her son Ethan was a day old. She was exhausted from a difficult labor and delivery, but her husband realized that she would be sorry later if she didn't take some pictures:
"He handed me my camera and I actually took the picture from the hospital bed as he sat with Ethan in a chair by the window. Ethan was wrapped in the hospital blanket with a little cap on his head. He is sitting in his father's arm, staring up at him with the same look that he gives his father to this very day. It still makes me tear up."

Kristen has been taking pictures since her childhood, but her children are testing her skills as a photographer. She told me that she has thousands of pictures of her first-born, and only a handful with him smiling. "The second the camera comes out, the poker face descends. It drives me CRAZY. It took the same behavior from his baby brother for me to realize that I am just going to have to rely on the candid shots because the memories of smiling boys will clearly have to come from my head. So candid shots it is. That means catching those life moments when the boys don't even know that the camera is there. That's kind of tough but I am getting better."

I sympathize. Lately most of my pictures of my seven-year old son seem to be from the back, so I can catch him unaware. Or he is clowning around, which is fun for one or two shots, but quickly loses its appeal.

Kristen is going to make Photo Books as Christmas presents for both sets of grandparents, and if she were to make one for herself, the theme would be the same: a reflection on the past year to see how the boys have grown. She's also planning to make a Photo Book for her toddler with pictures of his family and friends:
"He and his dad read books every night and I think it would be a great thing to have for them to page through before bed. It's just another way to make the far off relatives closer to us."

Print or Share online?
"Both. I post pictures on my blog and I also have a photo blog with pictures of the boys as they are growing up. It keeps all the relatives current with what is happening over here. My poor photo printer is on its last leg and STILL it manages to print up the stack of pictures I demand from it before leaving to see Grandma and Grandpa. As for printing my photos for myself, I have tons of pictures that should go on the wall or in albums but are sitting patiently on my hard drive. We've just moved into a new house, and I am looking at all the empty walls, feeling guilty about how our memories are suspiciously missing from view."

Photos by Kristen, Mommy Needs A Cocktail
Interview by Susan Getgood