Posted on by Krista Guenin

Off to New York City!

Well, I’m off on another little adventure! Or, a business trip, depending on your perspective :) I’m heading down to New York City tonight for the PDN PhotoPlus Expo for the next few days. I’ll be wandering around a giant trade show, listening to amazing speakers, hanging out with old friends, connecting with new friends, meeting with a potential client, and possibly doing a family portrait session. All this, and then down to Newport, RI for a wedding on Sunday! Shwew! It should be a great trip!


I have a TON of stuff to edit and blog about when I get home. A wedding, a bat-mitzvah, another wedding, another bat-mitzvah, an awesome family portrait session, another wedding, and then some! I won’t able to do much editing while I’m away, but I should be able to respond to emails at least once a day. If you need to get in touch with me, please call! And if you’re a photographer who wants to meet up at PhotoPlus, let me know!!

peace out ;)

Posted on by Krista Guenin · 1 Comment

A New Pin In The Map – VERMONT!

This past weekend, I actually had a free Saturday, and so my friend Danielle & I decided to go on a little adventure! I love Fall, it’s always been my favorite season (though Summer is a very close second). So, since I’m in New England, home of the most beautiful Fall around, we thought we’d head up to Vermont to take in the gorgeousness!

We decided to drive up to Woodstock and just wander around and see where the wind would take us. After a lovely drive, and a yummy lunch, we walked around the cute little town.


One of the first things we saw was this… a little more disturbing than cute, but definitely interesting! And yes their shirts say “poop” – that apparently stands for Protest Outrageous Oil Profits, but it just looks like poop…


Covered bridges remind me of Indiana :)



After we looked in all the shops and got some tea & cider, we headed back up the road to a great little farm stand we saw along the way. It’s called Fool on a Hill and it was very fun! I mean, check out these bears – what’s not to love?





This is my beautiful friend Danielle, I couldn’t resist shooting her in the gorgeous sunlight


Fool on the Hill also had some random stuffed cows all over the hill. We just had to play…



I’m not sure why Danielle is kissing this cow’s eyeball, but whatever ;)


After playing with the bears and the cows, we kept on down the road to Quechee Gorge. It was beautiful! I kinda wish we’d gone there earlier and walked down the trails a bit, but oh well. You can only fit so much in a day!



The light just kept getting better and better




leaves


Random wall o’ graffiti under the bridge by the gorge


Ugh, I really hate photos of myself. It took everything in me to let you see this, but I’m trying to lighten up, so here you go :) (though, I must admit that Photoshop made the decision a little easier ;)


This is a picture of Danielle taking a picture of me taking a picture of her through a hollow log


I mean, that just looks fake! but, it’s not, I promise :)


I forgot how much I love road trips!!


The biggest disappointment of the day was discovering that we had MISSED the peak of the Fall colors in Vermont by a week or two. As we drove up we kept asking, ‘why are all the trees dead?’ But we pressed on anyway and I’m glad we did. But, it would have been a little more fun (or at least a little more pretty) if the trees were a little less bare…


This sign pretty much sums that up…


I snapped this on the way home, somewhere in New Hampshire. THIS is what we were looking for. Oh well! It was still an awesome trip!



Thanks for a fun adventure Danielle! You’re an awesome adventure-buddy!!

Posted on by Krista Guenin · 4 Comments

Mark & Serena’s Wedding

A couple weeks ago, I had the opportunity to second shoot with another local photographer, and now dear friend, Erica Pelaccia. She and I are connected through a whole random slew of people and it was about time we finally met and got to hang out! I had such a great time shooting with her and getting to know her over the course of the day.

And as for Mark and Serena, they are just wonderful! You could just see in their faces, and in everyone’s faces, that these two are so in love with each other and so dearly loved by all who were there. Here are a few of my favorites…

Mark getting ready


Serena getting ready


During the portraits, since I was second shooting, I was able to hang back and shoot with my 80-200mm lens and just catch some of the details and moments that were going on. I love second shooting!


Isn’t she gorgeous?!


Serena and her uncle right before they walked down the aisle


The ceremony took place at Highrock, their church in Arlington.


I even shot a little panoramic film with my Widelux during the day, just for fun…


The part where they greeted their parents was one of the most emotional and beautiful parts of the day.



A few details from our portrait session with the two of them at their reception site – the Habitat Wildlife Sanctuary in Belmont.




And there’s Erica, working it in the bushes :)


A couple more shots of black & white film



The reception was really fun! I love this shot of Mark as they made their big entrance. I think it says it all.


And a sweet moment during their first dance.


Thank you, Erica for inviting me to come along for the day – it was so wonderful shooting with you and hanging out with you!

And thanks to Mark & Serena for letting me be part of your wedding! It was really great meeting you and being with you and your families on this joyful day!

Posted on by Krista Guenin · 1 Comment

Noah’s Bar Mitzvah

A few weeks ago, I photographed Noah’s Bar Mitzvah in Brookline. This fabulous event was planned by the talented Nathalya Mamane, and took place at Veronique Boston. Noah and his family had recently returned from a trip to China and the whole party had a Chinese theme. It was beautifully done, and the party was so much fun! Here’s a look…

Some of the gorgeous details… Flowers courtesy of Carol Silverston of The Original Touch, Cake by John at Party Favors.


Noah reading Torah



Noah’s grandparents. What can I say? I’m a sucker for a cute little old man!


Noah’s aunt holding his very shy, but very cute little sister


I’m always so entertained by the games at Bar Mitzvahs! The light coming into the ballroom was just about perfect, and mix that with a bunch of girls hoola-hooping, and I was having a blast!




I wasn’t the only one fascinated by the hoola-hoops…


The Hora is one of my FAVORITE Jewish traditions! It makes me want to have a Jewish wedding someday. Though I doubt my Irish-Catholic family would quite know what to do… ;) Noah was loving it!


His Mom was a little scared at first


Dad was getting into it though


As was Noah’s little brother


Even his little sister had fun with it!



More games… Coke & Pepsi, anyone?


Fun on the dance floor



One of the things I love about Bar Mitzvahs is when the adults get in on the fun and let themselves be kids for a little bit


Noah’s birthday cake was AMAZING! One of the coolest cakes I’ve ever seen, for sure! (check out the detail collage at the top to see some more of the front of the cake)


this is what a 13-year-old looks like when he’s making a wish


All in all, I think Noah and his friends had an awesome time!


Congratulations Noah! Thanks so much for having me as part of your day!

Posted on by Krista Guenin · 2 Comments

Get Drenched – Summer 2008

This summer, my church, GENESIS, had another baptism service. This time we headed out to Sandy Beach in Winchester and witnessed four of our friends proclaim their love and devotion to Jesus. It was incredibly moving and beautiful to witness.

The weather was awful that weekend – scattered thunderstorms the whole day. But we pressed ahead and the clouds opened up long enough for us to have our service.

Praying before they shared their testimonies.

My dear friend Suzanne totally had me in tears

I love the look of joy on her face here

I love this reaction!

But the moment when Ashley’s husband, Scott hugged her afterward was the most powerful moment for me. I just love the way he’s holding her and the way she’s leaning in to him. It just screams love to me.

Right at the end of the service, this bird flew overhead and reminded me of a verse from the book of Mark. It says, “As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.’” It just reminded me of how pleased God was that day.

And this is just a random shot of my adorable nephew watching everything from the beach. He’s so cute :)

And here’s a slideshow of the service, if you’d like to see more!

Posted on by Krista Guenin · 9 Comments

On my way home from church…

I know I don’t share a ton of personal stuff on my blog. I wish I did, but frankly, I feel like I hardly have enough time to get the posts of all my shoots up :) And I definitely don’t go in to much detail about my faith or my beliefs – in part because I don’t want to offend anyone, or make anyone uncomfortable. But, I really just have to share this with all of you…

A few weeks ago, I was on my way home from church and I saw a woman walking down the street. I drove past her and felt very clearly that God was asking me to go pick her up and give her a ride. I kept trying to shake the feeling because, heck, Mom always told you not to talk to strangers and to never pick up hitch-hikers, right? But, the Lord kept prompting, and I finally gave in and turned around. It turned out she wasn’t going too far, and I gave her a ride. She was clearly having a hard day and needed a little kindness from someone. After I dropped her off, I prayed for her, and didn’t think of it much again until tonight.

Tonight I was driving home from GENESIS and I saw her again, in about the same place, walking in the opposite direction. So, once again, I drove past her but felt like God was asking me to turn around. And so, once again, I turned around and picked her up. She recognized me and thanked me. But when I asked her where she was going, she told me that she didn’t have anywhere to go. She’s homeless and was just planning to walk around all night to stay warm.

So, I pulled into a parking lot, kept the car running and the heat on, and just listened to her story for a couple hours. I tried to offer to pay for her to stay in a hotel for the night, but she refused. She told me she’d tried some shelters but they were all really scary and that she felt more comfortable risking it with the drunks out on the streets at night. And it broke my heart that I couldn’t help her more. I didn’t think my roommates would be too pleased with me if I invited to her stay with us, and I don’t know of any shelters in my area at all, much less one that I could recommend that would be safe. So, in the end, I had to let her out of the car and watch her walk away. She thanked me for my kindness, but I just felt sad that I couldn’t do more.

What good is it to be nice to someone, or to love them, if you don’t take care of their needs? This is a question I’ve asked myself a lot having seen all I’ve seen in the mission field. It’s a question I have asked of the church quite a bit. James 2:14-18 says “What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, ‘Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, ‘You have faith; I have deeds.’ Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.” What is the church, what is my church, doing to help this woman and others like her? What can I do? I can pray for her. I can give her a ride and a couple hours of warmth. I can give her food. I can give her compassion, mercy, love, and respect. I can listen. I just wish I could do more. And I wish I could point her to others who would do more.

In Chicago, I worked with an amazing homeless ministry called Breakthrough Urban Ministries. I absolutely love that place. In Boston, I’ve heard great things about Rosie’s Place – in fact it’s one of the organizations that benefits from my Give program (check out my website for more details). But, I don’t know of anything in Woburn, or nearby. Do any of you? Seriously, I am looking for suggestions. The next time I see my new friend, I want to be able to truly help her. Give me some great ideas, people! :)


And one final thought, or encouragement. The next time you walk by a homeless person, or drive by someone struggling down the street, what will you do? Think about it. Pray about it. And ACT on it. Don’t just say you want to help people, or say you love or care for people. Do it. Imagine the difference it would make in people’s lives if every one who claims to love Jesus (or anyone at all), actually went out of their way to show that love to others. Just imagine what that would do…

And M, if you found my site and my blog from the card I gave you, and if you’re reading this – please know that I’m praying for you. I pray that God would keep you safe tonight, and warm. And I pray that you would find Jesus out there, and that He would pull you up out of this hard situation so that you would know how much He loves you. And I pray that we would meet again someday, soon.