Personal Archives - Krista Photography Blog

Posted on March 16, 2016September 20, 2016 by Krista Guenin · 3 Comments

PURPOSE

Coming off of the heels of another great Inspire Photo Retreats, I’ve been thinking a lot about PURPOSE.

The last two years have been a bit rough, to be honest. Bringing CoCo on as an Associate has been SO AWESOME in so many ways, but it’s also brought a lot of challenges along with it. I’ve found myself bogged down in the work of editing, and running the studio and never feeling like there was enough time to do all of the things I know I SHOULD do… like SHOOT more, train my employees to take over more, wrap up our re-branding project, blogging, networking, budgeting, strategizing, planning and dreaming. Not to mention spending time with friends & family, and leaving my house once in a while! Running my own business is often totally overwhelming, and it’s really easy to forget WHY I’m doing all of this. So, now that I’m finished editing our 2015 work, and I’m officially in the “off-season”, I’m trying to get back to the point.

What is my purpose? WHY does Krista Photography exist?

Posted on July 17, 2015July 20, 2015 by Krista Guenin

Bermuda vacation!

Bermuda Destination Wedding and Cruise

One of the benefits of traveling to a destination wedding via cruise ship is that I was “forced” to be on vacation for a few days! To make it SO much more awesome, one of my best friends since childhood came along! Marietta had visited Bermuda after her graduation from THE Ohio State University, um, a lot of years ago – so it was extra sweet to visit together again!

Bermuda Vacation

Bermuda, the first time… we definitely missed our friend Kara this time around!
And also, we look like babies. Skinny, drunk, babies…

Bermuda 2000

Leaving Boston!

Fun times on the ship!

Bermuda Vacation

The view from our ship when we arrived in port… not a bad site to see when you wake up in the morning!

This is how WE enjoyed the Welcome Dinner…

Bermuda vacation

Boston to Bermuda Destination Wedding Cruise

Bermuda panorama

Our day at CoCo Reef after the wedding…

Bermuda Destination Wedding and Cruise

My beautiful friend!

Making the most out of having an underwater camera on this trip – time for snorkeling!!

060914_D0781

060914_D0782

The next day we got to go on a Blue Water Divers’ snorkeling adventure through with the bride and a bunch of the guests!
SO FUN!

Boston to Bermuda Destination Wedding Cruise

Boston to Bermuda Cruise Vacation

Exploring wreckage of ships beneath the sea

Bermuda Destination Wedding and Cruise

And then it was time for a relaxing voyage home! Bye bye Bermuda!

My favorite color! I could stare at the ocean for hours!

On our last night, Lori & Damian invited us to dinner with the rest of the party – so of course, I took a group photo!

I’ve known this lady for over 30 years!!!! It was such a treat getting to enjoy all of this with such a dear friend!

Posted on April 16, 2013 by Krista Guenin · 4 Comments

Mourning for Boston

I’ve thought a lot about this photo since yesterday afternoon. Thinking about how many of my friends had been RIGHT THERE just a few minutes or hours before. Thinking about the shoot I did at the candy store that’s right next to the site of the first bombing. Thinking about how it could have been just about anyone I know who was injured or killed yesterday, and how thankful I am that it wasn’t. Thinking about how much worse it could have been, and what a blessing it is that so many first responders were in the area who probably saved many many lives. And I’ve been praying for everyone involved – those who were hurt, the people who’s loved ones died, the emergency workers and photographers who witnessed so much horror, and the thousands of bystanders who are traumatized by the terror it caused. It’s just so horrible.

We are grieving and praying for our city.

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the Lord
for the display of his splendor.

Isaiah 61:1-4

Shout for joy, you heavens;
rejoice, you earth;
burst into song, you mountains!
For the Lord comforts his people
and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.

Isaiah 49:13

…my soul is downcast within me.

Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him.”

Lamentations 3:19-20

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Psalm 23

praying.

Posted on October 1, 2012 by Krista Guenin · 9 Comments

The Badi Girls

When I began looking for my first job in photography over 10 years ago, I wasn’t even thinking about wedding photography. I wanted to be a photojournalist. I wanted to travel the world and take “important” photographs that changed the way people thought about the world.

What actually happened was that the first person who would hire me was a wedding photographer. At the time, his work was like nothing I’d ever seen before – it was like a combination of photojournalism, fine art black & white film, and weddings all rolled into one. So, I dove in head first and started learning all about wedding photography. But that itch to document the hard things of this world has never left me. I’ve travelled to many countries on missions trips with my church, and as a photographer on behalf of non-profit organizations, and captured all that I saw and experienced. And still, I’ve wanted more.

It’s been over four years since my last trip, and my heart has literally ached for another opportunity. Then, just a couple of weeks ago, I got this email from my friend Grant who lives in Singapore:

“Hey Krista, What does your calendar look like in November? How about a trip to Nepal…”

He sent me to the website for the Lighthouse Foundation, where I read about the Badi Girls. Nepal is primarily Hindu and holds to the caste system, in which the Badi people are the lowest of the low, the lowest of even the Untouchables. And though they are “untouchable,” the only way most families can even survive is to offer up their daughters as prostitutes. I read the testimonies of two young girls who had been drugged, sold to brothels, forced into prostitution, severely beaten, and eventually escaped and came to live in the Lighthouse orphanages. And with tears streaming down my cheeks I realized that I had no choice but to go and do the only thing I really can do – photograph this story. Grant started a company called Code Red Films and will be organizing the trip, and gathering a crew to go into Nepal and shoot a documentary about the Badi Girls. I am honored to be invited to work on the project as the still photographer, and completely overwhelmed at the thought of what this experience will be like. So, in just a few weeks, I’ll be heading to Singapore, then Nepal to spend 2 weeks meeting and photographing these girls. I have no doubt that it will be an incredibly difficult, and gut-wrenching project, but somehow I’m still excited that we are tackling it and I can’t wait to see what God will do with this!

Code Red Films (i.e. Grant) is financing this project with funds donated by people from all over the world. Please consider supporting our efforts by donating either directly to Code Red Films, or to Krista Photography. None of the donations are tax deductible, but they will be greatly appreciated and used directly towards expenses associated with the film (plane tickets, travel within Nepal, post-production, etc.). Also all GIVE Program donations will be directed towards this project for all weddings booked within the next 2 months. If you’d like to re-direct your GIVE donation to this project, but have already booked, please let me know before your wedding! And if you are a praying person, please pray for this project! Pray for us as we form a team, and a plan, and for our safety and the safety of everyone who participates and helps us along the way!

I’m looking forward to keeping you updated on this project over the coming weeks and months!! THANK YOU so much for supporting us in this project!!

Posted on April 3, 2012 by Krista Guenin

Life is too short

I’m going to get pretty personal here for a minute. For those of you who are friends with me on Facebook, that won’t surprise you, but for those who are just stopping by for the first time – I hope you’ll indulge me…

Two weeks ago, a young woman from my church, Alanna, and her unborn son, were killed in a tragic accident while on vacation with her husband in Florida.

Alanna was a joyful, sweet woman – the kind of person that no one could say a bad thing about – just genuinely loving and kind. She always had a beautiful smile on her face. I remember the few conversations I had with her being completely pleasant, and walking away feeling encouraged and more grateful for my life and work than I was before. Our hearts have been so heavy within the GENESIS community, even for those of us who didn’t know Alanna very well. Her death affects us all because we are one Body. “For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” Romans 12:4-5. And it’s that much harder for those who knew her well and for whom she was a big part of their lives. More than anything, my heart aches for her husband Michael, and her family. It’s an absolutely devastating loss.

For the last 2 weeks, I have been praying that God would use this for good. I have said it again and again, but her death, this whole thing is just so completely horrible – it’s so horrible that there is no way that God will not use it for good. God does not delight in tragedy, but in taking ashes and turning them into something beautiful. And I believe with all my heart that God will use Alanna’s death to bring about something beautiful in the lives of those left behind. I believe that He will reveal Himself to us, and to many. I have already seen it, and I trust that it will only grow as time passes.

I think Alanna’s legacy is her faith in and love for Jesus, and that above everything else, she would want people to know that about her, to see that in her, and to seek the same. On her Facebook page, in her “about me” section she wrote the lyrics to the song Legacy by Nichole Nordeman…

“I want to leave a legacy
How will they remember me?
Did I choose to love?
Did I point to You enough
To make a mark on things?
I want to leave an offering
A child of mercy and grace who
blessed your name unapologetically
And leave that kind of legacy”

This is the legacy she leaves. Her entire life, and even her death points us to God. That’s what she wanted most, and I believe that’s what she’s done. And I rejoice in knowing that she’s with Him now – at perfect peace, in perfect joy, and hearing “well done, my good and faithful servant.”

For me personally, I feel overwhelmed with all I’ve learned in these last few days. I look at how she died in the midst of such joy – she’d said it was the happiest day of her life – and I realize that life is just too short for anything else. Life is too short to spend it being angry, or frustrated. Life is too short to waste our time on foolish things, on too many hours spent in front of a computer or a TV. Life is too short not to tell the people you love that you love them – not to show them that you love them. And most importantly, life is too short not to be lived in light of what we believe is most important. Alanna’s entire life, her entire personality, everything about her pointed the people around her to Jesus, spoke to them of His love. Will they say the same of me when I die someday? I hope so. I hope that I could leave half the mark on the people around me that Alanna has left. I look to her example, and am deeply challenged. I pray that my life would be different from here on out – that her life and death would not impact me just these last few weeks, but for the rest of my life.

You truly never know what moment will be your last, don’t waste them.

p.s. I wish I knew who the photographer was who took her wedding photo, so I could give him/her proper credit. I pulled this from Facebook, and she didn’t credit her photog. A reminder to all of us photographers to watermark our images… If you shot this photo, please let me know and I’ll edit the post!

Posted on January 2, 2012January 3, 2012 by Krista Guenin · 9 Comments

The end of a year

Today I’m officially observing New Year’s Day! Every year, I normally spend New Year’s Day sleeping in (check), having a nice long quiet time of journaling and praying (check), work out a budget for the new year (um, pass, I don’t feel like it), going through my calendar for the last year (check), and reminiscing about all that’s happened (check). It’s been a challenging year for sure, especially the last few months of the year when life got doubly stressful, but as I look back I have a much better perspective and am able to truly thank God for this year!

Here’s a little peek at my 2011 in no particular order…

Shot 14 fabulous weddings from January through December in Boston, on the Cape, and in Connecticut

Took voice lessons for the first time

Renovated my home office

Fell in love with my new neph-dog, Buckeye

Brought on CoCo as a paid office assistant

FINALLY bough an iPhone!!!!

Lead a LIFEgroup of fabulous women for a few months

Got published in The Knot Boston, twice!

Said goodbye to too many dear friends as they moved away

Joyfully welcomed back a few friends as they returned home

Spoke at the Boston PUG on Facebook Marketing, and with Enna Grazier at Inspire 2011 on Branding

Shot 12 Engagement Sessions in Boston, on the Cape, and in New York

Donated over $4800 to various non-profits as part of our GIVE program!! So cool!

Sang lots of karaoke (sometimes while shooting weddings ;)

Helped organize and pull off the 2nd Inspire Photo Conference, and began planning the 3rd (it’s going to be sweet, you photogs should come!)

: photo by RAW Photo Design

Shot 10 Family Portrait Sessions in Boston, Indianapolis & Chicago

Holiday Portrait Party!

sang on the Worship Team at GENESIS on a lot of Sunday mornings

Shot 5 Corporate photo sessions

Bought a new iMac to add to my collection

Discovered the Colin Firth version of Pride & Prejudice and held a British mini-series marathon that caused some random British accents to pop into conversations for a month or so

Travelled to Dallas for my cousin’s wedding, a photo conference, and a visit with a friend – whirlwind weekend for sure!

Watched Butler lose the NCAA Finals for the 2nd year in a row. wah wah :(

Scratched the surface of understanding the word GRACE and what God’s love is really like

Spent a long weekend at Loon Mountain with some of my favorite photog ladies

Lots of visits from Mom & Dad (aka Mimi & Papa)

Discovered & fell in love with The Civil Wars, Pinterest, and truffle oil tater tots

The Great Giveaway!

8 friends got married, 3 more got engaged, and 6 had babies, adopt or get pregnant!

Spent as much time at the beach as I possibly could

2 weeks in Indianapolis, and the annual Guenin Family Vacation

Cried over the end of the Harry Potter series

Said goodbye as too many friends moved away, rejoiced as a couple of friends returned home

Watched my sister’s kids get far too big

Hunkered down for Hurricane Irene

Threw some fun parties

Cookie Face Race!

Dexter. Psych. Pushing Daisies. Mad Men. My So Called Life. The joy of Hulu & Netflix…

Turned 34. yep.

Finished reading through the entire Bible for the second time (it only took me 5 1/2 years…)

Did NOT have anyone move into or out of my house!! A first for the last many years – so thankful for my awesome roommate!

Laughed a lot, cried a lot, went to the chiropractor a lot, ate too much pizza, drank too much Coke, sat at my computer a lot a lot a lot…

All in all, that’s a pretty great year! I have more to be thankful for than I remembered yesterday – so that’s pretty awesome :)

Here’s to a great 2012!!

xoxo

Krista

Posted on April 4, 2011April 5, 2011 by Krista Guenin

GO BULLDOGS!!!

Just for the record… I graduated from Butler University, and I will be rooting for the BULLDOGS to win the NCAA Basketball championship tonight! I think that you should too. :)

**/edit/**

I’m so sad they lost last night, but I think this article is just awesome! I was not impressed with their playing last night, but I am beyond impressed with how they handled it.

Posted on October 20, 2010October 18, 2010 by Krista Guenin · 4 Comments

Photo Shoot at Fenway Park!

I had the opportunity this summer to shoot a family portrait session inside of Fenway Park! I’m not actually a fan (of any sports team, really), but it was still very cool to get into the Park while it was mostly empty and go out on the field and behind the scenes a bit! It was so fun to photograph a family here! I can’t share those images with you, but I thought I’d share a few of my faves of the Park. For all of you Boston Red Sox fans out there, these are for you :)

Fenway

The view from Left Field

Foul Line

The stands

self portrait on the dugout

The Green Monster

The field

batting cages

Posted on September 17, 2010October 22, 2010 by Krista Guenin · 1 Comment

My first Red Sox Game!

One of my best friends was just in town for a few days for a family reunion that I got to photograph. Later that week they all headed down to Boston for a Red Sox – Indians game and invited me along. I’d never been to a Red Sox game and never been to Fenway, so I was pretty excited to go! When we were younger, Marietta got me into the Braves and I followed them for years… until they traded David Justice to the Indians and I decided it just wasn’t worth caring about a team if the owners were just going to split them up! I mean, jeez! (Clearly, I’m more of a people person than a team person) So, I’m not really a fan of any sports team anymore – though I always root for the Ohio State Buckeyes, and occasionally the Colts. But I’m fascinated by sports fans and am always up for people-watching at a game & hanging out with friends :)

Austin got a little sleepy on the walk to the park. You’ll notice he & his Daddy are Indians fans. That’ll happen when you’re from Ohio…

That baby is too cute!

Me & “Mommy”

I pretty much just want to kiss those cheeks all the time!

Fenway did not disappoint!

The only part of the game that I even remember was this huge fight that broke out when the Indians pitcher hit a guy with the ball, like for the 3rd time…

Just for fun, here’s a few photos of Marietta & I over the years…. hehe :]

Marietta & I met doing synchronized swimming. Our first routine was a duet we swam together. We were pretty cute, huh? (~1987)

My first professional baseball game! Rooting for the Braves at Cincinnati (1994)

And here we are now… Times have definitely changed, but it’s so wonderful to have friends who have known you for most of your life!!!

Posted on August 25, 2010August 25, 2010 by Krista Guenin · 1 Comment

The Great Giveaway

Earlier this summer, my church GENESIS held an event called The Great Giveaway. This was our way of reaching out and blessing the community of Woburn. We’re a very new church in the area, and thought this might be a great way to meet our neighbors. We basically had a HUGE yard sale where everything was given away for FREE! Hundreds of people came and almost everything was taken by the end of the day (what wasn’t taken was donated to Salvation Army). It was the coolest thing! People could not get over the fact that everything was free, and that there were no strings attached. It was so fun!

We spent HOURS going through all the donations, organizing everything, and then putting it out in the parking lot. There was a TON of stuff!!