Givorgy Kraskoff Photography

Do you think of yourself more highly then you ought to? I know at times it’s easy to do. For me, it seems to be one of those traps that are so easy to get sucked into. The world tells us that we are to have confidence in ourselves, to take things in our own hands, work for the things that we want, do whatever necessary to get what we want. Regardless of what the scenario, our society is all about self preservation. I don’t necessarily think that trying and working hard for yourself is a bad thing, but this all about me, regardless of the cost mentality can cost us dearly.

Romans tells us “For the grace given me I say to everyone of you: Do not think of yourself more highly then you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgement, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.” Romans 12:3

God continues to reveal to me how pride and thinking highly of myself is destructive and is keeping me from giving God all the glory. It’s a battle I continuously fight with.

This week I’ve been continue to read through Crazy Love by Francis Chan, there was an excerpt that stood out to me this weekend, which keeps coming back to mind:  A person who is obsessed with Jesus knows that the sin of pride is always a battle. Obsessed people know that you can never be “humble enough,” and so they seek to make themselves less know and Christ more know.

If I really deeply look at my life, my life doesn’t mimic one that is obsessed with the Lord. Yes I love my God and I want to know him more, but in a lot of ways pride seeps itself back into my life and prevents me from having this obsession. An obsession, which I know is actually healthy for me. I want to be obsessed. I want to be invisible, to that through this invisibility God can radiate through my every move. I know I can’t do any of this on my own, but yet I’m so stubborn and I reluctantly give Him so little. Maybe a little at a time, will soon grow to more and more?!

So humbled by his word, and the people he keeps dropping right into my life.

So  a few weeks back I had the opportunity to take my sister’s family photos, which she in turn used for their Christmas Card. I know it’s a little late and Christmas has come and gone, but I wanted to ensure that all her recipients received the card before I posted it online. Didn’t want to ruin the surprise for people. =) Check it out below:

I had the pleasure of spending the time and shooting my friend Heather, along with her husband and their friends, which are actually some of my friends too. The shoot was a birthday gift. If I remember correctly, she stated that her husband wanted to prove to people and her that she’s still hot! And as you can see below, I think he proved her right. Enjoy the pictures below and Happy Birthday Heather! Thanks for letting me be apart of your birthday memories and giving me the opportunity to capture your fun spirit.

Just because we are towards the end of summer and it’s starting to get cooler, doesn’t mean you have to forgo your summer wardrobe. Pull out that summer dress, and get ready for your photo session. After you book next session, the common question all clients ask themselves, is what do I wear?!?! To help you along the way, here is the third in the [ What to Wear ] style guide series. This guide’s inspiration is a rustic look, which seems to be quite popular in a lot of today’s fashion trends. Any place I go, I see the plaid shirts, and a lot of western inspired clothing. So, why not use it to your advantage, dress up, and look good doing it. As always, this is just a guide, and should be used as inspiration to give ideas for your shoot. Hopefully it help. Use it and enjoy!

And for everyone else, if you haven’t book a session, feel free to take a look at my portfolio and book your next session utilizing the contact tab.To find out more visit www.givorgykraskoffphotography.com.

This style guide is brought to you by Modcloth, zappos.com, Old Navy, GAP, & Forever 21.

Here are all the pictures I remembered to take with my trusty little iPhone while in Rome. Enjoy!

When traveling to and in Africa I tried to take as many photos as I could with my iPhone. I’m definitely glad that I had it with me. During the times that I wasn’t lugging around my large heavy D90 I was still able to snap a few pictures with my trusty little smartphone. Check out the pics below, hope you enjoy!

Today we ended up getting together and went, visited and attended service at the Nazarene Church in Ongata Rongai, the town just a few miles from the University, basically right down the hill from where the university is located. It was awesome to see individuals who seem to be so passionate for the lord. Especially to see how different people worship. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many people dance in a Nazarene church before (inside joke). I also don’t think I’ve ever been to such a long service before, with the exception of the Russian Old Believer services I use to go to as a kid and as a young adult. When service let out, there was this little boy, (left) which for the life of me I can’t remember his name, he was so cute and such a little ham. He kept wanting to have his picture taken, so I took quite a few.

We also ended up making a new friend. He lives in town and is currently in secondary school, which from my understanding is kind of like our version of high school. He seems to be a good kid and have a good head on his shoulders. He came up to me and asked if I played football. I wasn’t sure if he meant soccer or American football. For those that don’t know, soccer is huge in Kenya. But anyway, back to the matter at hand, he was actually talking about American football. He pretended to throw me a football, but I didn’t really know what he was doing or talking about, so it was kind of interesting. We got talking with him, and we hope that we’ll be able to get him to come and hang out at the university for a bit, sometime in the next couple of weeks.
After church, we packed up and made it to our reservation at Rolf’s Place. A restaurant and resort. It was spectacular. When you first drive up, you drive through this huge entrance, then we were greeted by one of the Masai Mara worriors (not sure if he was actually a worrier or not, but that’s what I’m going to call him.). He then escorted us to this bridge, which we were told that only six of us could cross at a time. So this bridge that were were crossing is not just some regular bridge, this is a suspension bridge that you have to cross, which basically crosses over a ginormous canyon that has a river flowing through below. It was pretty neat. It’s just unfortunate that the weather wasn’t great for photos, but you can see a bit of what I’m talking about below.

We just made to Kenya. The airport is quite nice, the people are friendly, and as I’m standing here with the 14 other members of my team, I realize that I’m actually in another country, not just across the boarder to Canada, but over 9000 miles away from home, where the Atlantic Ocean separates me from what I know to be normal.  I still can’t believe that I’m here. It’s surreal. So now, we load up the 34 suitcases of supplies for the multiple churches and the university, hop on the transport bus to ANU and now make it to our real, final destination.

Let me tell you, if the realization that I wasn’t in the states any more wasn’t apparent, it sure was revealed to me by the traffic, driving on the left side of the road, seeing mass quantities of people walking, sitting, and living their lives on the side of the road. Not to mention, we are in bumper to bumper traffic and while we are at a stand still we have people walking in the middle of the road, through traffic, trying to sell us a multitude array of items, items such as fresh fruit, newspaper, ice cream, etc. You see it in the movies, but to actually witness something of this nature, is so bizarre. It really makes one thankful that I live somewhere, where there is order, and people abide by the laws that have been set, at least most of the time. But at the same token it makes you realize just how sheltered we are (we being me). It’s interesting how something someone would consider normal, is so not the norm for others.

As we started up the hill to African Nazarene University, I finally witnessed shanties, some would call them huts and/or make shift homes. I don’t think you can ever be prepared to see that type of living, which I thought I would be prepared for, since we are exposed to it on TV, all the time, but it’s unreal. Nothing could quite prepare you to see people live like that. I really makes me feel so fortunate, so blessed, and I’m coming to a conclusion that I am way to sheltered. I hope and pray that God can continue to grow me and make me the man that he would like me to be. That He can give me a heart of compassion and the ability to love. I want to be that person, who can have a conversation with anyone, where God can radiate from my life and I’m not disabled by my fears and insecurities. I guess being in a new and foreign place, and putting individuals into our paths, puts me in a place where I have no choice but to open up, taking me away from my the things that I find comfortable. I guess here’s to doing things that make me uncomfortable. As I hear many of the people say, cheers for now!

So after being up for over 48 hours, and a 13 hour flight to Ethiopia, we get to wait for our last flight of the day. Now we are sitting in the Ethiopia Airport. I feel as if I am in a virtual world, a very real virtual world, kind of like an out of body experience, where I know I’m experiencing everything, but I feel like these experiences are not my own. The whole situation is quite bizarre. I don’t really know what my expectations were coming into this trip, but I’m shocked to find that Ethiopia Airport, an international airport for that matter, is in such horrible shape. Not to mention, the fact that people smoke in the airport. Very different from the states.

Any way, we board our next flight, which is luckily only a two hour flight to Kenya. Soon we make it to our final destination.

So, over a week ago I had the opportunity to take some family portraits for an amazing couple, Jeremy & Karen. We got together during the wee early morning at Rood Bridge Park, which is an amazing park. I didn’t realize what an awesome park it was. Any way back to the important stuff. Jeremy and Karen are probably one of the most awesome two people you will ever meet. Their are a Godly couple, giving their time, their resources, opening up their home to the youth, and so much more. They truly are an inspiration. Not to mention they have two beautiful little girls, who have awesome personalities, which you will see shine through, on the images below. Hope you enjoy, cause I know I definitely enjoyed my time with them. Thanks again Jeremy & Karen…you both are awesome!