wrapping up 2008 has brought back wonderful memories and has set the stage new growth in our photography and business. we couldn't have done it without the 100% trust of our clients who offered us a glimpse into their lives. between december 12 and january 1, we'll be revealing our kern-photo "best-of 2008 " awards.

and the winners are:

best portrait, male

best portrait, female

best engagement portrait

best pet portrait

best family portrait

best moment (wedding)

best wedding portrait

winning portraits exude personality, creativity, expression, and impact.

and here are the winners in the best dog portraits category of the best-of 2008 images by kern-photo (with a link to the original blog post & commentary):

#13. lady:


#12. tia:


#11. lucky:


#10. jessie:


#9. max:


#8. indy:


#7. tonzona:


#5. maggie & penny (tie):


#5. maggie & penny (tie):


#4. spencer:


#3. raven & mccloud:


#2. bella:


#1. dixie:

if there was an award for the world’s longest, cutest eyelashes, dixie the schnauzer would take grand prize. dixie brings a world of joy to melissa jill. i got to meet them both last night and had a wonderful time talking photography with melissa. as we drove around phoenix, dixie was such a cuddle bug and sat so nicely on my lap, of course alerting us to strangers un-met friends on the street.

schnauzers have a legacy in the kern family. my father grew up with schnauzers. i can still remember the dog collar jingle (and the bark :) of my grandmother’s schnauzer, gretel, named from the german origin, ''hänsel und gretel.”

and if there was ever a united nations dog conference, our vizsla dash from hungary would probably sit right next to dixie from germany :)



dixie’s regal stride:


dixie runs to pick out her latest pattern and paw accessory as melissa watches in the background. gotta love those paws!


and we have a winner!


what a great model!


dixie is starting to take interest in boy dogs (she’s almost a teenager in doggie years). apparently, the stocky and stout breeds are just her type :)


dixie wasn’t a big fan of the stairs. i’d be a bit afraid, too, if i had to climb stairs up to my chin covered in dried bubble gum splotches as big as my feet.


what a happy team!


a favorite moment cast in the lingering rays of sunset.

a distant cousin of dash, mr. wile e. coyote’s tracks were a pleasant surprise at sunrise this morning in denali national park. i was a bit bummed i didn’t see one...



... until about 20 minutes down the road, off in the distant, RUNNING towards me (no photoshop re-toucing, actions, or textures were used on this image.. simply shot through a dirty windshield directly into the sun :)


i watched him carefully, as did he, as he came closer.


after giving him a dog biscuit and a scratch around the ears, we both went our separate ways.

(just kidding, people!)

i lucked out with super clear weather, so i took a short hike from the lower troublesome creek trailhead and spotted these cool hibernating plants:


at 20,320 feet, mount mckinley (denali) represents the highest peak in north america. my goal was to represent it in the context of approaching winter.


switching lenses for a close-up:

i had no idea when i woke up this morning what the day would bring... like most days, i did the normal shower, brush teeth, eat breakfast and that sort. i left the b&b around 8:30 am.... and it was still dark. i anticipated it getting light soon, so i headed out to shoot landscapes of the sunrise on the mountains, which if you are landscape photographer in alaska shooting mountains is what you’d normally do.

little did i know that one of the greatest joys of the day would come from the next photo:


being a dog-inspired wedding photographer, photographing dogs is what i do for fun. our dash is almost world-famous and has inspired more than just the name of our company (kern “dash” photo).

the morning got off to an unexpected rough start. i got stuck for about 25 minutes in 6 inches of snow in my two-wheel rental car. i macguyvered my way out using branches from small brush under the tires to give me traction. it worked. all that sweating before i had sipped much of my morning coffee. it was minus-one degree plus wind chill when i snapped this photo of my not-so-alaska worthy rental car:


as i passed over the nenana river bridge, i liked what i saw (nikon d-300 w/ 12-24mm f/4 lens @ 12mm, iso 560, f/6.7, 1/180 shutter, no tripod):


as soon as a i arrived inside the denali national park, i paid my $20 park fee, and searched for the early morning light... which was the only real directional light seen all day :(


when i learned that sled dogs have patrolled denali national park since 1921, my focus switched to the animals i love best... dogs:



because much of denali national park is wilderness, motorized vehicles are prohibited. sled dogs serve as limo engines.

like humans, sled dogs (alaskan huskies) have his/her unique personality:


here’s fin:


tonzona:




inside the kennel building hangs names of retired sled dogs.


the kennel building is the oldest at headquarters still used as originally intended (referenced from my copy of sled dogs of denali national park).


don’t you just want to take one home?


oh, there’s more:


no photoshop on those blue eyes!


all i can say is this place is amazing and i hope to return soon!

en route back through the small summer tourist area outside the park, i couldn’t help but notice all the boarded-up windows. this place must be VERY different in the peak summer season. i like my fall timeframe, thank you very much :)


back again for a relaxing evening with the fire, skillet-fried moose & rice, some port wine, and raven & mc cloud (featured left-to-right).

one part velcro-dog +
one part love sponge +
two parts wind-up toy

= spencer the yorkie.

spencer has logged more miles on bike rides than any other dog we know. you see, he rides along in his mom’s burley ‘roo bike trailer and comes back after a 16-mile ride as an exhausted, happy dog.

after catching up my with my aunt & uncle in the great state of maine this weekend, i surprised them with a mini-photo session of their beloved pooch. they’ve decided to clear some walls for some big beautiful gallery canvas wraps of their little man.



spencer’s warddrobe provided by: pattern and paw.


a curious explorer...


spencer is dash’s older cousin, so we can see how energy runs in the family. spencer is the brother of my parent’s dog, duke.


...winding down from a portrait session and a long day of play:

we're in brookings, south dakota this weekend for liz & ryan's destination wedding. they have two four-legged children vizslas, penny & maggie, which happen to be dash's distant cousins. and here are a few snaps from this morning:

here's another of dash's friends, jessie, a wonderful example of a hybrid mutt designer dog, part chihuahua/lab/spaniel:


jessie reads quite well:

lady & chopper, a pair of dash's distant pointer cousin friends, offer the reinstra family some sporting excitement in kingston, washington featuring their new, handmade pattern & paw collars.

chopper captures a rare glimpse of the sun during the pacific northwest spring:


lady's eye on the prize (a stick):




if dogs could talk, lady would speak pearls of wisdom :)

i've embarked on a new little project with pattern and paw. details will develop soon, but for the time being i wanted to share a few favorite images. first up, here's baby tia:





and bella:


bella's sister, maddy:




and 85lb max:


and, of course, our gooberiffic, dash:


if you'd like your pooch shot, contact us and we'll fill you in on the details.

merry christmas from kern-photo! we hope the joy of the holiday season has been with you and your family!

the last several days have been spent with family in oklahoma and colorado.

i promised this entry for my parents in oklahoma before we left for the bahamas for my brother's wedding.

duke and holly, dash's yorkshire terriers cousins, were a big response to my parents' empty nest syndrome. cute as a button, these pedigree pooches have won over my parents. in addition, they were a big party of my brother's bachelor party last weekend. 18 months old and weighing in a 3.5 lbs, here's holly:


and big brother duke:


this shot was one of the hardest shot to get of two independent minded canines up on the ping-pong table :)

i've had the pleasure of getting to know tom pehrson and his booming wedding videography buisness, peak impact productions. we recently gave him an early christmas present and photographed him, his wonderful wife tina, and their family of beautiful pooches. this evening tom wrote the following note to us:

"I just wanted to say thanks for agreeing to work with us last weekend.  It was great to see your style in action.  I got Tina to finally take a look at your blog and [she] loves your work.  Once she started looking at the photos, she went through every entry.  That's a good sign and hopefully everyone who visits your blog has the same experience.  By the time they get done, they're ready to hire you.  She says she really loves how people's eyes seem to stand out in your photos.  So, thanks again!"

then comes the hard part:

"On a sad note, we had to put Sophie down this evening.  She was a good dog, but she took a turn for the worst in the last few days and it would have been cruel for us to keep her alive with no hope of recovery.  We're really glad that we got you to capture her and thanks for working with us on such short notice."

this blog entry is dedicated to sophie.

here she is in her glory:


feel free to write your condolences in the comments section below. your comments will be great appreciated :)

here are her siblings:


dogs and fire hydrants go hand and hand.


here are the pooches with full attention on a floating knit hat:



if we had a professional videographer at our wedding, without reservations we would higher him. here's he is with his videography tool:


here's tina and tom:


and the whole gang:

kelly, tony, and little hudson met up for a portrait session recently in denver. r. j. has known kelly since his gis learning met up with her gis training source years ago. kelly is a phenomenal teacher, and one of the best when it comes to gis trainining. tony is the creative brains behind the graphic design studio, ragu. CLICK HERE FOR SLIDESHOW. and here's some of the fun that was shared with our lens:


hudson was determined to step on every railroad track plank.


kelly & tony.


the smallest wonders of the world pointed out by hudson.



the pooches deserved a candid portrait as well.



here's gis training sensei, kelly:


ultimate frisbee stud, tony:


mmmm, chicken fingers taste like chicken.

in perfect kern-photo light, bella "i love raw trout" overby had her royal portrait taken in style. bella is a beautiful, lovable shar-pei + bullmastif mix who is pampered by her owners, joey & nicole overby.

dash, our beloved hungarian viszla, retrieves a tennis ball during the final days of summer at the scott carpenter pool in Boulder, CO. Boulder, one of the most dog friendly towns in America, allows dogs to swim in the olympic-sized pool days before the summer closing. the Viszla is among the most popular breeds which take advantage of this opportunity, along with retrievers and labs. cody & gomez, fellow dog friends, and with our good friends, jayme and ryan, seemed to enjoy this second annual festivity.


every felt like this before?

she-bee, a fellow 2-year-old vizsla, gets schooled by dash as she learns to swim in a small lake in clements park. she watches, then learns quickly. dog breeds know their kind and let it all hang out when they romp.

if walmart had a portable photo kiosk at the park, we would probably pay to get this shot.




sometimes dash doesn't share well.


dash becomes a groundhog for a moment.


dash leads from behind as he shows shee-bee the ropes of swimming

dogs remind us of simple joys of life, often forgotten by a world filled with parking meters, flight delays, and warm beer.