when one of r. j.'s native Lummi students said, 'go to Lummi Island,' it didn't take much persuasion to do so. $2 later, i hopped on a little 18 car/passager ferry and cruised 15 minutes over to Lummi Island. while the island is mostly residential, there is the marvelous beach store cafe with six micro brews on tap and a feast of flora.


i filled *two* liter nalgene water bottles with these little guys, which I hand picked right off the side of the street. i thought i'd save them for the morning.... minutes later, they were gone. i couldn't resist! they were the sweetest, most organic blackberries one could imagine...and they were FREE!!!


the 50 1.4 does some pretty nice background blurs shooting handheld at f/2. it also helps to have a cool subject and good light.


the mossman cometh.


after waiting almost an hour for this shot of mt. baker and the little ferry.....


i turned around and grabbed this.


nighty, night folks. this is my ride home!

all this week i (r. j.) has been in bellingham, washington teaching at the Lummi Nation. i got a chance take a short trip to Mt. Baker last night. the air was clear and mild and made for some comfortable reflection time, which has always been key for rest and rejuvenation.


love that warm sunset glow and that sharp, sharp pond reflection. this is my 'money shot.'


after sunset, the temperature dropped just enough to create mystical fog on the lake. this was one of my final shots. i was excited to capture the fog illuminated by the rising moon (note the orange glow). i hooted and hollered in excitement of something ansel adams might be proud of, and am pretty sure i got a few strange looks from the local marmot population.

andi & brett tied the knot at 7,000 feet in genesse, co last friday. while brett had a small fiasco with a 'drunk cyclist' who slammed into his car just before the wedding, the day went without a hitch. jean at the pines at genesse did a wonderful job with the logistics and everything went so super smooth.




james dean made an appearance while brett was getting ready.


brett with his killer blue steel impression....


just about to step out for the big moment...

priceless expression...and shoes!


the ringbearer with crocs grabs a bubble.


that I-70 overpass at genesse with a sweet vista brought congradulatory honks from the semis as andi and brett enjoyed the view.

a quiet moment of reflection as the night calmed.


andi & brett planned ahead for their wedding thank you cards! they are so thoughtful!

buddy dan jablonka invited r. j. to the concours de elegance event held at the centennial airport on saturday. the charity event raised money for the morgan adams foundation, which is dedicated to helping children diagnosed with pediatric cancer. it was a memorable evening, filled with the adventure of fast cars and planes juxtaposed with emotion of phenomenal survival stories by awesome kids. check back in a few days for the full gallery!


a personal mig figher jet ala 'Top Gun' in flight.


john pembroke with his spiffy wheels. a special thanks to j.p. thibodeau for the lending us his plane for the shot.


michael procopio and his girlfriend with his ferrari 328 gts.




love the gangsta look.

we love 3 hour vacations at home in denver. sunday morning was time for a mini-break in the great town of denver. we marveled the architecture of the cutting-edge, brand spankin' new DAM, which appears not to have a straight wall in the whole place. the place is awesome and you have to go on the tour to get the full story.


nicole makes like a tree and hides in the corner...


we like the teal green color....


gotta dig the windows.


looking straight up the side of the architectural marvel.

in honor of the simpsons movie (dash says, '4 paws up')..the kern family got simpsonized. go simpsonize yourself. btw, the simpson's family pooch, santa's little helper, is dash's great great uncle!

as part of the red rocks film on the rocks, U2 cover band "under a blood red sky" performed the exact set U2 did 24 years ago. the band rocked the sold-out show. after the band played, one lucky couple got the chance to get married on stage. as wedding photographers, we couldn't pass up the chance to witness a wedding in front of an audience of 7,000. shortly following the ceremony, the big screen showed the hilarious 'wedding crashers', which left us in stitches after seeing it a second time. Check out the full gallery here >>


the winning couple wed onstage in front of an audience of 7000 at red rocks amphitheater in denver.


not all cover bands are created equal. U2 was well represented by "under a blood red sky", the name of the legendary U2 album and cover band.

so nicole's summer workout at the local gym has hooked her into the food network....90 minute treadmill sessions become a cooking class. r. j. went 'hunting' for the necessary ingredients (who knew that cannellini beans were white kidney beans that speak italian?) at our local target and wild oats. here is nicole's latest creation, inspired by giada's "everyday italian."

although we may be biased, we thought we heard dash's first *complete* sentence, "i wuv you."

shawn colvin graced the crowd with her acoustic performance at the denver botanic gardens recently. if you haven't seen a concert there, put it on your 'things to do before i die list.' grab your picnic blanket and favorite bottle of vino and relax!


john hiatt's visceral voice and just makes r. j. want to go fishing and get a truck with a gunrack.


you can't go to the denver botanic gardens without smelling the flowers.


while flowers are pretty, creamy backgrounds can be just as interesting and give our eyes a place to wander.

we had the absolute pleasure of shooting the celebration of sarah and jared's wedding, as well as the birth of their baby girl teresa on sat, aug. 11. the wedding was held at the johnston household in elizabeth, co, and the family did an incredible job of turning their acres of backyard in to a magical setting for the celebration. liz, the sister and maid of honor of the bride, went to DU with nicole, so the celebration was that much more fun being so close with members of the family. we had such a wonderful time, and here are 12 of our favorite images from the day. To order prints, visit www.pictage.com/354598


four generations of beautiful ladies!

the johnston family LOVES having their photo taken!

the torches, the white tent, the beautiful lights made for such a magical setting.

white sands national monument is one of those places rj has been jonesin' (pronouced jones-n, meaning "really wanting") to trek for some time. he got a chance last week. clean, beautiful light is what inspired black & white landscape photographer ansel adams to do great work. the similar light inspire these images.... the film 'transformers' was filmed there, which created an additional impetus as well.









thunderheads were building....


and building....


30 second exposures allowed me to nail these great shots....kinda like the ones in those inspirational quote posters.

After over a year of building up the image galleries, months of brainstorming web design and logo ideas, and four straight days of "let's just do it", our website is finally live! Many of you have seen us through the multiple versions along the way, but nicole and I put the pedal to the metal so we could put up a beautiful product for our clients, and an even cooler blog to share our moments with those around us. Thanks to everyone who has helped us along the way, all of our clients who have helped us produce beautiful photography, and to Dash, our mascot, who has sat by our sides patiently for four days providing inspiration! Click on the image below to go to the new site!! Enjoy!

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.

Welcome to our new blog!! We have been working hard to bring you our latest work, photos of the latest happenings, and as always, updates on our baby -- Dash the vizsla -- our lovable kern-photo mascot! Thanks for stopping by. Leave us a comment, or two, or three, or just peruse the blog for your enjoyment! There is always something new!

After hours of hard work, we are proud to show off some of our favorite pages from our first GraphiStudio album layout. Let us know what you think!