POV: You’re a pedigree dog – Jack Kenyon captures Crufts on a wide fish eye lens

Jack Kenyon has seen the inside of beauty pageants, cat shows and giant vegetable competitions alike, documenting each of these occasions with a wondrous charm. So, we weren’t too surprised when the photographer told us he’d recently been behind the scenes at Crufts (the largest international dog show held annually in the UK), and had captured the whole thing on a fish eye lens. The resulting series is bound to put a smile on your face.

Having initially shot the show four years ago, Jack wanted to come back this time “with a fresh perspective”, taking the camera outside and away from the event’s main attractions. “They’re super strict with flash photography and all the owners are pretty stressed at the show, so I wanted to avoid this and find a new take on the event,” he says.

Fortunately, the photographer stumbled across an outdoor activity area where show competitors could get some air and take a break between shows – a kind of green room for those on all fours. This informal space outside of the serious and relatively silent atmosphere of the competition “allowed the dogs personalities to emerge a bit more than normal”, the photographer says.

Jack set about documenting some of the most well-kempt dogs in the world with a super wide fish eye lens for all of its comical distortions. In his small circular frames, tiny wet noses appear hilariously big, fur is whirling and windswept and the eyeballs of many furry onlookers curiously bulge out. Dogs of all shapes and sizes are captured from a low vantage point, making viewers have the feeling they are one of the pack.

“Dogs are inherently funny animals, especially pedigree dogs at events like Crufts, which is already in itself a surreal visual experience”, Jack says, “I wanted to highlight that quality in a playful, gentle way.” These warped perspectives on some very charming characters are in themselves, a great match for the bizarre nature of a dog show.

Despite his subjects being some of the world’s better trained dogs, the shoot wasn’t all smooth sailing for Jack. Many of the participants were understandably very overwhelmed by the excitement of the day. Wanting to capture “this fun, chaotic energy” up close, Jack needed to be within an inch of each pup’s nose for the fish eye lens to have its full effect. This meant “lots of belly crawling towards confused dogs” he says. Jack’s camera also had to withstand “plenty of lens licking” from subjects intrigued by a human suddenly at eye level. And if their initial excitement had worn off and Jack still didn’t have his shot, he kept a few tricks up his sleeve for holding their attention: “squeaky noises, treats, and meow sounds.”

The project was all about embracing all of the “real-world quirks, happy accidents, and imperfections that make photographs magic”, concludes Jack. In a world of increasingly perfect, AI generated images, the photographer wanted to attempt the complete opposite – leaning into anything that might normally result in a technical error: “my shadow appearing in frame, the crazy lens flare – everything that reinforces that I was physically there”, he says. “When people see my work, I want them to know that this moment actually happened. This tangible reality is the essence of photography which AI can’t compete with.”