The bullet holes in this building are a reminder of the ravages Beirut went through during their civil war (1975-1991). I can’t even imagine.

Amazing flight deal + visiting two new countries + seeing for ourselves a region that’s largely overlooked for travel from the US + lots and lots of hummus and shwarma + last minute flight to Beirut + getting to meet up with my bro on the opposite side of the world (just so happened to be there at the same time) + the discovery of lemonade with mint + eye-opening stories + super hospitable people + floating in the super salty water of the Dead Sea + wandering among Roman ruins + the quietest night of my life in Wadi Rum + seeing the ancient wonder of Petra = an awesome experience!

That’s the nutshell version, but a really long non-mathematical equation. :) If any of that sparks a deeper curiosity, post your question in the comments and I’ll be sure to elaborate with a story. Oh, and for the iPhone version of the story, check out my Instagram.

Each image you see presented from your session starts as an unprocessed image, or how it looks straight out of the camera. It then gets color corrected and lightly enhanced to become the image you’ll see at your viewing and ordering session. At this stage, it’s called a proof. Then, once you order the image as a print, canvas or signature framed print, or in an album, it gets further polished to become a retouched image.

What exactly this looks like depends on the image itself. Each one gets something a little different. It could mean removing distracting elements and blemishes, lightening dark circles under the eyes, brightening eyes and teeth, smoothing the skin, or slimming down certain body parts (‘though none of these are ever taken to the extreme- we’re going for a natural, yet polished, look so that you still look like yourself).

What we end up with a beautiful, flawless piece of art that’s ready to be enjoyed in your home and make you smile everyday, remembering how great a time you had! Take a peek at the examples below for a little taste of what this process looks like:

This isn’t turning into a puppy blog, I promise! I’m such a homebody in the winter and since I simply have to scratch the itch of photographing for my own personal pleasure as well as for my awesome clients, what’s hanging around my home gets to put up with my shutter happy self. ;)

Zoë loves Jake and I love how these images show that. Of the thousands of photos I’ve taken of her (and you were thinking I posted a lot of puppy pictures, pfffft – shows what you know!), these are some of my top faves.

All three of us were actually taking a snoozer on the couch (not much room on there for me, was there?!) and I couldn’t resist risking the beautiful moment to capture a few frames. I can’t believe she slept on top of him like that for so long!

Zoë hasn’t been with us for that long, but already I can’t imagine life without her. Jake thinks I’m so weird when I start to think about this and then start to tear up at the thought of her leaving us. “That’s a long ways away, we just got her,” he says. Men, how logical and void of emotion they can be. You never know what each day may bring, good or bad, and nothing in life is guaranteed. So while I’ll do everything I can to help her live to a super happy old age (I’m thinking 20 or 25! Hey, it’s possible.), you just never know.

But then there’s that sign on a closed (as in folded) business I drove by on Roosevelt the other day that said “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.” I like that. And I like all the photos I’ll always have to help me remember, no matter what happens.

Matt and Amy’s BEAUTEOUS wedding albums arrived and I couldn’t wait to share! The images and pages they chose so elegantly present their story, and the spreads shown here are only a sampling of the designs. And isn’t that mini album just too cute for words?!

Enjoy your new home, sweet albums, Amy and Matt will take great care of you, and their grandchildren (no rush, guys! ;) ) will love peering at the well-turned pages.

Jake and I jetted to the Big Apple for New Year’s Eve and had a blast! Having been to NYC many times before, we’ve seen the major tourist sights like the Statue of Liberty and Times Square, so this time we more or less ate our way around the city, our taste buds enjoying the range of experiences the city has to offer.

After our cross-country red-eye (ugh) and a nap, we bee-lined it to Lombardi’s. My favorite NYC pizza so far has been Grimaldi’s (more on that later), but I was armed with a list of popular places to try, so off we went!

Mmmm, we liked it (almost) as much as Grimaldi’s! We also tried John’s Pizzeria on Bleeker during this trip – very delicious and perfect for a quick slice.

On the way to pizza, we had passed a cute little rice pudding place, Rice to Riches, and after a quick consult with Yelp we decided to give it a shot. So glad we did! I never imagined there could be so many different flavors of rice pudding.

Yes, you can get crepes anywhere, but this little neighborhood place nearby where we always stay in the Upper West Side serves up a delish Nutella and strawberry crepe.

I’ve wandered by the New York City Public Library many times on previous trips, but this time we actually went in. Fanciest-library-ever award!

Self timer shot in Central Park!

After eating at Grimaldi’s (huge disappointment- they moved next door and apparently their new coal oven needs some help. I won’t be back again. But never fear! The original Grimaldi is making a comeback in the old location. I can’t WAIT to try Juliana’s pizza (named after his mother) and shake the man’s hand for making the world’s best pizza) we walked off lunch on the Brooklyn Bridge. Always a fave!

We made for the Pickle Guys in the Lower East Side for a light afternoon snack for – OF COURSE – pickles! BIG sour pickles. Yum. Anything you can think of is pickled there and set out in big barrels. I’ll be back to try the pickled okra and carrots.

We brought in the New Year in Central Park with a big party at the bandstand, complete with fireworks, a DJ, laser light show, and a run around Central Park that kicked off at midnight. It was a great way to bring in 2012 while not being jostled around by a mob of millions in Times Square. Plus, we didn’t party so hard we couldn’t get up early the next morning to see Times Square at it’s quietest. Pretty eerie.

Ever on the quest for great espresso, Joe’s the Art of Coffee offers a smooth latte and flavor-bursting pour overs that help you get to know a new bean, Ninth Street Espresso is tucked away in neat little corners of the city with espresso that’ll knock your socks off, and La Colombe makes you feel like you just stepped into Italy. There are so many more cafes to try, but what fun is it if there’s nothing left for next time?!

That about does it. Until next time, NYC, we love you.

Can you believe these two days were only about two weeks apart?! What a crazy winter we’ve had here in Seattle. I’m not a huge fan of snow (I mean, I moved away from Minnesota for a reason, right?!) but even I can’t deny that the novelty of snow here makes it fun for a few days. Snow angels, snowmen, snow balls, digging holes to China, you know, the usual snow activities. ;) If we had a yard, I have no doubt there would be loads of holes – the Zoë girl seriously loves to dig.

Two weeks pass… the snow melts at the first hint of rain, and in comes the clearest blue sky I’ve ever seen here in the winter. Jake and I are such suckers for warm, glowy light and Zoë couldn’t pass up a chance for a good game of fetch. I love that having a dog is an added excuse to get outside – she makes it extra fun. ‘Twas an afternoon to be savored!

What did you do in the Seattle snow and sun? Tell me your stories in the comments below, I can’t wait to hear ‘em!

In celebration of Lunar New Year, The Wing Luke Museum is having a Year of the Dragon Coloring Contest! Prizes include a fabulous photography collection from Lindsay Kennedy Photography ($1500 worth in session fun and custom artwork for your home, featuring your favorite images from your session, wahooo!), a gift certificate from Dragon’s Toy Box (who can say no to toys?!), and a Patron level Membership to The Wing (one of my top fav museums in the Seattle area!) for one year. The contest is for ages 12 and under and runs through March 31, so hurry and get coloring!

For more information and to download a coloring contest sheet visit this page at the Wing Luke Museum website.

Good luck and happy coloring! I can’t wait to work with the winning artist and their family!

Can’t believe how much I love her! She makes me laugh every day and is so much fun to have around.

My little Zoë Bear (the shelter we adopted her from had called her Polar Bear so we thought it’d be fun to remember that in our little nickname for her). She has such a great personality with a perfect mix of chill and spunky. Her hobbies include sleeping under my desk while I work, chewing on rawhide sticks and pigs’ ears, playing fetch, eating fish, squeaking her chew toys, and running around our apartment like a bee’s in her bonnet. She also likes to cuddle in the morning and perch on the top of the back of the couch. I swear she thinks she’s a monkey. One of her ears sticks straight up all the time and the other does as it pleases.

Yes, I am officially a pathetic dog owner who’s baby is her dog. ;)

When one of Frommer’s photo editors contacted me out of the blue to see if I was interested in photographing places all over Seattle for a couple of their upcoming books, I about fell off my chair. Let me think about that for a sec uhh YES!!

It’s always been a dream of mine to photograph for a travel guide or magazine and now it’s come true! My photos in a book on Amazon (also HERE). I’m over the moon!

To celebrate and share the love, I’m giving away a copy of the book shown in the photos above (because it’s the coolest of the two books). I’ll ship it to wherever you live in the world. :)

You may enter to win in one of two ways (or do both to enter twice):

1. Leave a comment on this post answering the following question: What’s your favorite place in the world and your favorite thing to do there?
2. Go to Facebook and tag Lindsay Kennedy Photography with the following status update (it might look like there’s a typo at the end, but if you copy and paste as-is, you should get the little popup that lets you link the status to my page): I’m entering to a win a copy of Frommer’s Seattle Travel Guide from @Lindsay Kennedy Phot

I’ll close the giveaway next Tuesday, February 7th, at Midnight PST.

The Fine Print

• Two entries (one blog comment, one Facebook status) per person
• Make sure to leave a valid e-mail address along with your blog post comment, and/or make sure Facebook recognizes the @Lindsay Kennedy Photo so it links back to my page and I’ll know you posted the status as an entry
• One winner will be picked at random and notified by email or Facebook message, and I’ll announce it here on Wednesday morning.

Matt and Amy’s wedding at the Lake Union Cafe here in Seattle was seriously one of the most fun weddings I’ve been to, as a photographer or not. When they came in for their initial consult and talked about how they wanted their day to be one of celebration and fun with their family and friends, I was already a fan! And they fully succeeded at making the day just that. No wedding party, no bouquet or garter toss. Just simple and sweet with the emphasis on their oh-so-awesome relationship and on how much they enjoy the people around them. I could just see that everyone was having a rocking good time. Sooooo very cool!

I think their December day was the sunniest, most beautiful day of the month (perhaps the nicest day Seattle’s EVER had in December) and we had an awesome portrait time downtown just before and after sunset. ‘Twas amazing!

For more viewing fun, take a peek at their engagement session.