Touch The Sky Photography: August 2009

Samoa Ink

I got a chance to hang out with the guys from Samoa Ink this past weekend.. and I must say it was a great experience. Pule is the owner of Samoa Ink, and he hails from Nu'uuli, American Samoa (Home of the Satani!! he kept tellin me haha). He's a pretty laid back cat.. very funny, and very talented. He employs equally talented artists in their own right. I had the pleasure to meet Doug, Nick, Leki, Fulu and Cody of Samoa Ink. Doug was not able to join us for their group photo shoot.. but plan to get moreof him for his portfolio. I hope to work with them again in the future. Thank you Samoa Ink and Pule for a fun Saturday afternoon. Here is a few from our shoot on Saturday.

LoriMay Fuimaono

So.. my sister calls me up and asks me "Guess who's here?" I said "Big Bird!!" and she said "Yeah, close enough" lol.. Just kidding I can't remember what I said.. but I do remember her telling me that Mizz Mary herself arrived from ACT last Sunday and she will be here for a month. I went to go visit her at Mufi's house and lo and behold.. She is still the same as when I last saw her three years ago in Tutuila when we were visiting for my Dad's Saofa'i. Needless to say, very excited to see her..

As for her mouth, not so excited to see that lol jk. Mary said that a little birdy told her (ok Kaleti is not a little bird hehe jk) that I take pictures.. so I guess I volunteered? lol.. But I knew it would be a blast.. she is a one woman party!

Saturday we got her outfits ready and guess what?! I forgot my camera bag!! Son of a.. Anyway, we got her ready.. and came back up to Lehi to pick up my bag.. I recently acquired a Canon 50D (still learning how to use it) and I knew she would be perfect! We settled on shooting behind a knick knack store in Lehi..

Needless to say.. we had tons of fun! Some random guy was staring at her in her maroon puletasi.. She says she's used to that kind of attention lol.. Yeah, thats May for you.. Took quite a few pictures.. it was too much fun.. almost lol..

Here are a few shots from that day...

Samoa Ink... Part I

Last Saturday I had a chance to head up to Samoa Ink to take some photos of them tattooing and also do some profile pictures of their artists for their portfolio. We had to reschedule for this week Saturday due to some schedule conflicts.. so we will resume our original shoot as planned this Saturday. I am excited to work with Pule and his team to get what needs to be done for Samoa Ink. Here are a few shots from last Saturday:

Will have more to come. Thanks Samoa Ink.. see you guys Saturday!

Lemme upgrade you..

Last Friday.. I said hello to my little friend.. I knew I needed to upgrade my camera.. the problem was.. well.. what else.. price? I upgraded to a Canon 50D. Let me tell you.. it scares the crap out of me. It's a beautiful camera.. I hope I can do it justice. I'm already in love with it.. even though I haven't figured out all the bells and whistles. It is a lot more complex than my previous camera that I had. It comes with a stock 28-135 mm lens. I wanted to get the 18-200 mm option, but my wallet said no haha.. Here's what my new addition looks like:

Can't wait to play with it woo hoo!!

End of Summer SPECIAL!!! Check it out!!

So sad.. my kids are going back to school on Thursday.. their summer is over :(. To celebrate (or mourn.. depending on who you are lol) I am having an End of Summer Special!!

1 Hour sessions are now $50. This also includes:

1 8x10 of your choice
2 locations & outfit changes
CD of hi-res edited photos

This special will run until August 31st! This price includes travel within Utah County and South Salt Lake County. Email me at touchtheskyphoto@gmail.com or call/txt me at 801.921.1637 if you would like to book a session or have questions. Thanks!!

Giveaway Winners!!

Sorry I was supposed to post the winners yesterday.. but Sunday was kinda hectic around here.. So, I hit up my buddy random.org again.. and here is the order as entered:

AAAAAAAAAAAAAND... here are our winners!!!

Congratulations Bobbi and Shahara!!! Please email me or give a call on what kind of shoot you would want.. and when you would like to schedule. Congrats again ladies!!!

The Giveaway is Over!!!

Thank you for entering!! I will post the winners tomorrow!!! Thanks again!!!!

Tua and Nicole

When I was looking for models awhile back.. and some random guy was like "Hey, what about me? I'll model.. just ask me anytime." Well, he's not really random.. he's my cousins son.. Born and raised in Huntington Beach (HB!) Tua is straight Cali born and bred. Needless to say, he is a doll.. on top of that he's friggin hilarious!!

Tua's birthday was just the day before the shoot.. And a special birthday present arrived for him from Alamo, Nevada.. his girlfriend Nicole.. they are too cute together.. Nicole is a beautiful girl with a sweet personality. Along with Tuas sense of humor (not sense of style lol) they make a great couple. We did an impromptu session on Saturday after my dad left to go back to Samoa in North Orem.. Thank you Nicole and Tua you guys are truly one of a kind. If you guys ever do engagement shots *coughs* lol.. Let me know lol.. Here are a few takes from our shoot:

Lila and Natasha

Ok remember the plus sized models that I mentioned before that canceled last minute? It's these two heffers hahahaha.. just kidding.. Lila and Tasha totally made it up to me the next week. Tasha was a little hesitant to pose.. but Lila was gung ho and completely ready for me! She brought 3 suitcases full of clothing and accessories and was probably more excited than I was :) Thanks again ladies for a fun early evening. Oh FYI.. Congrats to Lila and her beloved on their engagement. She is getting married in Scotland sometime soon and has asked me to be her photographer.. YES!

Here's a couple of shots from our day out in Provo:

Football Posters for the upcoming Season...

I will be selling Football Posters this season.. We have a variety of different options as well as different sizes. I will be posting more on that a little bit later.. I am also doing:

Memory Mates
Individual
Team Photos
Senior Football Pics

If you have any questions regarding pricing and booking. Call or txt me at 801.921.1637 or email me at touchtheskyphoto@gmail.com. Heres a sample of what we've got:

Football Season has arrived...

Football season is here! And for me that means, practices, games... more practices and games.. The past 3-4 years.. it was pretty hectic.. We had 5 kids playing football last year.. 4 boys and 1 girl.. we had 2 boys playing on the same team.. so altogether we had 4 different games to go to.. yes.. count them.. 4!

Saturdays were our most hectic days where we would load up our cars at 7:00 AM and not get home til around 2:00 PM. Then we had games during the week as well. Altogether, football is always a crazy season for the Matina household. Not just because my kids play.. but I have nephews who play for Mountain View as well. Long story short.. I am somewhat grateful that we have narrowed this season down to 1 game only!! I have three boys.. Jay (11), Alonzo (11) and Buddah (9) who will all be playing on the same team this year (Go Cougars!). I'm still a bit hesitant about playing Buddah up with his older brothers.. but Coach Willis has assured me that he will do well. Cuz if my baby gets hurt... boooooy.. lol..

Anyway.. I love taking pictures of them while they're practicing.. Can't wait til their first game which is this Saturday vs the Steelers (BOOO!) lol.. Here are a few takes from their first practice with pads. Good luck boys. Love, Your #1 Fan ALWAYS Mom!!

Tee and Pauline

I'm kinda waaaaay behind on posting on my site.. So pardon me while I try to catch up on posting.. so here we go :)

I wanted to do a session that catered to what I feel are real women.. I know most of the modeling world and general outlook alike perceive women as skinnny size zero women. Nothing against the size zeroes, but realistically.. we are not all like that. I myself am a plus sized girl and wanted to do a shoot that catered to that. We had a few girls lined up for this shoot, but of course.. life happens and we reschedule them for next time :). I also had a great makeup artist.. her name is Krista Ann and she did an awesome job on Tee and Pauline.

Big hugs and thanks to Tee and Pauline for comin out and being great sports.. we had a great time!! The girls looked fabulous and did a great job! Here's a few takes from our shoot: