Moonlighting!

Well, when I'm not photographing weddings and families, I moonlight as a "wedding singer". LOL!! Actually, we do sing at a lot of weddings, but sing at a lot of different events as well, and we have a great time!

I've been singing with these guys for years. Jr. Maile, Jethro Fano, and Sailiata Fano. We do a lot of island style music, and cover a lot of popular songs with an island flavor.

Last night we sang at a new Japanese restaurant that invites bands to come play live music on Thursday nights. We played a 2 hour set, and we had a great time. I'm really lucky to play music with such great, and talented guys.

I pulled out the camera a couple times, so I'm not in the photos. Oh well, that's how I prefer it anyways. A little while back I posted about "doing what you love", and music is something that I definitely love!

Location, location, location

Location, location, location... a phrase you often hear when you watch HGTV, or when someone is talking about real estate. Location can greatly determine the value of your home! It can also make for a great and fun photo shoot!

My wife and I are always looking for a great new places to take interesting photos. People often ask us for suggestions for locations for their family photos. We have our normal favorites, but we're always open to suggestions for new spots. It's like a new challenge, and it really forces us to be very creative. We had a good discussion about that with our good friend Omi. We shared lists of neat spots to shoot.

It was helpful when I talked to the mom of the family pictured above on the phone. She said she lived on a couple acres of land, with 2 barns in her backyard. I suggested we do it there, and it would be less distracting for the kids. I was excited when I pulled up, and my imagination went crazy. We had a great time and I really liked the barn shots. We had a ton of photos all over their property.

If anyone has any suggestions of great spots to take photos, please let me know, and we can share thoughts.

Florida in May!

It's confirmed! We are headed to Florida in May! We should be there the first week of May. We are going to shoot a beautiful wedding for Kelly and Jason, but we will also have time for a few extra shoots while we're there.

We already have two other bookings, and are only taking two more. We really want to make sure we have time to enjoy ourselves, and spend time with family. If you're interested, please email me.

We're so excited!!

Amazing Accomplishment!

I got a text message about month or so ago, and it said "I'm getting my Eagle Scout!". I was extremely happy. I was privileged to have this young man in my Sunday School class I taught, as well as work with him as a leader in the YM's program at church. I loved that Sunday School Class. I worked with the 16-18 yr old class, and most people said they would not to be in my position. I can understand where they were coming from, but I found it to be one of the most rewarding experiences in my life. I developed real friendships with these young adults, and we had some great conversations.

Well, I am so proud of Saia! He will be the first to achieve the Eagle Scout in our ward. Our Samoan ward is only a few years old, and it is very exciting for everyone who knows this young man. I've known him to always want to do the right thing, although outside influences can be very distracting.

We had a fun photo shoot. I actually enjoyed just being able to talk to him. Finding out what his future plans are, and offer my own little words of wisdom. We had a good time catching up.

From what I understand, the Eagle Scout Award takes a lot of work. Sadly, I never earned mine. Something I always wish I had done. I think it's appropriate to celebrate Saia's accomplishment, and I know his family is very proud of him. Good job Saia! I am as proud of you as I would be my own son. You're a great example and I look forward to your Court of Honor, and the big party to celebrate with you!

Effortless Beauty!

Jeane attended a baby shower recently, and she took the camera with her. She came home and said she had a really good time. I was looking at some of the photos she took and these two really hit me. I don't know whose baby girl this is, but she had beautiful, gigantic dark brown eyes!

As I looked at them, I just thought of how informal these photos are. No studio, no trying to get this baby's attention to make her smile. Just an unassuming beauty. This little girl had no idea that my wife was taking her photo. She made no effort to look cute for the camera, none the less, these are beautiful, timeless images!

I love it when we capture moments like this. True, unsolicited, and genuine. There is no mistake that this little girl is beautiful, but my favorite part of it, is that it's effortless. Although the photo says "photography by maka", I can take no credit for these photos. Great job Jeane in capturing these moments!

It's all in the smile!

One of my favorite moments to capture when I shoot weddings, is when the couple first comes out of the temple! They look so excited, and everyone is excited to see them too. At this wedding, if you look at the very first photo, Cassie's smile tells you all you need to know. She's happy! That's all you have to say... she's happy!

This wedding was for a family that I have gotten to know very well. I've shot this family's last 3 weddings, and I'm sad to say that Cassie was the last of their unmarried children. The Singley family has the best receptions. It was evident at the first wedding I did for them. When they opened the dance floor, I expected the usual shy empty dance floor, with a few kids running around, and maybe one or two couples that would dance to a slow song. To my surprise, the whole family got in to it. I'm not talking about slow dancing either. I mean full on boogie time! It was so fun to watch, and it was easy to see that this family had a lot of fun!

The next wedding I did for them was no let down! The reception was in the backyard of a beautiful mansion! They also had a live Jazz band, and the bride got into the music and sang her heart out!

I anticipated that I would have a great time at this last reception as well! They had a Bluegrass Band, and they were terrific. I was surprised when I saw the bride pick up the banjo, and get right into it as well. How can an entire family be so talented? I had a great time at this reception, even though I was in a lot of pain. I wouldn't have missed this for the world!

I hope that I get to see this family again, even though the last of their kids is married. They do have extended family, and I already know they all know how to have a good time! Thanks to the Singley family for all the good times, and allowing me to be a part of it! I wish Mike and Cassie all the happiness in the world. These two look so good together!

Engagement Specials!

With wedding season beginning, engagement sessions come like crazy too! I love doing engagement photos. It's time to really get to know the couple and build a relationship with them that will carry over to their wedding day!

It's kind of fun to watch young couples that are in love. As mushy as it can get, I really do have a good time working with these couples. Engagement sessions are so relaxed. It's just a good time hanging out and laughing most of the time.

I'm excited to offer engagement photo sessions at 25% off thru the end of April. If you book me for your entire wedding, your engagement session will be 50% off! Please email me or call me for complete details about this price special!

For Sale!

I'm selling my backup camera. It's a Nikon D50 that has been well taken care of, and babied. I will include the original box, manuals, all the cords, battery and charger. I am also including a 1GB Ultra SD Card, as well as a Pro Nikon Bag that will fit all your accessories as well. The lens that comes with this camera is a Nikon 18-55mm. Basic lens with a nice range.

This camera has treated me well. Most of the photos you see on this blog have been taken with this camera. It's a terrific camera for someone who has a budget, but still wants to take some fantastic photos!

I'm selling this all for $500. I think it's a fair price, and I would love to sell it to someone who will take care of it, and will enjoy it.

Do what you love!

On Tuesday night, my wife and I had the opportunity to have dinner with a fellow photographer who does amazing work! Her name is Naomi Masina (Omi for short), and she is truly inspiring. Once a month she hosts dinner development meetings, where she is willing to share all her knowledge, and help in any way she can! My wife was originally going to go without me, but I decided to crash the party last minute. I was welcomed graciously, and I was happy for it! There was a small group of us, and it was nice to meet other people with common interests, and learn from them as well.

I was so impressed by Omi's drive and passion. She reminded me a lot of my wife. Jeane gets so excited about things she loves, and she is always looking for ways to be better. I could really see that photography is her passion. You won't find many people out there who are willing to share the way that she does.

Anyways.. something she said struck me to the core. She said, "Do what you love". I left the dinner thinking about it, and I really do love photography. I consider myself very blessed to be able to do something that I love, that brings happiness to me, as well as many other people. It provides me with a source of income and allows me time to enjoy all the other things I love, especially time with my family!

Well, I chose the photo above, because while I was shooting this wedding, I watched this lady sing her heart out. I could see that she really loved what she is doing. I find it inspiring to watch people "do" what they love.

Thank you to Omi for the great motivation, and ideas! Check out her blog by clicking on her name above. It's great and refreshing to meet such a wonderful person. If you haven't found what you love to do, take the time to try everything. So much joy comes when you see what it is that you truly love, and then you "do it"!

Wedding Season Begins!

I've already got the first wedding of the year done, and it was terrific, but wedding season has only just begun! I thought since I will start getting busy with shooting weddings, I'd share some of my favorite shots of weddings from recent history. There are so many shots that I love, but these really stood out to me as I was making my selections!

I really enjoy shooting weddings. They can be very stressful and chaotic, but I love the challenge. The part I really enjoy is the time I get to spend with the wedding couple. I spend more time with them on their wedding day than anybody else. I have some great conversations, and I also have a chance to impart some marital wisdom. I've only been married a little over 3 years, but that's much longer than the newlyweds, so I feel like an old vet when I'm talking with them.

My 2nd most favorite part of shooting weddings, is getting to know some great families. I've shot multiple weddings for a few different families, and it makes me happy that they appreciate my work enough to want me back! I enjoy seeing some of the same family members and feeling like an old member of the family myself.

I get a great sense of satisfaction when I receive emails or phone calls from these families letting me know how much they love their photos. It's a huge compliment because these are some of the most important memories of their lives. I smile when I think that they are happy to show off their wedding photos to all their friends.

I do get nervous before each wedding, because I always want to be sure that I can deliver "the goods". I take on the personal responsibility of making sure that the bride and groom (more so the bride), look their best on their special day! I love when I look back on the photos at the end of the day, and see some amazing images! I get so excited to share them with the families!

Anyways, I'm excited for another wedding season, and I look forward to where it might take me this summer. I've been fortunate to travel all across the country for weddings all over the place. We'll see where we go this summer!