Tatau ceremony, Samoa

I stumbled across a so called reality television show about tattoo masters and it was, in my “clean skin” opinion, crass, nothing like the real master I witnessed working on a pe’a, a traditional male tattoo. These images are from a tatau ceremony I photographed for a client in Samoa. It is a ritual, an important part of their culture and isn’t done for entertainment. It was very moving and a honour to photograph.