POTD: Seeing stars

April 15, 2013 By 33 Comments

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The Milky Way Galaxy

I posted this image on the site’s Facebook page yesterday and received both a record number of likes, shares and responses/ questions – some doubting the authenticity of the image – so I thought it’d be a good candidate for reviving POTD.

Here’s the backstory: the image was shot out of an airplane window at 32,000 feet while returning from the USA tour; my wife was in the window seat and idly wondered if she could see stars, after the crew turned off the cabin lights for the night to encourage passengers to sleep (I suppose to theoretically help them get over jetlag). She stared for a while, acclimatising her night vision, and said there were quite a surprising number. I finished editing the batch I was working on, and joined her at the window. I could actually make out a very faint band of something running through the middle; I thought it might make an interesting photography experiment.

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POTD: When color might have been preferable

May 30, 2012 By 5 Comments

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Postmen. Leica M-Monochrom, 35/1.4 ASPH FLE

One of those times where color would actually have been better. The bright blue and red uniforms of the motorbike postmen in this shot stood out well against the gray tarmac…I reached for a camera instinctively, nailed focus and exposure, but didn’t realize I was holding the M-Monochrom instead of the M9-P! Still, the geometry of this shot is its saving grace, I feel.

Today is going to be a busy day. Many people wonder what photographers do in the time they’re not shooting – well, here’s my schedule:

1. Client meetings
2. Test prints from M-Monochrom, 50 APO and D800E for clients, and if I have time, a quick article/ note on the site about relative print quality
3. Have to buy a light, strong, compact tripod in preparation for a trip (did I mention those are all oxymorons?). Tripod choice is another minefield I’ll probably write about at some point.
4. Retouching work for another client
5. Chase payments once Europe wakes up
6. Intersperse with replying email and comments to the site – between the two, I get an average of about 100-150 per day, which eats up a good couple of hours in replies. My laptop keyboard is now mirror smooth! :)

I think I need an assistant. MT

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POTD: Construction site cubism, and a minor site organization change

May 29, 2012 By 4 Comments

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Construction site cubism. Olympus OM-D, 45/1.8

I’ve also archived the most interesting posts for each category under their respective headers, so it should be much easier to find older articles/ posts in future. Let me know if it works or doesn’t work for you. MT

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POTD: Contingent relationships

May 21, 2012 By 2 Comments

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The legend goes that if you place a lock here with your partner and keep one key each, then you’ll be together for as long as the lock is in place. Taking this at face value, there are a) contingent relationships, because there are locks on locks since the bridge railings are out of space (or maybe mistresses); b) polygamous/ polyandrous relationships, because I’m sure some locks come with multiple sets of keys, or foreigners misunderstood the instructions; c) relationships that ended quickly because of poor foundations, like those who bought cut price locks and had them rust away; and d) those which were forgotten because of misplaced keys. Malostranska, Prague, Leica M9-P and 28/2.8 ASPH.

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POTD: Primary colors

May 20, 2012 By 2 Comments

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Primary colors. Nikon D700, 28-300VR.

Here’s a good example of an image that wouldn’t work at all in black and white…to be the subject of an upcoming article! MT

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POTD: Dessert

May 19, 2012 By 4 Comments

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Pisco sour sorbet, poached melon and a jelly I don’t remember decorated with local nuts and flowers. By chef Pedro Miguel Schiaffino of Ristorante Malabar, Lima, Peru. Leica D-Lux 5 and two LED panels.*

*One of the reasons I switched to LED panels for food photography is the matter of dessert: there’s no way you can photograph ice cream with halogens or flashes without getting more than say three or four frames before visible melting sets in. And this obviously isn’t good, though a hint of melting actually helps the viewer know that it is in fact ice cream, and not say, mashed potatoes masquerading as ice cream.** One of the most refreshing, palate-cleansing deserts I’ve eaten – a perk of running a food photography workshop in conjunction with his culinary class…

**Food photography in-joke: mashed potato is actually quite frequently used to substitute for ice cream, for this very reason. MT

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POTD: Impromptu conference

May 18, 2012 By Leave a Comment

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Taxi drivers checking out a new ride, new arrival or old friend passing by a rank. Leica M9-P, 50/2.5 Summarit-M

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POTD: Urban geometry

May 17, 2012 By Leave a Comment

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Outtake from a recent architectural assignment. Look out for a future On Assignment post about shooting buildings. Leica D-Lux 5.

Although most architectural images are shown with nothing but the building, in a vaguely abstracted product-shot-kind-of-way, I personally find the images I like best are the ones which have some human scale or context included; it’s otherwise tough to gauge scale of the building, how it fits into its environment, and more importantly, how does the end user perceive it? Do they use the intended main entrances and traffic routes, or like water, do people find a path of lower resistance? Are there flow routes that the designers didn’t envision, i.e. connections between two back streets? Does the vehicular circulation work? How does the facade look from a human perspective? Once again, it comes back down to understanding something about your subject before you shoot it. MT

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POTD: A classical portrait

May 15, 2012 By 12 Comments

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Nadiah. Olympus OM-D, 45/1.8

Sometimes, everything just comes together serendipitously. In this case, my wife (and muse, but that’s to be the subject of a future post) and I were attending a small function at a rather quirkily-decorated space in downtown Kuala Lumpur. I was going light, so I just carried the OM-D and two lenses; the 45/1.8 and 20/1.7. Just off the space, there was this small room separated by a partition; not only were there some nice details – like the Adams-family-esque hand – but the light was also beautifully directional yet soft. It just happened to be overcast outside, and with the sun at a low angle so the light went all the way into the room; see why I keep saying 99% of photography is light and timing? I grabbed my wife and shot a few frames to create what I think is one of the most satisfying portraits I’ve ever shot. MT

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POTD: A vaguely religious notion

May 13, 2012 By 6 Comments

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I don’t know why, but there’s something oddly religious suggested to me by this composition. Can’t put my finger on it, though. Leica X2.

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A gentle reminder: the print offer ends next week!

May 12, 2012 By Leave a Comment

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Seeing the wood from the trees. Leica M9-P, 21/3.4 Super Elmar ASPH

Both of the prints you see in this post will be up for as a limited run. (These things help me keep the site running – creating content takes time I can’t use for anything else, and I really want to keep the site ad-free to maintain the picture viewing experience; also, it helps you decorate your walls :)

The print offer will be limited to 20 copies of each image, at 16×24″ (A2) printed on 20×30″ paper. Here’s the kicker: the prints will be done on 380gsm matte fine art paper, printed with 200 year archival grade pigment ink on a HP production class machine. The look of the black on the paper is indescribable – I’ve never seen anything like it before, and I knew I had to make some prints with this. There are no reflections anywhere, which means the image is so much more viewable. The blacks are dense and chalk-pastel like, with fine tonal transitions. All prints will be numbered and signed. (And no, there will be no black borders around the images in the final print).

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Schonbrunn Fog, Vienna. Leica M9-P, 28/2.8 ASPH

The price for either print is US$550 net to me for the 16×24″, or US$300 for the 12×18″ size – including shipping worldwide via courier in a sturdy tube. To keep things simple, payment can be made via Paypal to mingthein2@gmail.com, which means you can either use your Paypal balance or a credit card.

Please include in the message field which image you’d like, plus your shipping address, contact email address and telephone number. I’ll email a confirmation as soon as I a payment from you. If you’d like multiple copies or multiple images, that’s great too – you just make one payment.

I’ll be closing the print offer in one week at the end of May, and shipping shortly thereafter. First come first served! Remember, these images will not be offered for sale again at this size. Thanks for your support everybody! MT

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POTD: Watery blessings

May 10, 2012 By 4 Comments

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Water blessings. Another one from Wesak Day; look out for a full photoessay soon. Olympus OM-D, 12/2

I’m working on an exclusive which will all be revealed tomorrow at 12PM GMT+8, as soon as the embargo is lifted…stay tuned. MT

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POTD: The man with the microphone, and some OM-D first impressions

May 9, 2012 By 2 Comments

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The man with the microphone. Olympus OM-D, 12/2

Wesak day is one of the most important days on the Buddhist calendar, celebrating the birth, enlightenment and death of Gautama Buddha. In Malaysia it’s marked by an enormously long parade through the city, with easily tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, taking part. The man on the megaphone is just one of hundreds of people chanting Buddhist scripture as the procession makes its way. Look out for a full photoessay soon.

In the meantime, this was my first outing with the new Olympus OM-D E-M5 (what a mouthful); I used the 12/2 and 45/1.8 Zuiko lenses, which continued to perform very well on the higher density sensor. Some first impressions:

- It’s fast. Very responsive in every way. 9fps is overkill, reminds me why I didn’t use that mode on the D3 too often – too many identical files to go through afterwards!
- C-AF and AF tracking are pretty much useless; it could have been the lighting conditions, but I gave up and used S-AF after a while.
- Image quality is excellent. A real step forward over the 12MP M4/3 cameras; it seems like we’ve gained both resolution AND dynamic range AND high ISO performance. I wouldn’t hesitate to use ISO 3200, whereas ISO 1600 before would be a bit borderline. I honestly feel that it delivers image quality very close to the D7000.
- Hugely customizeable, and that touch screen is quite handy for low angle shots and selecting focusing points. The control set is well thought with one exception: why can’t I assign any of the buttons to be AF-Lock when shooting C-AF?
- They’ve done another stupid design number with the strap lugs; they of course dig into your palm in true Olympus tradition. I can’t remember a single camera they’ve made without this issue.
- Battery life is outstanding. 600 shots and I was still showing full charge at the end of the night; the recharging time afterwards suggests that I used perhaps 1/3 of the capacity.
- I think I really want the grip to both balance out handling and add the vertical component. But it’s hugely expensive for what it is, and difficult to justify.
- Weather sealing was highly valued at times; the priests were blessing everybody with water sprayed from palm fronds!

I will do a full review at some point once I’ve had more of a chance to shoot with the camera, in the meantime, stay tuned. MT

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POTD: Old and new

May 8, 2012 By 2 Comments

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Old wing, new wing. The Albertina Museum, Vienna. Leica M9-P, 28/2.8 ASPH

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POTD: After the dinner party

May 7, 2012 By Leave a Comment

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After The Dinner Party. Leica D-Lux 5. From a private dining event in Singapore where I recently held some food photography workshops.

A gentle reminder: don’t forget our fine art print offer!

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