Pick your analogy: organic growth in a semi-structured, harmonious way, or deeper down the rabbit hole we go…
Mingthein.com celebrates its second birthday today. There’s not a lot to say other than a huge thank you; without the support of my readers, students, clients and customers, I’d probably have packed it in way back when. In the last two years, we’ve had:
- 780 articles
- 1.9 million words of content
- 36,000 comments
- 3,800 published images
- 9.5 million visitors to the main site, and 17.5 million to my flickr page
- 13,700+ accepted images in the reader pool, filtered down from >100,000 with >1,400 active members
- Somewhere around 6,500 Facebook followers
- 165 email school students
- 21 workshops, with another 3 planned (one space each for Melbourne and Havana)
- I’ve lost count of the number of emails; my guess would be somewhere around 120,000?
- Two dead keyboards
Suffice to say it’s a much, much larger community than I ever expected; sometimes I’m overwhelmed by it all. I’ve come to realise that my opinion is taken very seriously by a lot of people; perhaps too seriously by some. That’s a good thing and a bad thing, and I never take that responsibility lightly – especially if any of the findings are thoughts run contrary to expectation or common sense. I have always been and will always continue to be independent; even in the highly unlikely event that some camera company throws large sums of money my way. There’s no point doing otherwise: I, and this site, have always been about the images first and foremost, with everything else taking a secondary – but still important – back set. In any case, there’s plenty more to come as long as I can keep up with feeding the bear. Cheers to you all! MT
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Places left for 2014 Making Outstanding Images Workshops: Havana and London – click here for more information and to book!
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Images and content copyright Ming Thein | mingthein.com 2012 onwards. All rights reserved
Ming Thein | Photographer 
Congratulations! Unable to speak for others my reason for coming back for more is the fact that you both write brilliantly and make great pictures. It is quite uncommon in the web world to find both qualities in the same person. And then you are consistent: I can – with a high degree of certainty – predict how a certain piece of equipment will do in my hands from reading one of your reviews, simply because I have another product you have reviewed before. Your production rate is nothing short of astonishing to be honest and I would like to take this opportunity to wish you commercial and personal success. PS: Your web layout is the most pleasing of the photo reviews I have seen. Easy on the eye and presents the pictures very well. May it stay that way for a long time. /Xpanded
Thanks! I’m glad the details – like site design – are being noticed and appreciated…
Congrats, Ming. Thanks for all the hard work and intelligent discourse that make this blog so enjoyable and useful.
Thanks!
Hopefully in another two years, many of us will still be tuning in, and the discussions will be as fresh as always. 🙂
I hope so too!
Congrats, Ming.
Keep up the good work. Enjoy your articles (and learning from it) tremendously.
Thanks!
Thanks for your great blog,something I enjoy reading every day
Thanks!
Congrats Ming!! Thanks for all that you do! Looking forward to seeing what the future holds for this site, or whatever else you create. Wishing you the best in the years to come.
Thanks Jeff!
Awesome and amazing and a huge thankyou to you!
Thanks
Cheers to you, Ming, and a hearty congratulation. We your readers know that you work very hard at all this; we probably don’t realize how hard. Go home tonight and tell your family that the hard work you’re doing makes a difference to a lot of people, so you must be doing a lot of things right!
Thanks Bob. I don’t think most of my family gets it though, so it’ll just be another night like every other.
Hi Ming, Just have to join in and say I admire your energy and creativity and look to your site every day and marvel how you can keep me interested so long. Hope you have the energy to continue. Many thanks David
Thanks!
Congratulations and thanks for having your site running.
Thanks!
Happy Birthday MT. Reading your blog is part of my daily ritual and I always find it informative and entertaining.
Thanks!
Congratulations Ming on having what is my favorite site on all the web.
Thanks!
Happy birthday! I hope your “twos” aren’t terrible!
Thanks, so do I!
Ming, I’m not exactly sure where to start; there is so much that could be said and most of it has already been stated in the above replies. The body and quality of your work makes you unique in photography and photography blogs. I live in fear that you will burn out and stop providing the best that I have found. The content exactly hits my interests: photography, philosophy and art. One of the first things I do daily is make coffee and read what you have posted with every reply. The quality of your work speaks for itself. I have seen none better. A heartfelt thanks for you and what you do.
Highest Regards,
Carlos
I’ve always thought that anything worth doing should be done properly; if I put in less effort it might last longer, but it wouldn’t have the same value, I think. So I suppose – enjoy it while it lasts, and it will continue for the foreseeable future. 🙂
Thanks for the compliments!
Congrats on your 2nd Anniversary, Bro!!! Keep up the great work and am sure there are many more anniversaries to come!!!^^
Thanks Tze Leong!
All that, and still takes the time to answer our questions. Good for you.
I try! Though at some point there may not be enough coffee in the universe to sustain it.
It is always a pleasure to read your articles and look at your pictures. Your work is appreciated. [Two dead keyboards!?] Thanks
Yep, two – to date. You do realise how many times you have to hit the keys to make those 1.9 million words, right? And that of course doesn’t count comments, email etc…
Kudos!
Thanks!
Congrats Ming!
Thanks Rob!
I can only echo what everyone else has said: this site is a great resource for the photographic community and you show great generosity in the sheer amount of interesting / useful / thought-provoking stuff on here. I remember exactly how I discovered it – I can even find the exact post – which tells me how much of an impression it made, even at first visit.
Even if you were to stop now, you would still have gone above and beyond. Not that we want you to stop, of course!
Looking forward to whatever comes up in the third year and hoping your actual photography career thrives.
Thank you. I guess it’s also a good test of the archiving system, given the number of posts!
Good be independent, and personal value stay
A German friend of mine said ” I am nobody monkey”
To endure long
Prudence (/wisdom/knowledge) + courage + self-control + justice (by Alexandre Havard)
Congrats!
Thank you.
Ming,
You have created and maintained the best photography blog that is available anywhere. It is amazing that you have not run out of material to write about.
Your photos are the best I have ever seen. Only wish mine were as good!
Congratulations and I hope to see you again.
Thank you, Paul – so long as I keep shooting there will be photoessays at least! But I can tell you we definitely have material til at least June; the articles are written up until then…and I may well return to North America in the second half of this year for a masterclass or two!
Please do. I enjoyed you and your wife while in New York. Sorry I could not make it to Havana.
Not a problem – there will always be future sessions. Thank you for your hospitality in New York!
Congrats! Great job with your website over those two years!
Wondering if you have ever done an article on photographers over saturating color in processing their images and the increasing trend in photographyand tv video for some nature shows?
I feel it is an over used crutch out there just like overuse of shallow DOF.
At what point does an image become less of a photograph and more a photoshop creation?
Thanks. No, I haven’t done that because there really isn’t much to say: if you see the processing before the subject or the story, it’s too much 🙂
Well said! I agree.
Hi Ming,
Congrats! I remembered we met each other about 2 years ago when I had the privilege of making the prints for your Leica exhibition at Banker’s Club. How time flies! Happy 2nd birthday (to your blog) & our friendship too!
That was before the start, buddy – seems like a very, very long time ago, doesn’t it? 🙂
Ya, feels like it. Then again, we shall always remember to call each other when we think of mahjong. LOL! Enjoyed what we’ve done so far, can’t wait for more plans to unfold.
Indeed – but one of us has to buy a set!
Wow, I can’t believe I’ve followed this blog for almost two years now. Keep up the great work!
Almost from the start then, thanks!
Congratulations Ming!
Thanks!
Congratulations 🙂
Thanks.
Firstly, congratulations.
Secondly, it’s hard to beleive you are so so so young. It means then, that I have been following this site/you since almost the very beginning (in response to a recommendation by David Hobby). And the quality and volume of content here is far far far greater than that found on sites much older. Wow!!!
Third, those numbers!!!!! That’s sooooooooooooooooo impressive. Obviously your work (words and/or images) resonates with a lot of people.
Congratulations!!!!
I look forward to another two years.
But I am curious. Tell me MIng, go on don’t by shy; tell the truth. Are you really that young, just two years old, or are you doing what women often do ……………. namely lying about your age?!!! Well?!! LOL!! Only kidding. :o)
Thank you, Paul. According to various Facebook tests, I’m really 41. I guess the passport department etc. must have made a mistake somewhere.
Congratulations Ming.
Learnt a lot from your blog. Thanks for your willingness to share yr knowledge and experiences.
Thanks.
You probably underestimate the impact of your work. If there are more like me, who reads every post, thinks about it, gets inspired to try different things, and forwards notes to others – yet I only comment perhaps twice a year, and seek out occasional DVDs or downloads. Most of the iceberg of the impact, or is it the impact of the iceberg, is below the surface. (Cue Titanic music) Keep feeding the bears. Even if some of the polar bears are hibernating, they will be hungry when they wake up!
The bears are always hungry. Though it seems only usually for reviews…
Congratulations on another milestone passed!
It’s an immense wealth of thought provoking information you have amassed on the site, and a it’s joy to read something so well written. Keep up the good work!
Thank you!
I can only echo previous comments: congratulations and thanks. Never would’ve realised what was in store when I came here after stumbling upon your first impressions review of the D800! Appropriately, I started re-watching the workshop videos last night…
Thanks!
… feed the bear, and it (hrm, we) will dance … 😉
Only your bad luck that such bears don’t hibernate!
Wishing you a Happy New Blogging Year !
I think some bears do hibernate, but I have many bears and they seem to hibernate at different times…
🙂 !!
– – –
You might reverse the analogy …
Some rabbit holes (at least one) lead to Wonderland, even though you might meet a grin without a cat … but the 21(?) mm eq. lens you took along would catch Alice even at her tallest!
🙂
Many happy returns!
Well, I’d be packing at least 28mm. The GR-in-holster is my equivalent of a policeman’s pistol. Never leave home without it…
But you shot this rabbit hole with a 21, right?
No, GR at 28…
Ah, my bad perspective judgement…
Love this site and appreciate your perspective on things. I think I visit every day. Keep up the good work.
Thanks!
Thanks Ming for the 2 years of refreshing content about the craft of photography. Your opinions are indeed taken seriously because of this. Keep it up!
Thanks!
Congratulations Ming! Really fantastic result after all the hard work. I love reading your stuff and just keep it up! There’s no other MT out there:)
I hope not, though if there were I suppose that would make me no longer liable for my credit cards…
Hello MT, congrats on turning two! I’ve learnt a lot from reading your articles.
Thanks
Congratulations! Let’s pop the champagne and cut the cake!
No such luck – just more work on my plate…
Well done and keep up the good work! Your blog and opinions are valued and always well worth reading. They provoke a lot of thought. Wish I followed them better! 🙂
Well, the archives are always open…
Congratulations and cheers Ming! This is an amazing and valuable site.
Thanks!
Congratulations, after so many from you and i still want more! Keep up the good work.
Thanks!
Amazing achievement, Ming, and very much deserved. Your work is second to none, the sky’s the limit!
Thanks!
I’m surprised you only managed to break 2 keyboards 😄. A big congratulations to you Ming! Happy 2nd Anniversary and more power!
Well, I suppose I might get through another one this year…
Even if you break another 2 or 3 this year I think your efforts are being rewarded. Thank you and please keep up the great work!
Well, donations of Apple Wireless Keyboards gratefully accepted…
Congratulations on your 2nd birthday – you are doing a fabulous job, I thoroughly enjoy receiving your reviews and commentary on all things photographic.
Thanks! At times I admit it feels like much longer than two years.
Congratulations Ming Thein…Awesome
Thanks
Congratulations. I am surprised MT.com is only 2 – I feel it’s been around for much longer.
Thanks. It’s probably because there are nearly 800 articles in that two years.,.
Congratulations and thanks! Keep it up, whatever it is.
Haha, thanks. It’s hard work, that’s what it is!
Great job
Thanks
Congratulations, happy birthday and Viva! for blog.mingthein.com. Easily my favorite site on the internet (that it’s safe to look at in public).
Above the line it’s Cahiers du Cinema; below the line it’s Cheers.
Cheers!
Thanks – and whether it’s safe to look at in public depends on whether the opinions stir you into a frenzy I suppose…for some readers, it appears my thoughts are not good for their camera-religion worldview…
Congratulations Ming, a great achievement. I so enjoy your site and look forward to my much needed daily photo fix during the year ahead. Well done and thank you.
Thanks!
Congratulations Ming! A wonderful accomplishment. I have learned so much from your site and videos. A big thank you for that! Best Wishes – Eric
Thanks!
Congrats Ming – always been impressed with your dedication here – as we’ve discussed before if you have a go at something, do it properly and you’ve definitely done that with this site!
I’m still surprised you’ve not burned yourself out or that the wife hasn’t shut you down 😉
Thanks – enjoy it while it lasts!
Big congrats Ming! It’s difficult coming this far. But your site offers a very unique perspective with your sharing experiences, observations and thought-process, don’t think anyone else has done so in a systematic way as you did, or at least not as well. Please continue the efforts and we’ll continue to support you.
Thanks!
That’s an awesome achievement, and recognition is well deserved.
Congratulations!
Date: Fri, 28 Feb 2014 04:00:25 +0000
To: lindenwilkie@hotmail.com
Thanks!