Escaping boxes
Today I present a small selection of black and white images from a lazy afternoon in Luzern, Switzerland – there was definitely a feeling of summer malaise amongst both visitors and tourists, and even the hardware felt like it was taking a day off. All in all, not a bad way to decompress after an assignment. I went out with a very lightweight kit (especially after said previous assignment) of just the 5DSR, 40 STM and Leica Q; landed up reading a book by the lake in the company of a rather good Hoyo Des Dieux and actually relaxing a bit for a change. Despite that, if you’re a photographer in a foreign city, there’s simply no way you’re not going to take photographs of any sort even if you need a breather from taking photographs – such is the nature of obsession I guess. Enjoy! MT This series was shot with a Canon 5DSR, 40 STM, Leica Q 116 and processed with the Monochrome Masterclass ‘balanced’ workflow. 
Boats on vacation
Installation art by day, bar by night
Drink after shopping
Overleaf
Slatted
Seebad
Enjoying a dip
Peeking
An hour before, or an hour later I
An hour before, or an hour later II
Homeward I
Homeward II
__________________
Be inspired to take your photography further: Masterclass Tokyo (9-14 Nov) now open for booking!
__________________
Ultraprints from this series are available on request here
__________________
Visit the Teaching Store to up your photographic game – including workshop and Photoshop Workflow videos and the customized Email School of Photography; or go mobile with the Photography Compendium for iPad. You can also get your gear from B&H and Amazon. Prices are the same as normal, however a small portion of your purchase value is referred back to me. Thanks!
Don’t forget to like us on Facebook and join the reader Flickr group!
Images and content copyright Ming Thein | mingthein.com 2012 onwards. All rights reserved
Ming Thein | Photographer 
Ahh Ming – “peeking” seems to have a funny way with light. Light from erverywhere. Looks a little otherworldly! Did you do something with the brightness of the positive? Brighten it partly (a bit to the middle on the lower lefthand side of the big tree)? Or is there a big mirror in the neighborhood that s p e n d s this sort of fancy lighting (mirrored five-story store or something like that). Or is it just one of these moments in space & time that make taking photos so adventurous? Just curious –
– yours truly from the Lake (of Constance) Nearby (Luzerne) – –
Dieter Kief
Big and very newly painted white building behind me throwing light everywhere 🙂
Yes, Ming can you now post some of your Otus 28/1.4 images so we can see what this beauty can do in a Master’s capable hands?
Rumor has it that you have one! 🙂 Your favorite focal length!
I do have one, but there are still some tweaks being made so the optics are not 100% final. Even so, I can say (unsurprisingly) it will be the reference lens in that range…
@Ming Thein:
Did you see the Press Release bei Zeiss?
They just presented the new OTUS 28mm f/1.4
I instantly thought of you and am pretty sure that this will be a Must-Have for you, no?
I have been shooting with a prototype for the last couple of months 😉
Hey Ming, all your photo look the same-fabulous. And it does not matter what camera you use. How do you manage to get the constant Ming Thein look?
Thanks. Part of it is subject/quality of light, part of it is postprocessing. I suppose the first could be classified as style and the latter is in the PS videos…
Hi Ming,
Beautiful photos especially like the canon ones. Speaking of which, was the 5dsr hand held and did you use the zacuto or just rely on the canon optical viewfinder? If so, the shots are that more remarkable. Thanks.
Joe
Thanks Joe. All of these were handheld – more than enough light for 40mm (and by f5.6 almost everything is in focus at those subject distances anyway 🙂
Really like a lot of these 5DsR B&W images! How did you find the 5DsR files for B&W processing?
Favorites are Overleaf and Boats on Vacation and …Hour Later 2.
They’re pretty good if you get the exposure right – not as tonally smooth as the D810 because of lower dynamic range, but still very serviceable. Good if you like punchy monos.
Thanks again Ming service visual food during the morning coffee ritual. Love ‘Boats on vacation’ and ‘Homeward I + II’. Pity we didn’t meet up there as planned, so we have to catch up 🙂
Thanks Gerner – yes, it was a fantastic day and a pity we couldn’t make it work. Next time! 🙂
Come on Ming, smoking a Hoyo in Lucern?! Hope you did not miss a Brezel and a homebrewed beer… Nice pictures as always!
Definitely the Brezel, but I’m a non-alcoholic so no beer for me 🙂
At least you managed to get your hands on the Des Dieux. I haven’t been able to find it anywhere other than that place in Penang.
Online – though I don’t think you’re going to have much luck in the US…
Yup. And customs will stick me with a fat bill if I get it shipped to India.
Can’t help you there, unfortunately. Time to go visit Gerner in Europe 🙂
nice views. so very different from how I recall Luzern. My mind is full of greens and blues…
Thanks – yes, it was green and blue and perhaps the way most experience it 🙂
Wonderful images. Looks like the two lense setup worked well
Thanks Eric – yes, it was pleasantly liberating though I admit the 40 became a 50 and 60 at times…