Over the course of the last few years, I’ve had the chance to shoot quite a number of contextual portraits of the people behind construction – some I’ve presented previously, and thus are not shown here. Almost all of the images in this set are new, and the result of a much larger curation project I’ve been meaning to do for some time. Even as extensive as a single shoot for this client tends to be – thousands of images over a week or so – the subject matter and light conditions are so diverse that you seldom have a chance to shoot a thematically and visually consistent sequence; thus the only way to make a project like this work is over a longer period of time. It also ties in nicely with some monochrome portrait experiments I’ve been doing over the last couple of months. Interestingly, the main challenge with this body of work overall was not opportunity, but the fact that construction workers in Hong Kong seem to all be exceedingly shy… MT
Images shot with various hardware over the last three years, but all post processed with The Monochrome Masterclass workflow.
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Ming Thein | Photographer 
A great homage to these “invisible men”.
I really like the first photograph.
B/W seems to me the fitting choice for covering the world of these men.
They do their work, unnoticed from the public.
They never get much appreciation.
And they don´t seem to make a lot of fuss about it, either.
We all live in these wonderful buildings where we create our own small and beautiful places we call home or business.
And yet we easily forget about these guys who created these structures that protect us in the first place.
Thanks – precisely the rationale behind the commission and my presentation of it…
… says the man with his big heart and true compassion for his fellow men.
This is a fantastic series. I really appreciate how each portrait contains some of the context of an “environmental portrait” while maintaining a feel of intimacy and focus on the person. I also love how the photographs convey a clear sense of respect for the workers and what they do.
(I apologize if this posts multiple times; I seem to be having some issues with the WordPress login but can’t use my email alone since I’ve commented via WordPress before.)
Thanks – the tricky part is always balancing authenticity/ integrity with finding a somewhat ‘clean’ presentation when the reality is the industry simply cannot be that neat. That, and not everybody interesting is okay with being photographed…
as always, very nice images. The only problem is they remind me of my work…
😂
They’re all quite excellent. To me, the first and the last really embody what I’ve come to think of as the “Ming Thein style” – you have a real flair for juxtaposing light and shadow. I’d recognize them as your work anywhere.
Thanks!
I always enjoy your construction series! I seem to recall you had an exhibition a few years back, any plans to do another?
Thanks, not at the moment…
Very engaging images. But honestly they also started me reflecting about how few people smile while they’re working.
I suppose it’s either seriousness/concentration or the reality that most people do not really enjoy what they do…
The subject matter lends itself to B&W – I hope the client[s] are equally content, I think they are superb “photographs”, thanks for sharing them, Ming
I believe so, I’m still photographing for them 🙂
these are wonderful images
Thanks
Looking at these I have to remind myself to be more mindful of DoF. Your pictures show great discipline and forethought in choosing the appropriate amount of isolation.
Just enough to separate, not so much as to lose context.
Great work as always. Love the portrait second to last, beautifully framing the subject in his human context / environment.
Thanks!
Some of your best work period. If I were a creative director for Turner, Bechtel, etc. I’d hire you to shoot internationally.
Thanks – if only! 🙂
It’s all in the marketing. Some are better than you Ming ( maybe not photographically ) and they get the job. Salesmanship is one of the most important attributes one can have!
That’s very true!
Wow! Very beautiful images. As always. Black and white makes them really timeless. All with natural light, I suppose?
Thanks – yes, all available light. Simply no way to set up lights under those kinds of conditions!