Continued from the previous series of Window Seat photoessays…
I actually thought about calling this one folds and ridges but then found a better set for that title which I’ll post in due course. It’s remarkable how short of a few lighting cues (and ensuing hints at climate) – the topography of earth looks much the same regardless of where you are. The images come from very different latitudes and continents, but all benefit from a harder monochrome treatment; a couple are a little hazy thanks to some pretty serious atmospherics. I left them in anyway, because I personally like the transition/inversion between land in a sea of clouds and land in a sea of…water; there is a nice conceptual symmetry here. My one regret is that I have nothing from the US in this set as the one flight I was scheduled on that was supposed to take me over the Grand Canyon in daytime got delayed by 9.5 hours and well into nighttime (thank you, American Airlines, for the soggy sandwich, incremental ‘rescheduling’ and total lack of compensation or even courtesy) – I guess that gives me a reason to go back. Or perhaps try for a change of scenery and see if I can get on one of those transpolar flights… MT
This series was shot with a variety of hardware over a period of time, and mostly processed with the Monochrome Masterclass workflow.
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Images and content copyright Ming Thein | mingthein.com 2012 onwards unless otherwise stated. All rights reserved
Ming Thein | Photographer 
Nice shots Ming, your Window Seat series never disappoints. Some of these have a real mood to them too, especially in the second half…
How much of the contrast in the second/third to last ones are from lighting vs post, they’re really striking!
Your AA story reminds me why I stick to JetBlue/Southwest when flying domestic, not too many issues so far (knock on wood)…
Thanks. Contrast – not much actually; had a very clear sky and the last of the sun hitting the snow covered peaks was really very bright, so a correct exposure yielded quite punchy blacks.
No choice that time unfortunately; it was a Oneworld RTW ticket so the US domestic legs had to be done on AA. Not my preferred carrier either…
I’m with Kristian when it comes to these images. They’re beautiful Ming. Well done. My favorite being the third.
Thanks!
Nicely done, Ming. :)The third one from the bottom reminds me of Ansel Adams’ Winter Sunrise in the Sierra Nevada, which is not bad company to be in.
I often fly into Las Vegas from the SE Atlantic coast of the USA. I always get super excited when we approach the Grand Canyon. It’s always a toss up as to which side of the plane to sit on to get a window view of the Canyon, as the flight path is usually different. I feel your pain about missing out on that view!
Thank you! I’ve never had a chance to fly over the canyon, unforuntately…
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And I find this #VI the most engaging in this series!
Perhaps the b/w approach creates some abstraction, but I rather think it’s some more daring(?)/unconventional compositions.
But maybe I need to be in a more meditatve mood to get the most out of the colour series – although I found a lot of lovely photos there too.
Each to their own. Photography these days seems to be about hardware…and now there’s nothing new, it seems a lot have lost interest 🤷♂️
I don’t mind. It’s always about the seeing anyway 🙂
> “…always about the seeing..”
🙂