Search Results for: singapore

Photoessay: Cityscape Singapore

November 9, 2018 by Ming Thein

Another photoessay today with the benefits of multiple visits and longer curation – perhaps the start of a mini-project for me to revisit the archives with the benefit of separation and objectivity for places I’ve paid multiple visits to. The purpose would be both to curate something of a set ‘representative’ of the personality of the place – as far as that’s possible with a dynamic entity like a living city (especially in the case of somewhere that rapidly develops such as Singapore or Tokyo), as well as to see how my own personal feelings and impressions have changed over time. To some degree we might also be seeing the effect of different approaches to photography – from more casual to more formal/structured/deliberate and back again; tripods and not; preference for 28 vs longer lenses etc – it may well turn into some interesting insights into one’s own observational preferences over time…MT

Shot over a long, long period of time with a wide variety of equipment. Mostly processed with PS Workflow III.

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Filed Under: On Photography Tagged With: cityscape, ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, photoessay, photography, singapore, thein

Photoessay: Architectural snippets, Singapore

June 1, 2017 by Ming Thein

I like to think of this kind of image as little microcosms of environment – not quite a full wimmelbild, but more a degustation of the little area in which the image was captured. The images presented today are on a few different scales – everything from fairly intimate upwards. I think they’re fairly representative of the mood and feel of the immediate vicinity, at least from the perspective of an observer who’s just passing through. I honestly don’t know how to categorise images like this: not traditional architecture and not really pure abstract – they have no commercial application and appeal only to a very particular narrow aesthetic. Why do we make images like this? Because they appeal to us at some personal level; I suppose what speaks to me here is the compressed intricacy that can only be as product of evolution as opposed to planning – especially the little unexpected signs of life that suggest adaptation, humanity and real people as opposed to purely hard materials. MT

This series was shot with a Hasselblad H5D-50C and H6D-50C, various lenses and post processed with Photoshop and Lightroom Workflow III.

Photoessay: Singapore snippets

May 2, 2017 by Ming Thein

Trapped in an order only an outsider can see

Like the Prague Singles, there are those few images at the end of the post-trip or post-shoot curation that really don’t fit into any common category or curation – yet for some reason or other, an emotional attachment has developed and you’re loath to throw them away. They become your albatrosses; probably of no significance to anybody else other than the imaginator. Why? Because there’s a story there that’s triggered a memory, your imagination, or some flight of whimsical fancy; it’s incongruous, unexpected and fleeting. Titles are necessary. MT

This series was shot with a Hasselblad H5D-50C and H6D-50C, various lenses and post processed with Photoshop and Lightroom Workflow III.

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Filed Under: hasselblad, On Photography Tagged With: ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, photoessay, photography, singapore, singles, stories, thein

Photoessay: separation in Singapore

November 20, 2016 by Ming Thein

Big city, bright lights, teeming crowds…yet the quest for individuality is perhaps stronger than ever. Yet we’re social creatures, so we want to fit in. But where? How? Here more than ever, people felt transient, subservient, temporary. Native is not native and you’re on the way somewhere else. The stage stays; the actors change. Here more than ever, I’ve always felt like I was just passing through – even the times where I was based here for months. MT

This series was shot with a Hasselblad H5D-50c and processed with Photoshop and Lightroom Workflow III.

Places left for final 2016 Masterclasses – Singapore (Jul) and Prague (Sep)

June 19, 2016 by Ming Thein

There are places still available for the final two workshops of 2016 – the Singapore Masterclass (1-6 July) and the Prague Masterclass (5-10 September). Click on the respective links for the details, or send me an email to book. These are likely to be the last workshops for some time…

Filed Under: Teaching Tagged With: 2016, masterclass, ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, prague, singapore, teaching, thein, Workshop

Places still available: Singapore Architectural Masterclass, 1-6 July 2016

May 6, 2016 by Ming Thein

I still have places available for the Singapore Architectural Masterclass from July 1-6, 2016. It won’t be your typical masterclass: there’s a bit of a twist. In fact, this will be structured a little differently to the usual Masterclasses and about as close to a crash course in architecture photography and an actual commissioned assignment as it gets. By the end of the week, you’ll be turning in both an assignment and a portfolio. Interested? Click here for details, and to book.

Filed Under: Teaching Tagged With: architecture, masterclass, ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, singapore, teaching, thein, Workshop

Open for booking: Singapore Architectural Masterclass, 1-6 July 2016

April 5, 2016 by Ming Thein

All images from this post were shot in Singapore.

This will be something a bit different: like last year’s Hanoi Cinematic Masterclass, this will be a themed offering. I’ve been asked for architectural-based classes several times now, so here we go: presenting the Singapore Architectural Masterclass from July 1-6, 2016. It won’t be your typical masterclass: there’s a bit of a twist. In fact, this will be structured a little differently to the usual Masterclasses and about as close to a crash course in architecture photography and an actual commissioned assignment as it gets. By the end of the week, you’ll be turning in both an assignment and a portfolio. Interested? Read on for details and to book.

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Filed Under: Teaching Tagged With: architecture, masterclass, ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, singapore, teaching, thein, Workshop

Photoessay: Inside the Port of Singapore

February 16, 2015 by Ming Thein

Incoming

This photoessay is actually composed of b-roll from another assignment; it fell outside the client’s brief. However, it’s about as easy to stop seeing and shooting things as it is for me to stop breathing for a long period of time – so I went ahead and photographed anyway, knowing that the images can’t be used for anything commercial. I’ve always found heavy industry to be fascinating – not just because it’s outside the sphere of normality for most of us, but also because there’s a big challenge in capturing and conveying the sense of scale of a place that’s unfamiliar and might lack visual cues for most. On top of that, throw in a whole bunch of interesting hardware, textures and abstract patterns, and you’ve got photographic nirvana. Some of the perspectives will be unusual because they were shot from a pilot boat on the harbour, or the bridge of one of the 1000-ft container ships. Enjoy! MT

This series was shot with a Nikon D4, 24-120/4 VR and 70-200/4 VR lenses.

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Filed Under: On Photography Tagged With: ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, photoessay, photography, port, singapore, thein

Photoessay: Singapore color

November 6, 2014 by Ming Thein

Singapore: a neatly organized life

Today’s photoessay has no theme beyond the observation of life as a flaneur in Singapore; in this case during in-between time from a teaching assignment a couple of months ago. You’ll notice this set of images is broken up into two distinct styles; the first series is more along the lines of what I do now – humans in environment; life in context; ‘people in sauce’. It is visually flatter, a little more structured, painterly, and perhaps almost aperspective in some ways. I like to think of the presentation as something akin to a more dynamic version of the traditional still life. The second set is unashamedly cinematic.

Photoessay: Singapore architecture

September 15, 2014 by Ming Thein

Formal pond

I think I’m a formalist at heart. I need that sense of logic and control to feel relaxed; I suppose some people will call that being anal retentive or a control freak. Or that my images lack soul and are flat and boring. I defend that by knowing that it’s all personal opinion, anyway. Perhaps this is why architecture appeals to me. On one hand, really interesting architecture is both visually satisfying and at the same time usable by the people it was designed for; on the other hand, there’s a lot of architecture that’s unnecessarily complex adornment over a basic structure that wasn’t very well thought out – doors on the wrong side of traffic routes, for instance; passageways and lifts that don’t connect; rooms whose internal layouts you can’t make work without special furniture, and facades that are impossible to clean or maintain. Photographically, finding order and balance in the disorder – especially when the surrounding environment is taken into account – is not as easy as it looks. A building or space is in reality fluid and never really remains in the perfect state envisioned by its creator – he or she cannot foresee exactly all of what might happen in its environment in the future.

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Filed Under: On Photography Tagged With: ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, photoessay, photography, thein