Ming Thein

Why GAS might actually turn out to be good for you

September 20, 2017 by Ming Thein

One is bad enough. Two is…well, probably a signal that some form of clinical treatment is required. Full disclosure: the second one was supplied as a spare for the Thaipusam video; we didn’t use it.

At the risk of severely contradicting myself, I’m going to offer an alternative point of view to several of my posts from earlier this year (namely, this one on diminishing returns; this one on finding the right camera and moving on; this one on ideal formats for a given creative output). Many of you have pointed out in the comments and subsequent emails etc. that things are not really quite so clear cut; I’ve given this some thought and spent some time rationalising my own equipment journey – especially since from an external standpoint, it might appear that I’m probably the worst offender of all. The conclusion, is of course one of very fine balance – like most things in photography; and like most things creative, a little tension is required to produce not-safe and not-boring results. Here are my thoughts on why…

Photoessay: living Tokyo vignettes

September 17, 2017 by Ming Thein

The choice of title is a deliberate, non static one: the suggestion of motion in each of these images contributes to the feeling that we are viewing something transient, temporal and busy. Despite the density and size of the population, Tokyo somehow can still manage to feel quiet and isolated and times – I put this down to having something to do with the very ordered nature of society and the existence of very formal structures/expectations that mean nobody is in Ginza before about 11am since nothing is open, or Maronouchi is rather dead after 9pm and on weekends as everybody has gone home. It’s possible to make images that make the place feel quite cold and inhuman even though most of the time, this couldn’t be further form the truth. This set looks for a little chaos and humanity. You’ll probably also notice it’s quite cinematic, despite being mostly shot with relatively slow lenses. MT

This series was shot with a Canon 100D, 24STM and 55-250STM lenses, an X1D-50c and 90mm, and a H6D-100c and 100mm. Post processing was completed using the techniques in the weekly workflow and PS Workflow III. Travel to Tokyo vicariously with How To See Ep.2: Tokyo, learn to be stealthy with S1: Street Photography and see how to capture the essence of a location with T1: Travel Photography.

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Filed Under: hasselblad, On Photography Tagged With: canon, hasselblad, japan, ming, mingthein.com, people, photoessay, photography, street, thein, tokyo

Hasselblad is hiring: Creative Coordinator

September 14, 2017 by Ming Thein

We’re looking to recruit another photographer to serve a couple of roles: most importantly, to engage with the photographic community via social media and other outreach, and to shape the way Hasselblad presents new products and creative ideas going forward. It’s an opportunity to conceive and produce unconventional campaigns together with the rest of the team and the ambassador pool: we have the paradox of producing the tools, but also needing to provide some inspiration on how to use them. In addition, it isn’t limited to just marketing and community engagement – the role is flexible and could span everything from product development to market strategy, and therefore suited to somebody with an entrepreneurial bent. After all, a photographer’s creative needs are best understood by another photographer.

Personally, I believe that the best candidates are unlikely to be found via conventional recruitment channels or with ‘typical’ marketing or communications-type CVs; I thought it would therefore be an interesting experiment to push this one back to the community to find the right passionate enthusiast who’s most importantly already a photographer. Precisely because the role might suit a very wide range of candidates, we’ve deliberately left the requirements somewhat open ended: the most important thing will be a convincing reason why you’re the right person for the job (and that’s not necessarily qualification-based). You’ll also be interacting with me quite a lot in your day to day work. The position is to be based in either Gothenburg, Sweden or Shenzhen, China, and salary is negotiable.

Further information and details on how to apply can be found here on the Hasselblad website. MT

Filed Under: hasselblad Tagged With: hasselblad, hiring, job, ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, recruitment, thein

Photoessay/ Drone diaries: Postcards from Europe, part I

September 2, 2017 by Ming Thein

Today’s images are a series shot from various parts of Europe – mainly Sweden and Switzerland. Some were captured as part of scouting for another shoot with the much larger M600/H6D-100c combination, and some were simply because the weather looked incredible and there was no reason not to fly*. The packing penalty for including the Mavic in my travel bag is so small that I think I’ll probably make a habit of this in future – sometimes there are really incredible mornings where you’d like to see the place come alive in the light… MT

*Be sure to check local regulations first: in Switzerland, for example, no-fly zones within a certain distance of an airport are marked as are restricted zones with height ceilings. There are also weight category restrictions. Sweden requires a permit full stop.

These images were shot with a DJI Mavic Pro and post processed with Photoshop Workflow III and the Weekly Workflow.

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Filed Under: Drone diaries, On Photography Tagged With: aerial, drone, mavic, ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, photography, sweden, switzerland, thein, zurich

Drone diaries: differentiated aerial perspectives

August 30, 2017 by Ming Thein

More months, more flying. I’ve come to believe that real appeal of aerial photography lies solely in one thing: the ability to see familiar places or objects or classes of objects from a drastically and otherwise physically inaccessible perspective. An image shot from a slightly elevated level with gimbal only slightly down is not that different to standing on a hill or building; an image shot from some altitude and entirely top down is at the other end of the scale. Most of the really interesting drone images I’ve seen or personally captured seem to fall into the latter category. We are coming dangerously close to the automated and the formulaic, here. Or are we?

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Filed Under: Articles, Drone diaries Tagged With: aerial, aerial photography, article, drone, essay, mavic, ming, mingthein.com, opinion, photography, thein

E-shutter firmware for the Hasselblad X1D

August 24, 2017 by Ming Thein

A couple of you guessed correctly in the comments of my earlier post – we’ve been working on an electronic shutter firmware for the Hasselblad X1D. Whilst we are still limited by the underlying sensor hardware*, there are significant increases to the shooting envelope afforded by an electronic shutter that is both completely silent and completely vibration free. Used within limitations, it can be a very useful tool. The above image was shot at a performance (without disrupting it) – on the X1D, and Zeiss 1.4/85 Otus APO-Planar**, with focus peaking on. Hit rate for critical sharpness was about 70-80% – which is to say, possibly higher and easier than focusing it on a native Nikon DSLR.

*The total sensor readout time remains at 300ms; if there is motion in the frame, you may see rolling shutter artefacts regardless of the shutter speed, especially under phased lighting such as LED or fluorescent. Similarly, flash is disabled as there is no way to sync with a 300ms rolling shutter. High ISO is limited to 3200 for the moment (sensor native).

**Yes, you read that correctly. I also used the 55 Otus and 2/135 APO.

The firmware also improves stability adds resizable focus points (35, 63 or 117 boxes) and can be downloaded immediately on the Hasselblad website here. Happy to answer any questions in the comments below, and a list of compatible lenses and a rough assessment of performance on 44x33mm – as so far tested by me – follows. MT

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Filed Under: hasselblad Tagged With: electronic shutter, firmware, hasselblad, ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, thein, x1d

Photoessay: Hagia Sophia, part II

August 18, 2017 by Ming Thein

(continued from part I)

Hagia Sophia is not only an incredible piece of engineering and architecture – but also one of faith. Constructed in its current form between 532 and 537 AD, it has served as church and mosque (and now museum). Even today, you can’t help but be inspired, humbled and in awe of the work behind it; given its sheer size, it would still take a significant effort to build with modern construction techniques, and that’s excluding the huge amount of specialised handwork required for decoration and outfitting. I’m pretty sure very little of what we build today at that scale will still be around in 1500 years. The question of faith is quite interesting, too: the sheer resources and determination to construct something of that size places huge demands on the population of the city and its rulers. There was probably no economic return model, either – unlike say the European market towns of the Middle Ages. What impressed me the most wasn’t so much the sheer size or unsupported internal volume (though this was still significant) – but the detail given to every surface. Not all of it was completed by 537, and renovations and restoration have been pretty much ongoing non stop thanks to wars, earthquakes and simple entropy – but it’s nevertheless what makes it a truly colossal undertaking, and because of this I think of the renovations as much a part of the building as anything else. Other buildings like the Pyramids might be larger, but they simply don’t have the same kind of finishing requirements, or continual evolution and sense of being an active, alive part of history rather than merely a passive observer. (And I can’t think of anything modern except perhaps the Sagrada Familia that comes close, and even that is still not finished after more than a hundred years.)

I had the opportunity to shoot it for perhaps a few hours total; nowhere near enough time to do justice to the structure (and obviously not around the scaffolds, tripod restrictions etc.) – even so, there are so many images this photoessay will be split into two parts. Enjoy! MT

This series was shot in Istanbul with a Hasselblad H6D-100c, 50, 100 and 150mm lenses, and post processed with Photoshop and LR Workflow III (and the Weekly Workflow). Get more out of your voyages with T1: Travel Photography.

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Filed Under: hasselblad, On Photography Tagged With: architecture, hagia sophia, hasselblad, istanbul, ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, thein

Photoessay: Hagia Sophia, part I

August 16, 2017 by Ming Thein

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Filed Under: hasselblad, On Photography Tagged With: architecture, hagia sophia, hasselblad, istanbul, ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, thein

Off topic: Presenting the MING 17.01

August 13, 2017 by Ming Thein

Many of you might be aware of my historical preoccupation with mechanical watches: it’s arguably what started me photographing seriously in the first place. Which is why after nearly two years in gestation (and just in this form) I’m very proud to present my latest project: the 17.01. It’s the first of a new line of watches designed by me, made in Switzerland and funded by a group of fellow collectors, but brought to life with the aid of individuals who’ve been in the industry for a long time. To avoid the bunch of cliches that are typically used during new watch launches: it’s an honest watch that tells the time reliably and has the benefit of experience behind it – nothing more, nothing less.

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Filed Under: Off topic Tagged With: 17.01, ming, ming thein, ming.watch, mingthein.com, thein, watch

Opinion: Sensible perspectives on film and digital in current times

August 10, 2017 by Ming Thein

Today’s post has been a long time brewing. The recent resurgence in the popularity of film is undeniable, to the point that there are both new brands and revivals of old ones happening on a fairly regular basis. It seems to be not so interesting for the big guys – look at the continual Fuji price increases as prime exhibit – but this has meant that there business is more open to the enthusiasts and those creating film specifically for the demands of those markets (such as JCH Street Pan). Anybody who gets off their comfortable chair to put money and action where their mouths are deserves a round of applause, in my book. Given all of this – it’s only natural that there have also been a lot of people rising to the defence of the medium, in the comments here, and sometimes much more aggressively over email. In the interests of saving much angst, it’s probably about time I make my personal position on film clear, and more importantly, the rationale behind it.