On Photography – Ming Thein

Photoessay: Ponte Vecchio

July 31, 2020 by Ming Thein

I can’t exactly say why I was so fascinated with this bridge during my time in Florence, but I do know it yielded a great variety of interesting images as light and perspective changed. Originally built during Roman times, it’s been updated and renovated repeatedly until its current iteration dating from around the mid 14th century. The latest addition in the mid 16th century by the Medicis linked the Palazzio Vecchio (Florence’s town hall and administrative centre) with the Palazzo Pitti, and is the covered topmost structure – the Vasari Corridor. The bridge itself is lined with goldsmiths and jewellers – and increasingly, watch dealers – I was a little surprised at this, but it seems this has actually been the case since the 15th century. The watch brand boutiques are therefore merely a quite apt modern take on things… MT

This series was shot with a Nikon Z7, mostly the 24-70/4 S and my custom SOOC JPEG profiles.

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Filed Under: On Photography Tagged With: florence, italy, ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, photoessay, ponte vecchio, thein

Photoessay: Museum

July 28, 2020 by Ming Thein

There are some places you visit where the weight of accumulated history is so great that you can’t help but feel it everywhere you go; at times you feel like you’re walking through a living museum of sorts. Part of that is probably because of the accumulated objects, part of that is because of the people who’ve been living with those accumulated objects for so long that they’ve become a part of them in a way. There’s no denying that culture and society are both path dependent and self-reinforcing; yet I wonder to what degree popular culture is making things oddly homogenous across a much larger distance than before. ‘Culture’ is an interesting term because it’s come to mean similar things across the world: the arts, the erudition and gentility. I suppose we should be thankful it isn’t the size of your bank balance or number of nuclear missiles…MT

This series was shot with an iPhone 11 Pro and edited in-phone, except for the second image, which was shot with a Nikon Z7, a 24-70/4 S and my custom SOOC JPEG profiles.

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Filed Under: On Photography Tagged With: abstract, berlin, ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, museum, photoessay, thein

Photoessay: Florentine patchwork

July 25, 2020 by Ming Thein

One thing any place with extensive history seems to enjoy is a patchwork of evolutionary architectural styles and weathering; all of this combines to create a distinctly unique signature that we recognise as being ‘of a place’. The longer that history, the more disparate elements combine – in such a way that could not possibly have been predicted by those who put up the structures could have envisioned at the time. Whilst we’ve had discussions here in the past over how architects build and design with sensitivity to their immediate environment, there is literally no way they could have foreseen what comes in the years that follow. However one can only assume that the following architects would continue to be sensitive to their relative surroundings, thus creating a sort of thematic continuity that whilst perhaps is not seamless – is at least somewhat harmonious. MT

This series was shot with a Nikon Z7, a 24-70/4 S and my custom SOOC JPEG profiles.

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Filed Under: On Photography Tagged With: abstract, arch, architecture, florence, italy, ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, photoessay, thein, vault

Alternate theories of inspiration

July 22, 2020 by Ming Thein

Anachronism

What do photography, food, time and EDC objects have in common? If you can answer this to your satisfaction, then you probably don’t need to read the rest of today’s article. In the past I’ve talked about the more systematic approach to composition from a structural/ compositional point of view – the Four Things – and how to translate an idea into an image. Both deal with the mechanical part of arranging the elements in your frame and ensuring that they are ‘read’ in the expected way by your audience, they don’t really deal with something a bit higher up the food chain: where do the ideas come from in the first place?

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Filed Under: Articles, On Photography Tagged With: 2020, article, essay, inspiration, ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, photography, thein

Photoessay: Vault and arch

July 19, 2020 by Ming Thein

Today’s set is an abstract whistlestop tour of Milan’s interpretation of that most fundamental of architectural features: the arch, and it’s compound, the vault. I’ve always found the interplay of light off the curves and textures to be very compelling as a regular but abstract arrangement, probably because it has many surfaces and lines intersecting at nearly perpendicular. What’s more interesting is the range of interpretations present: from the small-scale to the monumental; from the ornate to the functionally minimalist, every combination of those two axes and everything in between, with the possibility of two or three dimensions to add even more variety. Photographically, flattening or enhancing that sense of depth through the use of shadow and camera position/perspective yields some rather interesting results, as I think you’ll agree. MT

This series was shot with a Nikon Z7, a 24-70/4 S and my custom SOOC JPEG profiles.

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Filed Under: On Photography Tagged With: abstract, arch, architecture, italy, milan, ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, photoessay, thein, vault

Photoessay: Old normal

July 16, 2020 by Ming Thein

It’s hard to imagine this set was shot just a month before COVID threw a wrench into everything – I wonder if we’ll ever see the same kind of energy and vibrancy again, or if we do, how long it’ll take to overcome the collective paranoia that the person coughing next to you might be about to give you a fatal disease. If nothing…it hopefully marks the start of a better respect for hygiene, personal space, and a recognition that a lot of jobs don’t require everybody to be in the same place at the same time. Maybe we’ll see decentralisation, affordability of real estate, more international cooperation and some sort of balance between universal basic income and people doing their part. Or maybe we’l just have a greater divide between those who can afford healthcare and those who can’t, and more power grabs by governments instituting states of emergency over the slightest thing. We can only live in hope, and be thankful to have been fortunate enough to remember that freedom not so long ago. MT

This series was shot with a Nikon Z7, a 24-70/4 S and my custom SOOC JPEG profiles.

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Filed Under: On Photography Tagged With: italy, milan, ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, monochrome, photoessay, street, thein

Photoessay: Slanted II

July 13, 2020 by Ming Thein

Assorted scales, assorted perspectives, assorted structures, assorted purposes, assorted locations; the one idea to which all of these images were curated is a sense of tension against regularity and order created by light. The tension is transient and exists for only as long as the shadows stay in place; I admit I’ve become addicted to the heavy sort of shadows that create start new virtual forms that project in odd planes against the regular three dimensions. I like the way areas are thrown into ambiguity, the way the virtual momentarily outweighs the physical and the entire structure becomes something else. Sometimes they are regular, sometimes they aren’t; all the time, the camera and a photographic presentation has the ability to make them more real than real. If you are there for that moment, then the forms are yours alone – come back tomorrow for something different. MT

Shot with various hardware over the last couple of years, mostly processed with The Monochrome Masterclass workflow.

Photoessay: Florentine nights

July 7, 2020 by Ming Thein

Even in the off season (and what now seems like another lifetime ago) – Florence felt like it could easily challenge New York for the title of ‘city that never sleeps’. Thanks to jet lag, we’d go out for a late bite or an early walk and still find crowds; you had to go quite far off the regular thoroughfares and find small residential alleyways before approaching anything deserted. And even then, somebody would come along soon enough. Being a pedestrian scale city following a layout from the time before cars, it’s hard to imagine the city without people – just like Venice. I for one never thought I’d say this, but sometimes, you actually miss the crowds. MT

This series was shot with a Nikon Z7, mostly the 24-70/4 S and my custom SOOC JPEG profiles.

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Filed Under: On Photography Tagged With: florence, italy, ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, night, photoessay, street, thein

Photoessay: Wrinkles (or, window seat VII)

July 4, 2020 by Ming Thein

The scale of terrestrial features from the air never fails to remind us that no matter what we do, humankind is nothing more than a minor surface blemish on the skin of the earth – we might change it, but on the scale of geological time nature always wins and carries on without us. I suppose in that vein this series of images are some very macro closeups of pores, wrinkles, hairs, cuticles and the like – along with one rather isolated and dodgy looking facility next to a rocky outcrop in Iran… MT

This series was shot with a Nikon Z7, 24-70/4 S and my custom SOOC JPEG profiles.

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Filed Under: On Photography Tagged With: aerial, landscape, ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, photoessay, thein, window seat

Photoessay: Duomo

July 1, 2020 by Ming Thein

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It’s hard to believe these were shot not quite six months ago. The world today is a very different place, and some places have been hit harder than others – like Italy. Looking back, I am thankful to have visited in times of vibrance and life, even if it meant crowds, queues, noise and my wife getting pickpocketed. Hang in there, Italy. MT

This series was shot with a Nikon Z7, 24-70/4 S and my custom SOOC JPEG profiles.

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