Introducing the Printing School, in collaboration with Wesley Wong of Giclee Art

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It is with pleasure that I’m announcing a new collaboration today with master printer Wesley Wong of Giclee Art, whom you’ll remember as the gentleman who takes care of all my art and exhibition printing – and has done for the best part of five years now. I think it’s safe to say that there’s no way to view a lot of the information captured at a single glance other than in print – there are no monitors that can display 50MP, for instance – and there’s also no better way to make an absolute reference image. I think this is very important as a photographer to take your own vision further; if you cannot visualise the finished product, how can you show it to others – or expect them to be able to appreciate your vision too? Beyond this, there is also the tangible satisfaction of producing a print and having a physical object as fruit of your labor. However, there has always been a gap between learning the art of printing in such a way as to be accessible to all – because of the physical element – and the economics of experimentation and running your own printer. As much as I print personally, it still doesn’t make sense for me to own my own hardware – there are periods where I don’t print at all, and keeping the printer in working order would require dumping very expensive ink through the heads to keep things flowing. Of course, if you utilise external print services, this is moot.

Following demand for printing workshops from a widely spread audience, Wesley and I have been working on these challenges for a while now, and we believe we have a solid teaching structure that addresses all of the issues. Beyond that, it also allows for one on one and personalised tuition around the needs of the individual in much the same way as the email school. Continue after the jump for the explanation, and to sign up. We will limit this to just five students for the first intake.

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

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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.

Two places available for The Email School of Photography

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My Email School of Photography program is a personally tailored course to take your image making skills to the next level – regardless of your skill level. I’ve had approximately 210 students in total and about 40 who are still currently at various stages of completion. Many of my students go on to join me for workshops or Masterclasses, and vice versa – a workshop is a great way to accelerate what you’ve learned in the Email School (Program B, after which we switch to Program A), and the Email School (Program A) is a great way to continue the learning post-workshop especially for topics that might require a bit more contemplation and iteration.

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

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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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Lisbon Masterclass 2016: the student gallery

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Following recent Masterclasses, it has become a tradition to post a curated gallery of student work: I think this is far more meaningful to judge the value of a workshop with me than a series of images of people shooting or in conversation (though these make for interesting student portraits, which will be an ongoing series) We had great weather for pretty much the entire Masterclass and an incredible location – it feels like one of those places you could shoot for a decade and only barely scratch the surface, and I think the inspiration it produces really shows in the strength of the work that came out of the group that week. I’m going to stop talking now and let the strength and diversity of the group’s images say the rest; there were a very different range of objectives and very strong images across the board. I’m happy to say that everybody produced something that made the rest of us jealous! Sufficient to say that many of us will be going back, and if you happen to have a chance, Lisbon has to be one of the great urban photographic destinations of the world – a blend of Havana, Venice and Prague in feel – and should be towards the top of your list.

Note: name links are to the photographers’ respective websites or flickr portfolios.

Lastly, I’ll be announcing details of the next Masterclass in Singapore tomorrow, and Prague is likely to be back by popular demand for September this year…please send me an email if you’d like to be put on the list for either. Thanks! MT

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Last call…(UPDATED – server fixed)

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We’re nearly out of vouchers for the anniversary sale – there are a few more coupons left, so if you would like to take advantage of the birthday sale, now’s the time 🙂 The offer ends once we hit the magic number…

Update (14:55 GMT+8): there was a small hiccup with the server this morning preventing the code from working that’s now been resolved, and there are still a couple of coupons left.

In the interests of the site’s original goal of furthering photographic education – which I think I’ve made inroads into with the 1,150 articles published here – we’re offering a special sale on the core six-vide Making Outstanding Images video series (D: Fundamentals, Ep. 1-5). The normal price for the set is $412; it is now 40% off at $247. Just add the D, E1-5 videos to your cart and use the voucher code 40OFF4YEARS at checkout; there are a small and limited number of vouchers. Proceeds go towards a) educating you photographically; b) keeping the site running and c) making more videos. Please note that this offer is a standalone and not valid with other video bundles.

Thanks for your support! MT

Four years, and an anniversary sale (UPDATE: all gone!)

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UPDATE: We’re nearly out of vouchers for the anniversary sale – there are a few more coupons left, so if you would like to take advantage of the birthday sale, now’s the time 🙂 The offer ends once we hit the magic number… All gone now – thank you for your support!

It’s the fourth anniversary of mingthein.com, and I’d like to say a big thank you to my readers and supporters. May we continue for at least another year…

In the interests of the site’s original goal of furthering photographic education – which I think I’ve made inroads into with the 1,150 articles published here – we’re offering a special sale on the core six-vide Making Outstanding Images video series (D: Fundamentals, Ep. 1-5). The normal price for the set is $412; it is now 40% off at $247. Just add the D, E1-5 videos to your cart and use the voucher code 40OFF4YEARS at checkout; there are a small and limited number of vouchers. Proceeds go towards a) educating you photographically; b) keeping the site running and c) making more videos. Please note that this offer is a standalone and not valid with other video bundles.

Thanks for your support! MT

Bespoke Queenstown Landscape Workshop, 21-24 April 2016

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Time for something different. This April, I’m offering more than a workshop: an intensive experience to raise your photography to the next level. The focus will be on landscape, in and around Queenstown, New Zealand. We (I) will be driving a lot, bringing you to locations I discovered on my last trip to both explore and develop your own work. But here’s the kicker: the workshop will limited to just three participants, and is inclusive of 4*+ accommodation and ground transport costs. It’s something I’ve been asked for in the past, but didn’t make much sense unless going to a location where driving/ground transport is necessary and we have much range to cover.

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New: MT’s Weekly PS Workflow Classroom

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It’s time to take postprocessing further in the new year.

Given the popularity of the photoshop and postprocessing videos, and the continual feedback for more of the same – I’ve decided to try an experiment for 2016. Every week, with the first instalment available on 3 Jan 2016, I’ll be putting out a new video. The concept is simple: it’s a classroom where submitted images are critiqued and postprocessed and subscriber questions answered. This is the closest I can get to a providing a consistent learning environment for a large audience.

  • Subscribers can submit images of their own; I will try to critique all of them
  • We select the most interesting to post process in ACR/photoshop using workflow II, with a discussion of the rationale behind it
  • Any subscriber questions are answered
  • In addition, I postprocess images of my own so you can see the complete workflow from capture and conception to completion – to see how the complete ‘idea’ comes together (i.e. capture with previsualized output)

Each weekly video will run for ~1h15min.

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Announcing the Lisbon Masterclass, 9-14 March 2016

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From the Venice Masterclass

Lisbon is a new destination for me, which is why there’s no header image from there. This means unlike the previous Masterclasses, I’m also going in blind with no experience. I will experience the same visual overload as you, and you will in turn have the benefit of seeing how I work in a completely unfamiliar environment. Note that I am also reducing the number of workshops this year due to my commercial schedule – one per quarter is the aim. Please read on to book and for more information. Places will go quite quickly as the class composition is usually 30-50% returning participants.

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