Ming Thein | Photographer

On assignment photoessay: Chinese University of Hong Kong Library

June 4, 2016 by Ming Thein

One from the archives for today – I thought I’d posted this a long time ago, but turns out it sat in the ‘draft posts’ folder. Oops!

Inspiration begets inspiration. At least that’s my own theory of creativity. If you’re in photographically inspiring surroundings, it’s unquestionably easier to make an interesting image than otherwise – or at very least feel that you’ve got far more possibilities to hand. There are some assignments where one must fall back onto professionalism and the motto of the US postal service* to get the job done, but then we also have those where you couldn’t stop shooting even if it were forbidden. This assignment was most certainly the latter, and appropriate given the subject was the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s new library space – which in itself is presumably meant to be inspiring to its students.

*Come rain, come shine, dogs be damned etc.

Structure

June 2, 2016 by Ming Thein

I’ve put off writing this article for a very, very long time for the simple reason that there are visual things that I have to figure out how to explain which somewhat transcend the limits of the written language to describe. Even defining the meaning of ‘structure’ in a photographic sense is tricky: we understand it to be a system of support that is not necessarily seen but underpins what we see on the surface – both physical and metaphysical. It is the means by which order is created out of chaos. Photographically, I like to think of ‘the structure of an image’ as the flow or visual rhythm of elements. Controlling the structure of an image controls the order in which the elements are read, and in turn the idea or story implied by those elements. Without conscious management of structure, it is therefore very difficult to consistently create images with anything more than a very literal impact.

Photoessay: the monochrome Nilgiris

May 31, 2016 by Ming Thein

I was having a discussion about the presentation of landscape and color use the other day with one of my students – which in turn got me thinking about why we see so few modern landscapes that work in monochrome, typically unless the shooter is trying to imitate Ansel. My theory is that it’s much, much harder to make a compelling image of nature without color – there is the tendency for the scene to look dead, rather than vibrant and alive. You also lose all of the delicate color gradients in skies and the like – which further deadens the scene. But as with all monochrome, surely we could also use these properties to imply a sense of timelessness, surreality or detachment?

Choosing gear: a webinar in collaboration with DearSusan – 3 or 4 June 2016

May 29, 2016 by Ming Thein

Regular readers will have noticed I’ve gone through a year of pain and bleeding cash whilst searching equipment-wise whilst trying to figure out the best creative and professional fit equipment-wise. After a discussion with Pascal Jappy – the founder of DearSusan – first at a Zeiss event last year and then more recently; we came to the conclusion that it might be useful to offer a little guidance for those still navigating the process (which includes Pascal, actually). Choosing the right gear is important for two reasons: you want the most suitable tool for your creative objectives and shooting style, whilst avoiding expensive experimentation and system swaps. The logic is pretty simple: the less you worry about the hardware, the more time you want to shoot and the more time you actually spend doing it – which presumably is the objective of photography for most people.

The nice but confusing thing is of course that we have choices: the same thing isn’t ideal for everybody, and no, I’m not going to say medium format is the only long term answer. 🙂 Pascal and I have come up with a framework to help objectively determine the best setup for your creative and personal needs – and will guide you through it, with live interaction in a webinar format.

There are two available dates for the webinar:

A spot in either session costs US$27. Sessions will last approximately 1-1.5 hours and the number of participants will be limited to allow maximum interaction for everybody.

Please click here to book.

Thanks and see you this week! MT

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Filed Under: Off topic Tagged With: choosing gear, dearsusan, ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, thein, webinar

Photoessay: Paradise Lost, part III

May 27, 2016 by Ming Thein

Today’s images are I think a little darker and sadder than the previous two (part I, part II) – but not quite over the edge into full-blown depression. I see it as being analogous to one of those portraits where we want to enhance the lines on the subject’s face. I can see the final presentation of this series going in waves, with grouping and pacing a mirror image to the way we have different moods depending on the day – though I feel the impact of this particular set is lost in color, and mixing the two is somewhat odd unless the presentation medium is conducive (e.g. separate gallery areas, or sections in a book – but not as a continuous scroll or all at once. The ‘break’ is required to prevent a jarring visual discontinuity. What do you think? MT

This series was shot mostly with a Hasselblad 501CM, CFV-50C digital back, 4/50 C T* and 4/150 CF T* lenses. Postprocessing follows the Monochrome Masterclass workflow.

Photoessay: Paradise Lost, part II

May 25, 2016 by Ming Thein

I’ve been continuing to work on the Paradise Lost project for some time now; at some point I will have to curate a consistent body of work to a theme and declare the thing ‘finished’, but in the meantime I’m still experimenting with the presentation. As mentioned previously, I’m treating this project as an ‘open book’ so you can see what goes into the creation of something like this. My current dilemma is a question of mood: is it a happy retirement, or a sad one, or a melancholic one? Or perhaps somewhere in between the three?

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Filed Under: On Photography Tagged With: art, ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, paradise lost, photoessay, photography, project, sigma 20 art, thein

2016 Masterclasses and Workshops

May 23, 2016 by Ming Thein

Current status: Prague (full, accepting standby bookings)

Please email me to book, or if you’d like more information 🙂

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

Prague Masterclass, September 2016 now open for booking

May 23, 2016 by Ming Thein

It’s that time of the year again. Prague seems to be one of those evergreen locations that’s always popular and perhaps the most frequently requested – so here we go 🙂 This time, it will run from 5-10 September 2016 inclusive, which I think is one of the best times of the year both climate and tourist-wise. Here’s the report from the previous Masterclass in Prague in 2015. I’ve actually only got a few places left, so if you would like to join us, please be quick…read on for the details, or send me an email to book.

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

Photoessay: Forests of the Nilgiris

May 21, 2016 by Ming Thein

Today’s post is a little sampling of the forests in the Nilgiri mountains in India – with quite a range of altitude, you get a wide range of flora from tropical to almost alpine and trees clinging to sides of steep escarpments, in places transitioning into tea plantations – complete with tigers, elephants and other wildlife to match (which also rendered large areas off limits – both for reasons of wildlife and human-life preservation). We didn’t encounter any of those, but we did spend quite a bit of time traveling through the predominantly montane forest. I of course also continued the Forest project of gigapixel-plus stitches, which I’ll probably never show digitally – the effect is completely lost. Nevertheless, I’ve always found forests to be very relaxing and tranquil places – and I hope the effect carries through on screen, even though digital media isn’t the best way of reproducing a fractal subject. What should of course carry through is the tonal palette – I’m pleased because this is about the closest I’ve gotten so far to almost full transparency, thanks to the CFV-50C. Enjoy! MT

This series was shot with a Hasselblad 501CM, CFV-50C digital back and a variety of lenses, and post processed with PS Workflow II.

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Filed Under: hasselblad, On Photography Tagged With: cfv, coonoor, forest, hasselblad, india, ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, nilgiris, ooty, photoessay, photography, thein

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

May 19, 2016 by Ming Thein

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.