Ming Thein | Photographer

Almost out of birthday vouchers…

July 23, 2014 by Ming Thein

Excerpt from Making Outstanding Images Ep.4 & 5: Exploring and Processing for style. More trailers are available here

We’re nearly out of vouchers for the birthday special – it looks like we’ll have to close the offer in a few hours if things continue at this rate, so please act fast if you’re sitting on the fence. Thank you all for the great response so far! Use the voucher MINGBIRTHDAY at the checkout to get $20 off any video or bundle. No limit on the number per person, but the total number of vouchers is limited. All gone! Thank you everybody!

I’ve currently got one spot each left for the popular San Francisco Masterclass and Chicago Making Outstanding Images workshops in September due to one participant’s work schedule – won’t last for long though, I’m sure!

Thank you all for your support! MT

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Teaching Tagged With: birthday, gift, ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, teaching, thein, video, voucher, Workshop

Too little, too late – or, rebirth?

July 23, 2014 by Ming Thein

CFV-50c, image courtesy Hasselblad.

It’s no secret that Hasselblad has been in much financial trouble lately. And it’s also no secret that the company appears to have lost its direction following a large number of private equity CEOs, who frankly, appear not to understand the photography market at all. So it was with some surprise that I opened my email getting off the plane home from London to find that not only had they made an interesting product, but one that hinted at a return to common sense and a somewhat brighter future, too.

Photoessay: People and cars, Havana

July 21, 2014 by Ming Thein

1957

In the modern age, the car is a machine, a tool, something utilitarian. Features are added to meet regulations or to make you spend your money on something slightly better than what you had, or so Brand A can win a spec sheet comparison against Brand B. There’s very, very little soul; whatever little there is has to be engineered in. I don’t think this is the case with cars that are 50, 60, even 70+ years old; even if they had no soul to begin with, over the years they’ve certainly acquired patina, and with it, a history.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: On Photography Tagged With: cars, cuba, havana, ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, people, photoessay, thein

Conscious exclusion

July 19, 2014 by Ming Thein

Including everything: too much to focus on just the stairs. But since the objective was to show the mess/ busyness, it’s just enough. Think carefully: what do you need?

We almost always discuss composition and framing in terms of putting things in to the frame: on further contemplation, I don’t think that’s correct or accurate at all. The act of composition is in fact the complete opposite. And embracing that can lead to some surprising shifts and improvements in one’s compositions.

It’s my birthday, so I’m giving you all a little gift…

July 17, 2014 by Ming Thein

Excerpt from Making Outstanding Images Ep.4 & 5: Exploring and Processing for style. More trailers are available here

Greetings from London – I’m currently in the middle of the Making Outstanding Images London workshop, but it’s my birthday so I’d like to celebrate by giving you all a little gift – a thank you for your support over the last couple of years. For the next week, using the voucher code MINGBIRTHDAY for $20 off any video or bundle on the teaching store. There’s no limit on the number of vouchers per person – use as many as you like in combination with whichever videos you wish – but the total number of vouchers is limited. First-come, first-served and valid for one week until 23.59 KL time (GMT+8) on the 25th of July 2014 – or the vouchers run out, whichever comes first. So if there are any videos you’ve been curious about, or need to complete your set, now’s the time 🙂

And as a gentle reminder, I’ve currently got one spot left for the popular San Francisco Masterclass in September due to one participant’s work schedule – won’t last for long though, I’m sure!

Thank you all for your support! MT

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Teaching Tagged With: birthday, gift, ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, teaching, thein, video, voucher, Workshop

The Pentax 645Z review, part III: SDM lenses and long exposures

July 15, 2014 by Ming Thein

Exif data is intact for all files – click through to flickr to view it, and larger versions of the images.

Having a bit more time with the relatively new Pentax 645Z under my belt has given me the opportunity to try a couple of things I’ve been curious about: long exposures, and a more thorough evaluation of the three SDM lenses currently available for the 645 system. The former is probably only of interest to landscapists, architectural photographers and people who have severe allergies to controlled lighting, but I feel the latter is probably a critically important topic in itself. Let’s start there.

Film diaries: why we shoot film and digital differently

July 13, 2014 by Ming Thein

Irrespective of format and camera, there’s definitely a difference in the way we shoot film vs digital: a lot of comments from an earlier article examining the economics of shooting both media to a similar output standard suggested that this is the same for a lot of other photographers, too. We may not feel qualitatively that there’s much of a difference, but the higher keeper rate suggests the complete opposite. I think I have figured out why this is the case – at least for me – and beyond that, what we can take away from the process to improve our images – independent of the medium.

From stills to motion: my experience

July 11, 2014 by Ming Thein

I could get used to this.

A few weeks ago, I made my little directorial debut in the form of a TV commercial for Nissan. Unusually for this industry, there was no agency involved; I developed the board with the client and we dealt directly. I suppose that’s also how I landed up being director. The dust has settled, the post-shoot euphoric rush has somewhat calmed down, and I’m now able to put some coherent thoughts together on the whole experience and what it means for my career in the long term.

Photoessay: Melbourne street color

July 9, 2014 by Ming Thein

A self portrait in layers

I’ve unquestionably been heavily influenced by Saul Leiter of late, and more specifically his treatment of color and use of foregrounds/ reflections to create abstraction. Combine that with my normal cinematic approach to color and the somewhat more ‘controlled’ shooting mindset that working with the Otus forces results in a rather interesting set of images. Even if not all of them were shot with the Otus – I used the GR for the balance – the way I’m shooting remains the same. My ongoing studies of the abstraction of man take a step back: here, I think I needed stronger human subjects to make the compositions work. Enjoy! MT

[Read more…]

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

OT: Of cars and cameras

July 7, 2014 by Ming Thein

Race girl

In many ways, the two industries are frighteningly similar: technologically complex, requiring huge capital investment for relatively small margins, enormous marketing machines, some semblance of ‘celebrity’ endorsement, and ever shrinking improvements just waiting for whatever technology is just over the bend (hybrids, Foveon sensors, etc.). Perception over substance rules, too. And there’s a lot of crossover between the enthusiasts of both – I have a huge number of students who are also petrolheads. But there are enough differences that one could learn from the other, I think…

[Read more…]