ming thein – Ming Thein

Photoessay: Invisibility, revisited

January 6, 2014 by Ming Thein

Towards the end of 2013, I put forward some thoughts on the idea of photographic invisibility. I now realize that we can actually get pretty darned close to this: the concept of hiding in plain sight comes to mind. If something is commonplace, then it no longer stands out. Big cameras and lenses used to; less so now simply because of the increasing proliferation of DSLRs. Even more than that, the cameraphone is so ubiquitous that we are effectively conditioned to ignore it. So, why not harness this invisibility?

[Read more…]

Filed Under: On Photography Tagged With: camera phone, cameraphone, iphone, ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, photoessay, photography, thein

Places still available for Melbourne and London workshops

January 5, 2014 by Ming Thein

From the Prague 2013 Making Outstanding Images workshop.

A few places are left for the Melbourne and London Making Outstanding Images workshops. Please click here for more details and testimonials from previous workshops, or if you’d like to register, please send me an email.

Reports from previous workshops can be seen here – Amsterdam/ Prague, NYC/ San Francisco, Singapore, Tokyo, Hong Kong/ Macau, Kuala Lumpur one, two and three.

Filed Under: Teaching Tagged With: kuala lumpur, london, melbourne, ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, sydney, teaching, thein, Workshop, workshops

The science of teaching

January 4, 2014 by Ming Thein

I don’t have any photographs of me teaching, for obvious reasons: it’s just not physically possible without having a doppleganger, identical twin or astral projection capabilities.

I take the teaching portion of my job seriously. Very seriously, as any of my previous students will tell you. What isn’t always so obvious is the amount of thought and preparation that happens before a workshop or video. There are a lot more factors to consider than are immediately apparent – and I suspect many attempting to teach workshops don’t quite realize this until it’s too late. Unfortunately, most of the time price is not at all reflective of quality.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Articles, Off topic Tagged With: article, essay, ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, pedagogy, philosophy, photography, teaching, thein

First exhibition of 2014: Engineering Art in Metal

January 1, 2014 by Ming Thein

I’m pleased to announce that 2014 is going to get off the ground with a bang! My third solo exhibition, Engineering Art In Metal, will run from 2-31 January 2014 at The Center For Asian Photographers in Kuala Lumpur. Click on for details.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: On Photography Tagged With: 2014, engineering art in metal, exhibition, ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, thein

Goodbye, 2013; photographic resolutions for 2014

December 31, 2013 by Ming Thein

Things on a distant horizon are not as far away as they might seem; it’s all a question of perspective.

Some of you will be disappointed to learn that this post does not involve any megapixel numbers. At the end of 2012 – precisely one year ago, in fact, I published a similar post for 2013. It got a surprising amount of attention, so I’d like to both turn it into an annual tradition, as well as examine whether I was able to keep any of the promises – now that the year is over…

One day left for ‘Only The Clouds…’ + Verticality IV prints…

December 30, 2013 by Ming Thein

Only the clouds are truly free… and Verticality IV

Thank you all for the great response so far! A gentle reminder: one day left to order Only the clouds are truly free or Verticality IV; available at 24×16″ (edition of 35) and 10×15″ (edition of 50) sizes – click here for more details and to order.

The run will close on 31 December 2013, and we’ll print and ship in early January 2014.

Thanks again for the support! MT

Update: there plenty left at the smaller 10×15″ and 12×12″ sizes, but only a few of each at 16×24″ and 20×20″; I admit this is not what I expected. 🙂

Filed Under: Prints Tagged With: clouds, december 2013, magritte, ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, print run, prints, thein

FD Photoessay: Prague monochromes, part II

December 29, 2013 by Ming Thein

The second part of the monochrome photoessay from Prague was shot on film, with a Hasselblad 501C and my favourite B&W film – Fuji Acros 100. To be honest, given the tight quarters, I’d have preferred to have had something either a little wider or a little longer – preferably both – to give me some additional ability to add context, or compress (especially with buildings clinging to hills in the background). Nevertheless, we make do with what fits inside our camera bags – after making provisions for film, I didn’t have any space left for lenses!

Photoessay: Prague monochromes, part I

December 27, 2013 by Ming Thein

I actually shot very little black and white in Prague; a few hundred from the Ricoh GR, and a couple of rolls with the ‘Blad; of course they were all of varying subjects with a heavy architectural emphasis, but I did get some very satisfying street images out of my time there. Despite the very strong luminance contrast available – October at these latitudes means all-day shadows and intense sun with blue skies – I just found color to pack a little something extra in most situations. That said – this set would not have worked in color at all.

Now available: How To See: Tokyo & Street Photography!

December 26, 2013 by Ming Thein

For your holiday viewing pleasure…I’m pleased to offer up the next two instalments in the workshop video series: How To See Ep2: Tokyo, and Street Photography Ep1.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Teaching Tagged With: how to see, ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, street photography, teaching, thein, tokyo, video

Christmas humour: You know if you’re a real photographer if…

December 25, 2013 by Ming Thein

Following on from the popularity of the last stereotype post that left no single photographer un-insulted, and in an attempt to bring some comedic relief to what is otherwise a very, very serious site: enjoy today’s post. Laugh if you recognize yourself or your friends. And feel free to suggest any additions in the comments.

And last but not least, Merry Christmas, everybody – I hope Santa brought you something photographic! MT