mingthein.com – Ming Thein

Photoessay: Borneo seascapes

September 9, 2013 by Ming Thein

Following on from the previous post on my recent acquisition of a medium format digital system, I thought it’d be appropriate to share some of the results from the first serious shoot I used it for a little while back. I found that the system was much more sensitive to camera shake than expected; mirror lockup was an absolute necessity, though the Gitzo GT1542 carbon traveller and Arca-Swiss P0 head both performed very well and offered more than sufficient rigidity. (In hindsight, I should probably have bought the cup feet for the tripod to prevent it sinking into the mud though.) Though you can’t see it at this size, the frames with mirror lockup are distinctly crisper at the pixel level than those without.

How I landed up going medium format digital…

September 7, 2013 by Ming Thein

Earlier in the year, many of you saw me post the image of the Hasselblad 501CM hanging off a tripod at 90 degrees near the surf line. Several asked why on earth would I need to turn a square format camera sideways; apart from the obvious answer of ‘to shoot vertically!’ there’s definitely more than meets the eye. Firstly, Hasselblad did actually produce an A16 645 format magazine for the V-series bodies; they’re relatively rare nowadays and must obviously be used with the correct focusing screen to ensure accurate composition. In addition to being better suited to the typical print rectangles, you also get 33% more images per roll of 120 (16 instead of 12, as the name suggests). I was using something a little more exotic; though like the A16, it isn’t rotatable and so requires you to turn the camera through 90 to shoot verticals. It’s not very convenient, to say the least.

Maybank Photo Awards 2013: a few tips for competition entrants…

September 5, 2013 by Ming Thein

MPA2013-2

Come to think of it, this post should really be titled “Tips for entering photography competitions”. As a judge, I’ve frequently been asked what we look for when assessing images; beyond that, how can you increase your chances of winning? Today’s post will talk a bit about both the mechanics behind the scenes, as well as a little strategy.

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Filed Under: Off topic Tagged With: competitions, maybank photo awards 2013, ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, MPA 2013, thein, tips

Photoessay: New York City street colour

September 3, 2013 by Ming Thein

Today’s photoessay is a set of images shot with the Nikon Coolpix A on the streets of New York City during my earlier workshop trip this year. NYC on a blue sky spring day is seriously difficult to beat. Not much to add, other than enjoy! MT

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If you’d like to learn how to make images like this, you’ll be pleased to know that one last seat has opened up for the Prague workshop (2-5 Oct) due to a participant’s conflicting work commitments. Now available at the special price of $1,900 instead of $2,150!For full details and to make a booking, click here. Thanks! MT

Tilt shift world cup: Korea vs. Japan: Rokinon/Samyang 24/3.5 T-S vs Nikon PCE 24/3.5

September 1, 2013 by Ming Thein

In the left corner: the Rokinon (a.k.a ‘Samyang’, in some parts of the world) T-S 3.5/24 ED AS UMC, from Korea. In the right corner: the Nikon PC-E 24/3.5 ED. One weighs in at a hair under $2,000, the other, closer to $850. I have to be honest, the Samyang has only come onto my radar because of the enormous difference in price – I admit curiosity as to what we’re really giving up for the delta. The only real uses for these lenses – other than bragging rights – are to shoot architecture; Putrajaya’s Putra Mosque plays host to us for this testing session.

Technical notes: During this test, I shot both lenses from the same tripod position with the same settings on the barrels – distance, tilt, shift, aperture. Nevertheless, there are still some slight differences, which I think are a combination of sample variation and lack of precision in the focusing scales of both lenses; infinity to 1m are barely five millimeters apart on the barrel – about seven degrees of travel, by my reckoning. Live view was used to match subject sharpness as closely as possible. Testing was done on a D800E body, at base ISO with self timer used at all times, on a locked down solid tripod – a Gitzo 5-series carbon systematic and Arca-Swiss Cube head. Whole-shot sample images were shot using the Nikon; in the A-B comparisons, the Rokinon is always the warmer image.

A gentle reminder: last day for the introductory video offer…

August 31, 2013 by Ming Thein

Firstly, a huge thank you to everybody who’s purchased the two new workshop videos:
Ming Thein on Photography: The Fundamentals and
Making Outstanding Images, Episode One

I’m pleased to announce that we will definitely be continuing the series. Episodes two and three are in production now, along with ‘Learning to See: visualizing Kuala Lumpur’.

But, before we get that far – please note that today will be the last day for the introductory $100 offer for both videos (instead of $120) – after today, prices will return to normal. The offer ends once all the time zones clear midnight on the 1st of September. More details on the videos, including testimonials, are here.

UPDATE: It’s now 1 September everywhere, so the offer has now ended. Thank you for the support, and enjoy your videos! MT

Please note that due to special requests and PayPal/ correspondence email addresses differing, the download links are sent manually. I make every effort to send out your download link as soon as possible, but due to time differences there may be a delay of a few hours. Thanks for understanding!

Filed Under: Teaching Tagged With: august workshop video offer, ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, teaching, thein, video, workshop videos

Workers of heavy metal – a combined On Assignment Film Diaries Photoessay, part two

August 30, 2013 by Ming Thein

The second portion of this photoessay concludes (part one is here) with a plenty of images and couple of final thoughts: firstly, another huge thank you to the client for giving me this opportunity – he’s a reader of this site too – very rarely do professional and personal creative goals mesh with such rewarding results. Secondly, I think there are a couple of things I need to look for in future assignments: it’s a bit abstract, but basically one needs to have a subject with potential and a client who’ll trust you enough to let you run with it – without either, the ensuing images will always be a compromise. MT

Workers of heavy metal – a combined On Assignment Film Diaries Photoessay, part one

August 28, 2013 by Ming Thein

The welder.

If ever I had a dream assignment, this has got to have been one of them. (And the job isn’t quite finished yet; there are a few other outstanding items that need to be taken care of.) Imagine being presented with a scene of near-infinite photographic opportunity by a client who says ‘I hired you because I like your work, and I don’t want to restrict your artistic vision – so go ahead and shoot as you see fit.’ Then throw in the ability to shoot with the system(s) of your choice – including film – and a couple of good lunches to boot. And a chauffeured 7-series to and from the location. I swear a) I’m not joking, and b) this doesn’t happen often, but hey: if it did, we certainly wouldn’t be able to appreciate it.

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Don’t underestimate the final display medium

August 26, 2013 by Ming Thein

This image doesn’t work small: there’s far too much detail going on to appreciate at just 800 pixels high.

Here’s a question for all photographers: how many of you have considered the intended viewing method for an image at any point before final output? No need to answer this to anybody other than yourself. That said, I’m willing to bet that the number is very small indeed. In my recent article on pushing clarity and transparency in a photograph and the intense discussion that ensued, the one thing that stuck in my mind was how we (collectively) undervalue the output medium.

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Filed Under: Articles, On Photography Tagged With: article, display medium, essay, ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, output, photography, printing, thein

One slot opened for the Prague workshop…

August 25, 2013 by Ming Thein

Prague – 2-5 October: one four-day seat left at a special price of $1,900 instead of $2,150! You can of course take any combination of days you wish, too.

A place has opened up due to a participant’s work commitments conflicting…if you were on the fence before, hopefully this will give you an incentive!

The syllabus will still follow the core fundamentals from the USA tour: throw everything you thought you knew about photography out the window, and start again. All you need is a camera and a couple of perspectives – one wide, one tele. It could be either end of a zoom on a compact, or it could be medium format and a couple of primes – it’s up to you. What I’ll be teaching is subject independent: make great images, any time, with any subject, any camera. Put it this way: it’s easy to spend thousands on equipment that you may use a handful of times a year, but what about the knowledge that lets you make the most of that equipment, in any situation?

The Singapore and USA workshop reports are here and here respectively.

For full details and to make a booking, click here. Thanks! MT