mingthein.com – Ming Thein

Review: The Leica D-Lux 6/ Panasonic LX7

March 25, 2013 by Ming Thein

There aren’t that many choices for fully-featured, pocketable compacts at the moment; in my ongoing quest to find the ideal take-everywhere companion, I’ve probably tried most of them. Current top of the heap is the Sony RX100; I’ve also used the GR-Digital series, Fuji XF1 and Panasonic LX/ Leica D-Lux series. For whatever reason, I’ve never really bonded with the Canon S-series, so that’s never made it into my pocket; same with any of the Nikon Coolpixes, though I’m really hoping the A will change that. Whilst I loved the RX100 for its fantastic sensor, the lens arguably lets the package down: it may be fast one the wide end, but for it to keep up with the sensor in the corners, you have to stop down a bit (thereby negating this advantage) and the tele end is just plain slow.

Packing for the USA

March 23, 2013 by Ming Thein

On the road again.

One of the conundrums I always face before a trip of any sort is the question of what gear to bring. It isn’t so much of a problem if I’m on assignment, because what I need is dictated by the brief of the job, but it’s a completely different story when I’m teaching, or worse, travelling for myself. I suppose it’s a problem faced by anybody who’s got more than one complete set of gear. There was a time when I used to simply take every (or nearly every) lens I owned – whilst this would ensure that you’d never miss an opportunity, it’s also a great way to rack up chiropractor bills and ensure that you really don’t enjoy your trip. Lugging everything from place to place becomes a chore, and taking photographs turns into a burden rather than a joy.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Gearhead: Reviews, On Assignment Tagged With: bag, equipment, gear, ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, packing, thein, usa tour

Film diaries: Postcards from Fukuoka, and thoughts on Fuji Acros 100

March 21, 2013 by Ming Thein

On the last day of my recent trip to Fukuoka, I somehow managed to run out of film. The entire brick and both magazines of Delta 100 were depleted in a couple of hours; I was lucky enough to have magical light and the inspiration to shoot, so making the most of it, shoot I did. Let me tell you I wish they still made 220…12 frames for street work means reloading at least every half an hour or less if you’re in the thick of things.

Sony and Olympus: what does it mean?

March 19, 2013 by Ming Thein

Following the accounting scandal that saw former CEO Michael Woodford ousted, Olympus’ coffers were looking decidedly empty; at that point, many potential suitors were rumoured. It turned out that Sony was the one whose offer was accepted. In a share transfer and cash deal – completed about a month ago – Sony pumped US$645 million into the company, to hold a total of 11.5%. What’s more interesting is that on most of the major business sites, this wasn’t reported as a transaction to invest in the cameramaker; rather, Olympus was frequently referred to as a ‘world leader in medical imaging’.

Although photographers know and love Olympus as the manufacturer of various quirky cameras and small systems, the truth is that margins in the medical industry – anything with ‘surgical’ or ‘medical’ in its name means an extra couple of zeroes on the end of the price tag – are much, much higher than the camera business. Like Nikon, it’s been making a good chunk of its income from something other than cameras for a long time. (I don’t know how much it makes from dictaphones these days, though.)

I’m going to take off my photographer hat now and wear my analyst/ M&A/ consultant one, for a bit of change of pace. Let’s put the pieces together.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Off topic Tagged With: article, essay, industry, ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, olympus, opinion, sony, thein, thoughts

One week to go – a couple of places left for USA 2013 workshops

March 18, 2013 by Ming Thein

Swallowed by the city. Tokyo, October 2012.

Departure day is drawing near, and I’m getting excited – both to finally return to the USA as a serious photographer – the last time I was there was pre-photography for me – but to meet so many of you in person!

The Outstanding Images Tour

San Francisco
By popular demand, I’m going to doing two sessions:
Session 1: Thursday 28 to Saturday 30 March 2013 (one place)
Session 2: Monday 1 to Wednesday 3 April 2013 (a couple of places due to reshuffled dates)

New York City
~~Friday 5 to Sunday 7 April 2013 (full)~~
New date by popular demand: Monday 8 to Wednesday 10 April 2013 (a couple of places)

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Teaching Tagged With: 2013, ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, thein, usa, Workshop

Review: The Panasonic Lumix GH3

March 17, 2013 by Ming Thein

I was recently loaned this camera for testing by one of my students. Due to some oddities in the distribution channel, it was first available in the US around the start of the year, and now appears to be largely out of stock or back-ordered everywhere. It still isn’t widely available in Asia. The test unit in question was loaned to me by a student, together with the 14-140 lens – available as a kit in some parts of the world.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Gearhead: Reviews Tagged With: gh3, micro four thirds, ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, panasonic gh3, review, thein

Photoessay: The streets of Yangon, part two: the city

March 15, 2013 by Ming Thein

In a continuation from the previous photoessay, part two covers a few vignettes of the various urban scenes I encountered in Yangon – again captured with the Ricoh GR1v on Ilford Delta 100, and scanned with the Nikon D800E and 60/2.8 G. Enjoy! MT

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Film Diaries, On Photography Tagged With: available light, burma, film, gr1v, ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, myanmar, photography, rangoon, ricoh, thein, travel, yangon

Feast, famine and creativity

March 13, 2013 by Ming Thein

On reflection. Hasselblad 501C, 50/4 CF FLE

I’ve noticed that my periods of creative productivity tend to come and go in cycles. I’m going to use as a gauge the number of folders of portfolio grade images I produced in a year. It’s a reasonably proxy given that my ‘hit rate’ has remained relatively consistent – about 1/5 to 1/10th of the images that survive the multiple editing cuts and make it through post processing, and that I keep folders to approximately 40 images so as to be able to find things easily (the number must be some psychological holdover from the earlier film days to do with the length of a roll).

2002 – I didn’t know what a portfolio was and was just pleased to have images vaguely resembling the things I saw at the time of capture
2003 – I knew what a portfolio was, but didn’t think any of my images qualified
2004 – 13
2005 – 21
2006 – 21
2007 – 31 – a peak year for camera testing during my editorship of CLICK! – I had to get out and shoot
2008 – 20
2009 – 26
2010 – 22 – a very, very busy year at work
2011 – 29
2012 – 30
2013 – 6, (and it’s only early Feb; if I keep going at this rate, I’m looking at a whopping 52 this year)

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Articles, On Photography Tagged With: article, creativity, essay, famine, feast, ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, opinion, philosophy, photography, thein

Photoessay: The streets of Yangon, part one: people

March 11, 2013 by Ming Thein

For all of the camera-shy people in Yangon, there were plenty of others who were quite happy to be photographed, or were more amused to see me use a little black buzzy point and shoot that clearly still wound film instead of showed something on the back of a screen. I didn’t mind, because the GR1v is a superior photographic tool for this kind of thing – leave it in P, frame up, check the focus distance – or use snap hyperfocal mode – and off you go. Shot on Ilford Delta 100, processed in DDX and scanned with a Nikon D800E and macro lens. Enjoy! MT

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Film Diaries, On Photography Tagged With: available light, burma, film, gr1v, ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, myanmar, photography, rangoon, ricoh, thein, travel, yangon

Decisions for the site going forward

March 9, 2013 by Ming Thein

A rebirth of sorts; an excuse to post a cliche if there ever was one. (Actually: sunrise over Nanga Parbat, the Himalayas)

First of all, I want to say an enormous thank you to everybody who wrote in or left a comment after the last article on commercial realities – I’ve been overwhelmed by the time people have taken to chip in their thoughts, often very sensible advice. I’m also touched by the number of people who value what I do here. The community of readers who’ve turned into friends is something that I do value very much now; I do feel I have a duty – I don’t want to use the onerous term ‘obligation’ – to keeping that ecosystem healthy and alive. It’s one of the reasons I don’t simply shut down and go back to commercial work, and that I’m seeking the opinions of the people who are the reason why I do this.

Let me share some observations with you. The overwhelming majority are okay with ads, though are concerned that the revenue might be too low – probably, but it’s the least intrusive and costly method for now. A surprising proportion are okay with subscriptions, though there has to be some sort of hybrid model; this may be an option in the longer term if the interim measures still prove unsustainable. I’d still like to keep the community open and the content free, though.

There’s been a surprising interest in print sales and patronage. This is odd, because there was little response to the first couple of print offers I did – we’ll try again soon and see what happens. I’m quite happy doing this as it also lets me feel that you’re getting something extra in return for your support.

[Read more…]