photoessay – Ming Thein

Photoessay: Landscapes with the Leica M-Monochrom

May 28, 2012 by Ming Thein

Sadly the M-Monochrom had to go home on Wednesday, but I did get a chance to make another quick set of images with it. Landscapes with the MM are slightly tricky, as the subtle tonal variations that normally make a nice landscape don’t work in luminance-only B&W. Instead, you have to force yourself to look for those extremely contrasty scenes which you’d probably normally be avoiding with a color camera and conversion.

I also want to address one of the major criticisms I saw on my earlier review regarding lack of mid-gray tonal variation: given limited time to shoot and lots of rain, I only managed to get the camera out around midday – which in the tropics, means extremely harsh light. This is of course the enemy of nice mid tones; there’s only so much you can do here under these conditions. Furthermore, web compression is not doing the images any favors – the subtle differences are being crushed into those 8×8 pixel JPEG blocks. The files do look a LOT better at full size, uncompressed on a good monitor. I suspect they will print even better still, but I haven’t had time to do this yet.

Now here’s a thought: Why doesn’t Leica do an X2 Monochrom for people who want B&W-only resolution, tonality and acuity, but would also like AF and a more compact package? MT

This set shot with the Leica M-Monochrom, 50/2 APO and Zeiss 28/2.8.

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Filed Under: Leica, On Photography Tagged With: landscape, leica, m-monochrom, ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, mm, photo, photoessay, thein

Photoessay: Workers, in the style of Sebastiao Salgado

May 26, 2012 by Ming Thein

This is a continuation from an earlier post with one image. The back story is not quite what you’d expect: I was killing time at a culinary academy in Singapore while waiting for one of my classes to start (I was teaching food photography, not cooking, though at some point I’d love to attend a proper cooking course, however, I digress) and happened to notice a building site out of the window. The 6th floor was a great vantage point to get far enough away to see the entire scene, but not so far that you’d miss out the details. Add in that wonderful directional light that comes immediately after rain when clouds just clear and the sun starts poking out (plus the textures and wet reflections) and the light was utterly gorgeous. Colors were still muted, and this was one of those occasions that just screamed ‘B&W’. Just another example of one of those times when you don’t plan to shoot, but somehow an opportunity presents itself – enjoy the results for yourself. On an unrelated note, I’m really loving the square format, too. Or maybe I’m just lazy to turn the little camera sideways. MT

This series shot with a Leica D-Lux 5 Titanium.

Filed Under: On Photography Tagged With: blackandwhite, compact, construction, d-lux 5, d-lux 5 titanium, leica, ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, photoessay, photojournalism, reportage, salgado, singapore, thein, workers

Photoessay: This little piggy

May 20, 2012 by Ming Thein

At Chinese weddings all over the world, the groom traditionally has to bring an offering of a roast suckling pig to the house of his bride-to-be on the morning of the tea ceremony, after which the couple is considered officially married by the community. I recently attended the wedding of one of my cousins – how could one not bring a camera (or two)?

This series shot with a Nikon D700, D3x, 24/1.4 G and 85/1.4 G lenses. You’re probably wondering why I didn’t use the D800; I didn’t have an AF solution at this point, and it isn’t really suited to being a photojournalism camera. The D3x had the 24/1.4 on it and the 85 was on the D700. MT

Filed Under: On Photography Tagged With: chinese, food, ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, nikon, photoessay, roast port, thein, tradition

Photoessay: A study of wave action

May 18, 2012 by Ming Thein

Some experiments into how the same subject can be simultaneously not the same. A bit of contemplative photography while on vacation. Or perhaps I just like water and waves for the same reasons I like clouds. Sometimes, we don’t need to think too much about it – just shoot. I need to go on holiday more often; but then again, don’t we all? MT

This series shot with an Olympus E-PM1 Pen Mini at Tanjung Jara, on the east coast of peninsular Malaysia.

Filed Under: On Photography Tagged With: beach, compact, landscape, micro 4/3, micro four thirds, ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, ocean, olympus, pen mini, photo, photoessay, photography, sea, seascape, thein

Photoessay: The Speake-Marin Immortal Dragon

May 16, 2012 by Ming Thein

One of the more unusual watches I’ve photographed, the Immortal Dragon is both immaculately finished on the dial and the movement – the watch has both serious horological pedigree (being from the atelier of highly respected independent watchmaker Peter Speake-Marin and some pretty unique aesthetics. The dial was hand-engraved in relief by master engraver Kees Engelberts, and the watch is a piece unique destined for the Asian market in honor of the current lunar year of the dragon. MT

This series shot with a Nikon D700, AFS 60/2.8 G Micro, and Zeiss ZM 2.8/28 Biogon with Leica M-F adaptor and multiple speedlights.

Filed Under: On Photography, Watches/ Horology Tagged With: horology, macro, ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, photo, photoessay, photography, speake-marin, thein, watch, wristwatch

Photoessay: The Charles Bridge, Prague

May 12, 2012 by Ming Thein

The Charles Bridge – or Karlov Most in Czech – is one of Prague’s great landmarks. Spanning the River Vltava, it was constructed in the 14th century to connect Prague Castle with the old town. Until 1841, it was the only way to get from one side of the city to the other. It is a majestic 510m long, supported by sixteen stone arches and guarded by two towers on either side. The bridge has borne witness to both countless historical events and natural disasters; being severely damaged during several of these and most recently repaired following major floods in 2002. The span itself is decorated by numerous statues, under whose auspices various tradespeople ply their wares during the day.

From a photographic point of view, it’s an interesting place to observe life – both locals and tourists – and a picturesque backdrop to practice street photography or photojournalism, or even a little architecture if the fancy takes you. MT

This series shot with a Leica M9-P, 28/2.8 ASPH, 50/1.4 ASPH and Olympus E-PM1 Pen Mini and 45/1.8 ZD lenses.

Not technically of the bridge, but you can see its lookout towers in the background.

Filed Under: On Photography Tagged With: bridge, leica, leica m, m9, micro four thirds, ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, olympus, photo, photoessay, photography, prague, thein

Photoessay: Seascapes

May 10, 2012 by Ming Thein

Inspired by Hiroshi Sugimoto. The South China Sea, off the east coast of Malaysia at Tanjung Jara.

This series shot with an Olympus E-PM1 Pen Mini and the 14-42 kit lens.

Photoessay: Reflections in glass

May 4, 2012 by Ming Thein

This building is one of the more interesting in downtown Kuala Lumpur – mainly because of its highly reflective mirrored glass surface that causes its character to change with the light; it blends into its surrounding environment by reflecting it, yet stands out because it doesn’t look anything like the surrounding windowless concrete shopping plazas. Coincidentally, it also contains the offices of Leica Malaysia. MT

Series shot with a Leica M9-P and Olympus Pen Mini E-PM1.

Filed Under: Leica, On Photography Tagged With: amoda, architecture, e-pm1, kuala lumpur, leica, malaysia, micro four thirds, ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, olympus, pen mini, photo, photoessay, photography, thein

An open invitation to my exhibition of watch photos sponsored by Jaeger Le-Coultre and Leica

May 2, 2012 by Ming Thein

If you’ve got some free time and are in Kuala Lumpur, please drop by to have a look. The exhibition is on the Adorn Floor of Starhill Gallery, Bukit Bintang – where all of the watch boutiques are located. It’s scheduled to run for the month of may but there may be some changes to venue after the first week. I’ll update accordingly here.

More details on how the images were shot here and here.

I’ll also be hosting a small gathering for readers who’d like to come and have a guided tour of the exhibition; we can go grab coffee afterwards and shoot the breeze about anything photographic. This will take place at 10.30am on Saturday 5th May; we’ll meet across the road by the fountain at Pavilion. Would be great if you could leave a comment if you want to come, so I know who to expect. If you can’t make it, drop me an email and I’ll try to meet you there another time. Thanks! MT

Filed Under: Leica, On Photography Tagged With: exhibition, kuala lumpur, leica, ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, photo, photoessay, photography, thein

Photoessay: Greenwich Park

May 2, 2012 by Ming Thein

One of London’s great open green spaces, home to the Maritime Museum (formerly Naval Headquarters), the Royal Observatory, and of course the Prime Meridian – or GMT-0 line. You could theoretically be in two timezones at once here, but curiously the whole of England is still on GMT. More interestingly for the horologically inclined, the observatory houses Harrison’s pioneering marine chronometers – the H-series clocks that made accurate navigation possible at sea through the calculation of longitude. And they still work. The park itself is just a nice place to spend a winter afternoon. MT

Series shot with a Ricoh GR-Digital III