photography – Ming Thein

Photoessay: Motorcycle life, Hanoi

November 5, 2015 by Ming Thein

Motorcycles are a core part of Vietnamese life – transport, lounge, freedom, place of work, revenue generator – to name just a few functions. It is impossible to go anywhere in Hanoi without having to avoid one, or them avoid you. They are both subject and context and ubiquitous foreground. It amazes me every time that there aren’t more road traffic accidents (but then again, they don’t move that fast) and that anybody can find their bike in the massive ranks after leaving it there for more than a few hours – the ‘backspace’ might well change quite markedly after that time as people depart and arrive.

But that does bring us back to the core function of the bike: to serve the people. It was once postulated that if aliens came from another planet and observed earth, they might well assume cars to be the intelligent life form and us merely parasites – the same is true for motorcycles. We must therefore also not forget whom they are meant to serve…

This series was shot with a Canon 5DSR and Zeiss 1.4/85 Otus or an Olympus E-M5 II and Zeiss 1.4/35 Distagon ZM. [Read more…]

Filed Under: On Photography Tagged With: bike, cinematic, hanoi, ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, motorbike, motorcycle, photoessay, photography, thein, vietnam, zeiss, zeiss otus

Close, but no cigar: how to design mirrorless right

November 3, 2015 by Ming Thein

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Too large/expensive; too slow and unresponsive, power hungry; no finder or IS

_1000207 copy _4D08961 copy _G004935 copy
Limited sensor resolution; overambitious image quality and fragile feel; too many steps to get shooting

_8058455 copy _2M00250 copy IMG_6800b copy
Fixed lens; great UI with terrible ergonomics; classical controls don’t work for digital, sensor limits

IMG_6957b copy _8B25854 copy _8038907 copy
Ergonomic and workflow challenges; IQ limitations from sensor size; needed two years to fix FW

And this is barely half of the mirrorless cameras I’ve used and reviewed on this site in the last couple of years. I still have not found a complete replacement for the DSLR, and I suspect there are many other photographers in the same situation. It isn’t for want of trying or stubbornness; it’s because the product simply does not exist. We’re not asking for the unicorn here, either: there are ergonomic/UI/UX/engineering solutions that have already been implemented and received well in other cameras – just not in the same one. And to clarify (since judging by email and comments, many are missing the point): this post is not to complain mirrorless isn’t a DSLR. It’s recognising that mirrorless is the future for so many reasons – but we are still suffering from stupid design that has already been solved. All of these problems beg the question: just how difficult is it to get it right?

Important: Read this first.

Photoessay: everyday abstraction

November 1, 2015 by Ming Thein

The cloud slicer

We frequently encounter everyday objects or miniature tableaux of objects that hold our attention for their texture, whimsy or simply pleasing nature; how often do we attempt to photograph and capture these? Personally, that answer is not really often enough, so I’ve been consciously going about attempting to do so whenever the opportunity presents itself, with whatever hardware I happen to have to hand at the time. The challenging part isn’t so much capturing the visually interesting bits: it’s excluding the ugly, discordant, incoherent surroundings that distract too much rather than provide contrast and context. Personally, I feel the resulting images actually work best with no context; that way we are able to enjoy them serendipitously without other considerations intruding and ruining the illusion of perfection. This is pure photography – a reduction of the world to nothing more than light, color and form, and a development on the ideas in this article. Enjoy! MT

Images from this series were processed with PS Workflow II.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: On Photography Tagged With: abstract, abstraction, art, graphic, ming, mingthein.com, photoessay, photography, thein

The emperor’s new clothes

October 30, 2015 by Ming Thein

Illusion and infinite possibility – from The Idea of Man project

Newer isn’t always better.
More isn’t always better.
Limitations can be creatively liberating.
Equipment isn’t the solution to 99% of problems.
The sense of entitlement and lack of objectivity is deafening.

Does any of this sound familiar?

Photoessay: Shells of glass

October 24, 2015 by Ming Thein

The world is acquiring a sort of homogeneity. I see it when I travel, I see it in the city changing around me. But curiously the little things that used to give a place character – the things that sat silently in the background, like a style of roofing or a type of tile or even brickwork – are slowly giving way to these soulless edifices of concrete and glass. They are the pinnacle of big corporate anonymity: nobody knows what goes on inside, nobody knows who the real owners or the real powers that be are, and the organisation has no personable name or face. Much like the buildings they inhabit: they take on a chameleon-like character and merely reflect the world around them but offer no soul of their own. What goes on within is kept secret behind a mirror. Layers are hidden inside other layers with yet more layers within. Welcome to the fragile brave new world; it’s like walking on shells of glass. MT

This series was shot with various assorted hardware in several cities – from a Canon 5DSR to a D810 and Zeiss Otuses to an iPhone, but all processed with Photoshop Workflow II. [Read more…]

Filed Under: On Photography Tagged With: abstract, abstracts, architecture, building, glass, ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, photoessay, photography, reflection, reflections, shells, thein

Photoessay: Monochromes from Luzern

October 14, 2015 by Ming Thein

Escaping boxes

Today I present a small selection of black and white images from a lazy afternoon in Luzern, Switzerland – there was definitely a feeling of summer malaise amongst both visitors and tourists, and even the hardware felt like it was taking a day off. All in all, not a bad way to decompress after an assignment. I went out with a very lightweight kit (especially after said previous assignment) of just the 5DSR, 40 STM and Leica Q; landed up reading a book by the lake in the company of a rather good Hoyo Des Dieux and actually relaxing a bit for a change. Despite that, if you’re a photographer in a foreign city, there’s simply no way you’re not going to take photographs of any sort even if you need a breather from taking photographs – such is the nature of obsession I guess. Enjoy! MT This series was shot with a Canon 5DSR, 40 STM, Leica Q 116 and processed with the Monochrome Masterclass ‘balanced’ workflow. [Read more…]

Filed Under: On Photography Tagged With: black and white, lucerne, luzern, ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, monochrome, photoessay, photography, switzerland, thein

The Idea of Man, a virtual exhibition

October 8, 2015 by Ming Thein

Welcome to The Idea of Man – a virtual exhibition, for all of you who are unable to visit the physical one at The Rangefinder Gallery in Chicago. It runs until 31 October 2015. I owe Dan Tamarkin of Tamarkin Camera a massive round of thanks for putting it all together and sharing his space – please drop by while it’s still up.

Here we go.

Note: for the benefit of those who prefer no captions, I’ve left them in only if you click through to the images on flickr. The narrative however, is important.

Photoessay: Tokyo architecture mono, mid 2015

October 6, 2015 by Ming Thein

To infinity

Today’s photoessay is a very limited architectural snapshot from Tokyo. I’m there roughly once a year, but the place changes so often that there’s always something new (and usually unrecognisable) from visit to visit. That is of course a very good reason to go back. This set is in monochrome I suppose as sort of contrarian approach to something constantly changing – monochrome still life or landscape tends to invoke something timeless rather than temporal; perhaps change is timeless. MT

This set was shot with a Nikon D810 and D750 and processed with techniques covered in the Monochrome Masterclass and PS Workflow II videos.you can also travel vicariously to Japan with How To See Ep.2: Tokyo.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: On Photography Tagged With: architecture, japan, ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, photoessay, photography, thein, tokyo

Photoessay: Hong Kong Urbanscapes II

October 2, 2015 by Ming Thein

Rebirth

Following on from the previous photoessay, I’d like to present part two as a counterpoint – both visual and metaphorical. Whereas the previous photoessay was semi-decay and urban wear and tear, this series of images is the shiny, soulless face of modernity. We are still devoid of humans because the environment has almost become inhumanly clinical, yet somehow there remains a sort of stark beauty in what is left behind. Enjoy the idealised utopia!

This series was shot with a Leica Q and processed with Photoshop Workflow II.

Flying as a photographer, redux

September 30, 2015 by Ming Thein

I spend a lot of time on airplanes. Probably too much; even more than when I was a Powerpoint monkey. And in that time, I think I’ve collected enough wisdom and experience that some of you in the audience might find it useful – especially if it isn’t your day job, travelling to shoot is a rare luxury. The last thing you want to have are either nasty surprises with airlines or the anxiety of missed opportunities…so here are a few useful tips.