prague – Ming Thein | Photographer

Photoessay: Shadows and details

January 15, 2017 by Ming Thein

Texture is shadows, and shadows are texture: at the micro level, surface irregularities are thrown into relief and colors are intensified. This latter effect is an interesting property of raked lighting: since the pits in the surface structure of an object are in shadow, the overall reflected luminosity is lower. However, there are also small portions that appear brighter because some light may reflect off surfaces at precisely the right angle. End result: microcontrast is higher, colors are deeper/richer and textures are made to appear more real (if such a thing is possible). I love old buildings like these because they are perfect subjects for this kind of light: some surfaces are rendered smooth by centuries of paint; others by centuries of wear; and still others show the marks of etching of pollution etc. It’s an interesting study in color, form and texture…MT

This series was shot with a Hasselblad H5D-50C, and H6D-50c, various lenses and post processed with Photoshop and Lightroom Workflow III.

Photoessay: Inconsequentiality, part I

January 7, 2017 by Ming Thein

I had an odd feeling walking around Prague on this last trip – something that was not there the first time I visited in 2011, nor subsequently. Perhaps it was the sheer number of tourists; perhaps it was the lack of locals. But I couldn’t shake the sensation of walking around in a very big museum; everything preserved just so, architecture restored to beyond its original heights, yet somehow just tipping over that point where the residents live in the buildings to the residents living for the buildings. The stage itself was nicer than it had ever been; but somehow…something was missing. A degree of isolation came into play, and perhaps the friendliness was just a tad more forced than the last time I was here. Chalk it down to collective fatigue; perhaps: when everything is special, nothing is special anymore. Just soft people trying to fit into a rigid environment.

This series was shot with a Hasselblad H5D-50C and various lenses and post processed with the Monochrome Masterclass Workflow.

Photoessay: Architectural shadows in monochrome, Prague

January 3, 2017 by Ming Thein

Intense light, hard shadows, either end of the day: don’t be afraid of the dark, and let some of the negative space define the object’s form – or imagined form. Without shadows, we have no texture, no depth, no spatial separation. It’s interesting just how much of a suggestion of soft and hard you can get out of it even though all of the subjects are physically rigid – clean, dense shadows suggest crispness and hardness; feathering and irregularity suggest a certain yielding texture. Do buildings have personality? I think so, especially if they stand in contrast to their surroundings. Does this sense of texture contribute? Probably. MT

This series was shot with a Hasselblad H5D-50C, H6D-50c and various lenses and post processed with the Monochrome Masterclass Workflow.

NEW video: T1 Travel Photography

December 10, 2016 by Ming Thein

Click to watch the trailer above

We’re pleased to offer a new video in time for your holiday season viewing and vacations: T1: Travel Photography!

Shot on on location in Prague, T1: Travel Photography focuses on making the most of your trip photographically – and how to come home with unique images that represent what you saw and experienced. It covers everything from pre-trip planning to post-trip workflow, camera maintenance, field tips and everything in between. The location city is both beautiful yet widely seen and visited, making getting something different an interesting challenge. Join us in this video for a unique blend of philosophy, technique and composition/seeing.

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Filed Under: On Photography, Teaching Tagged With: ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, photography, prague, teaching, thein, travel, travel photography, video

One place left final 2016 Masterclass: Prague (September)

July 11, 2016 by Ming Thein

~~There are still a couple of places~~ One last slot is available for my final workshop of 2016 – the Prague Masterclass (5-10 September). Click on for the details, or send me an email to book. This is likely to be the last workshop for some time…

Filed Under: Teaching Tagged With: 2016, masterclass, ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, prague, singapore, teaching, thein, Workshop

Places left for final 2016 Masterclasses – Singapore (Jul) and Prague (Sep)

June 19, 2016 by Ming Thein

There are places still available for the final two workshops of 2016 – the Singapore Masterclass (1-6 July) and the Prague Masterclass (5-10 September). Click on the respective links for the details, or send me an email to book. These are likely to be the last workshops for some time…

Filed Under: Teaching Tagged With: 2016, masterclass, ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, prague, singapore, teaching, thein, Workshop

Prague Masterclass, September 2016 now open for booking

May 23, 2016 by Ming Thein

It’s that time of the year again. Prague seems to be one of those evergreen locations that’s always popular and perhaps the most frequently requested – so here we go 🙂 This time, it will run from 5-10 September 2016 inclusive, which I think is one of the best times of the year both climate and tourist-wise. Here’s the report from the previous Masterclass in Prague in 2015. I’ve actually only got a few places left, so if you would like to join us, please be quick…read on for the details, or send me an email to book.

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Filed Under: Teaching Tagged With: 2016, masterclass, ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, prague, teaching, thein, Workshop

New Ultraprint offer: In the round

January 15, 2016 by Ming Thein

In the round, Vysehrad, Prague

There are a lot of stories that begin with ‘it was a dark and stormy night…’ – but in this case, it was true. Myself and another masterclass participant had been freezing and moistening ourselves in a windy horizontal rain shooting from the top of Vysehrad, which is a castle/monastery/fort complex on top of a hill overlooking Prague. We were about done for the day, packed up, heading down back towards civilisation and hot goulash, but got diverted. We’d walked past this building earlier in the (overcast) day, which was striking for its shape and size, and I remarked that it would be great with the right light – turns out we got it. With the wide mixture of light sources on the building (halogen), surroundings (sodium vapour) and sky (light pollution from the city reflecting off low level rainclouds), I couldn’t have lit it better myself even if given free reign. This was the result – an accurate but highly atmospheric portrait of stories in the night.

Read on for more information and to order.

Photoessay: Prague nightscapes

August 5, 2015 by Ming Thein

Not your typical postcard

Today’s photoessay is a series off nightscapes from Prague. I’ve always found night photography requires a bit of an ‘inertial hump’ to get over – especially if you’re out hauling the tripod for some long exposures; there’s an optimum window just after dusk when the sky is a dark blue and not totally black, balancing off with the ambient illumination of the buildings. It means you have to carefully plan your locations and/or route in order to be at the right place at the right time; on top of that, I find the actual shooting window is pretty small – perhaps two hours at best unless you’re living at extreme latitudes in summer.

Photoessay: people of Prague, II

July 12, 2015 by Ming Thein

Do we fear what we cannot see?

Part two of the People of Prague photoessay is to me the more exciting bit: it expands the more literal ‘people in sauce’ environmental slices of the previous series of images to explore my favourite personal project, the idea of man. When photographing I’m always looking out for spontaneous ideas as they evolve around me, but I think it’s important to be open to both the literal and the conceptual even if only for practice. And you never know when the former might develop into the latter (the sequencing of this photoessay is the same: we pick up roughly where the last one left off, and take it further). This particular series explores life at two scales, both individual and group; the latter is not something I’ve done much of up to this point simply because the opportunities aren’t always there. There’s also been plenty of feedback going around in the comments on other photoessays on the use of captions; personally I think if done right they can be used to suggest alternative lines of thought and potentially different interpretations of the scene. A little ambiguity is not a bad thing. Enjoy! MT

This series was shot mostly with a Nikon D810 and the 24-120/4 VR, with additional contributions from the 24 PCE, 85 Otus and Voigtlander 180 APO and a Ricoh GR. I post processed using PS Workflow II and The Monochrome Masterclass. I also cover street photography techniques in S1: Street Photography and How To See Ep.2: Tokyo

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