shadows – Ming Thein | Photographer

Photoessay: Diagonal non-sequitur

December 31, 2019 by Ming Thein

Trying something a little different today: a series of images that are linked thematically by type of light and overall presentation, but have little to nothing to do with each other subject-wise. It is thus a logical non-sequitur but not a visual one; the intention is for the audience to get almost lulled into a sense of rhythmic monotony until you realise the subjects, their sizes/scales and even physical layouts are wildly different. I realise this is completely at odds with any traditional curator logic, but this particular group of images had been sitting in my posting folder for so long challenging me to find a way to use them that I somehow overlooked their core similarities in visual style. MT

This series was shot mostly with a Nikon Z7 with custom SOOC JPEG profiles, or Nikon D3500.

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Filed Under: On Photography Tagged With: diagonal, ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, monochrome, non sequitur, photoessay, photography, shadows, thein

Photoessay: Shadow form

April 4, 2019 by Ming Thein

When three dimensions collapse to two, the only way to infer spatial placement is by the position and overlap of shadows; this includes not just large macro-scale objects but also texture, which is nothing more than superposition of entitles at the micro-scale. No light, no shadows, no image, no spatial relativity. Yet the interesting ability of photography has only two interesting elements when collapsing dimensions: firstly, to reproduce exactly what we see (or think we see) and preserve an otherwise transient moment; secondly, projection that is unnatural or not normally noticed with stereo (i.e. human) vision – be it an exaggerated depth or a completely collapsed one. Expression or collapse in dimensionality is interesting because it almost lets us imagine what the universe might be like if we could perceive more than the standard four dimensions (three spatial, plus time). Either that or it’s the repressed physicist in me geeking out. MT

Images were shot with a mix of hardware over the last year and post processed with the Monochrome Masterclass workflow.

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Filed Under: On Photography Tagged With: ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, monochrome, photoessay, photography, shadows, thein

Photoessay: Convergent shadows

August 23, 2018 by Ming Thein

This set is a delayed curation that I wasn’t aware existed: a year had to pass and the other curations removed for it to reveal itself. As usual, there are elements and geometries we see subconsciously that do not always make themselves known until you look; yet we find ourselves executing somewhat on autopilot and our unconscious minds extracting repeating patterns. Perhaps it was the light, perhaps it was the urban wimmelbild elements, or perhaps the combined tension created by the presence of both – very hard shadows defining solid zones within the image, offset by colourful messes outside. One parting thought: how much of a final curation is the result of the initial (and probably most strongly felt) one – plus a desire not to repeat the use of images? Food for thought…MT

This series was shot in Istanbul with a Hasselblad H6D-100c, 50, 100 and 150mm lenses, and post processed with Photoshop and LR Workflow III. Get more out of your voyages with T1: Travel Photography.

MT’s scrapbook: Shadow play

July 27, 2018 by Ming Thein

It’s actually very rare to get this kind of hard afternoon sunshine in the tropics – by the time it’s late enough in the day for the shadow angle to be this oblique, the day has usually been so warm that evaporation of ambient moisture has created sufficient clouds to block the sun. Yet you still need just a hint of something in the atmosphere to make the light golden and warm. The quality of shadow actually reminds me a lot of the Atlantic coast of Europe – specifically Portugal – around autumn or spring. Why monochrome though, if the joy is in color? Two reasons: you still see the effects of warmer light when you apply a color pass filter, and secondly – without the distraction of color, the hard definition of form becomes that much more acute. MT

The Scrapbook series is shot on an Olympus PEN F, with unedited JPEGs straight from camera bar resizing (and of course some choice settings).

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Filed Under: MT's scrapbook, On Photography Tagged With: ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, photography, scrapbook, shadows, sooc, thein

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: dark matter

October 15, 2016 by Ming Thein

I initially thought about renaming this one something to do with shadows, but then realized that we have an association of vagueness and indefinition to the term shadow. This doesn’t quite fit the nature of these images; I wanted to go for something a bit more solid and dense. Filmic shadows were what came to mind at the time of capture. Despite the apparent contrast level, a high degree of dynamic range was required to be able to carefully control exactly where the inflection point of white to black lay (which in turn affects compositional balance). There’s probably potential for a mini-project here; further exploration is required. Who knew a 10m stretch of garden could be so productive? MT

This series was shot with a Hasselblad 501CM, 4/50 C T*, 4/150 CF T*, CFV-50C digital back and processed with the Monochrome Masterclass workflow.

Photoessay: Lisboan shadows

September 18, 2016 by Ming Thein

There is a subliminal connection between shadows, mystery, uncertainty and something sinister; probably because we can’t necessarily be certain about what we cannot see. Of course, this can be used photographically to great effect in creating abstraction, geometry and structure – without shadows, we have no way in presenting the illusion of three dimensions in a medium that has two. What I find oddly paradoxical about these images is that the shadows don’t really have that dark and closed-in feeling; perhaps it’s the hard edges and delineation between light and dark that if anything makes the sunniness more obvious – for want of a better term, there’s a positive feeling here. There cannot be shadows without light and all that…MT

This was shot with a Hasselblad H5D-50c and various lenses, and post processed with Photoshop and Lightroom Workflow III and techniques in the Weekly Workflow.

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Filed Under: hasselblad, On Photography Tagged With: hasselblad, lisbon, ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, photoessay, photography, portugal, shadows, thein, urban

Don’t fear the shadows

November 19, 2015 by Ming Thein

In a conversation, sometimes what is left explicitly unsaid reveals just as much as what is – and the same is true in photography. Whilst much fuss is made over extended dynamic range, highlight and shadow recoverability and similar technical aspects, the question of what we’re going to do with all of this latitude is seldom addressed. In a practical sense, there is of course the desire to replicate the tonal range of the human eye especially for very literal images like most landscapes, but to move beyond that requires a bit more conscious consideration of the end intention.

Photoessay: Signs of life: shadows and silhouettes in Prague

February 15, 2014 by Ming Thein

And now for something a little different – what if I took the abstraction of man to the next logical step? The idea of a person, not the specific individual? What interests me is the way man interacts with his environment, leaves his mark, but is ultimately temporal; more so in modern society where the multitudes of us land up mostly being nameless, faceless and somewhat commoditized. What does generic man look like in native habitat? I’m sure it’s soulless, clinical and a little cold, but hey, I can’t help it if that’s the way I see the world sometimes.