singapore – Ming Thein

Photoessay: Enclosed

June 4, 2020 by Ming Thein

It felt appropriate to follow on from the previous post of ornamental architecture with this – a sort of evolution towards function (but ultimately, still with the primary purpose of entertainment-generated revenue). Whilst the Hudson Yards structure leaves the visitor to fill it with their own imagination and selfies, Gardens by The Bay defines the contents for you: nature, sanitised and presented in a consumer-friendly manner, complete with gift shop. In a way, it’s philosophically very similar to Singapore in general: efficient, stylised, modern, clean, but somewhat, well, rigid. Maybe it just feels strange to have trees inside a dome; no matter how well presented. Surely we aren’t at the point where nature is so scarce even in the developing tropics that we need to treat it as ornamental…or perhaps this is the only way some people can be motivated to appreciate nature in the first place at all. Between the weather and the underlying sentiment…I intentionally chose a heavier, darker presentation which I think conveys the mood quite well. MT

This series was shot with a Nikon Z7, 24-70/4 S, 50/1.8 S and my custom SOOC JPEG profiles.

MT’s scrapbook: Duo

December 18, 2018 by Ming Thein

I happened to be staying at the hotel in this rather interesting property a couple of months back; whilst I don’t think I’d want to live here (there are apartments in one of the other towers) because it feels a bit cold and impersonal – the architects did a good job breaking up the potentially overbearingly massive geometric forms with cladding and ground landscaping, so you never feel that dominance at ground level. There’s no question some very clever structural engineering was involved to make the masses balance (and to install that curtain wall). The interior spaces are strange though – despite the size of the building, they never feel very large inside; I don’t know if this is due to the internal space division or the very non-square geometry. Still, it made for a pleasant half an hour or so’s worth of diversion wandering around and hunting for images. 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). One or two were reprocessed to match the rest of the set using The Monochrome Masterclass workflow, for visual consistency and correction of verticals.

Photoessay: Cityscape Singapore

November 9, 2018 by Ming Thein

Another photoessay today with the benefits of multiple visits and longer curation – perhaps the start of a mini-project for me to revisit the archives with the benefit of separation and objectivity for places I’ve paid multiple visits to. The purpose would be both to curate something of a set ‘representative’ of the personality of the place – as far as that’s possible with a dynamic entity like a living city (especially in the case of somewhere that rapidly develops such as Singapore or Tokyo), as well as to see how my own personal feelings and impressions have changed over time. To some degree we might also be seeing the effect of different approaches to photography – from more casual to more formal/structured/deliberate and back again; tripods and not; preference for 28 vs longer lenses etc – it may well turn into some interesting insights into one’s own observational preferences over time…MT

Shot over a long, long period of time with a wide variety of equipment. Mostly processed with PS Workflow III.

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Filed Under: On Photography Tagged With: cityscape, ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, photoessay, photography, singapore, thein

Photoessay: Rhythmic geometries

August 3, 2017 by Ming Thein

I see the images in this post as a sort of musical score: the suggestion of an overall harmony (wave) interspersed with little details and textures is too strong to ignore. I don’t know any of the correct musical terminology for this kind of thing, but I do know that I feel the same way about these abstract compositions as I do when I listen to a piece of classical music: there’s a strong underlying structure linking the whole score together, but at the same time also little diversions and explorations into variations that hold your attention and get you thinking. There is a similar change of scale here – not all the instruments play at the same time in every image; you might not have the same range of scale, but you do have the same sensation of layering and interplay of shadow. When the piece shifts into the next movement, not all of the elements may make it through intact, but enough do that you can recognise continuity in style; a sort of design language. MT

These images were shot in Singapore with a Hasselblad X1D-50c and 90mm, and post processed with either PS Workflow III and the Weekly Workflow or The Monochrome Masterclass. See more on your journeys with T1: Travel Photography and the How to See series.

Photoessay: Architectural snippets, Singapore

June 1, 2017 by Ming Thein

I like to think of this kind of image as little microcosms of environment – not quite a full wimmelbild, but more a degustation of the little area in which the image was captured. The images presented today are on a few different scales – everything from fairly intimate upwards. I think they’re fairly representative of the mood and feel of the immediate vicinity, at least from the perspective of an observer who’s just passing through. I honestly don’t know how to categorise images like this: not traditional architecture and not really pure abstract – they have no commercial application and appeal only to a very particular narrow aesthetic. Why do we make images like this? Because they appeal to us at some personal level; I suppose what speaks to me here is the compressed intricacy that can only be as product of evolution as opposed to planning – especially the little unexpected signs of life that suggest adaptation, humanity and real people as opposed to purely hard materials. 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: Singapore snippets

May 2, 2017 by Ming Thein

Trapped in an order only an outsider can see

Like the Prague Singles, there are those few images at the end of the post-trip or post-shoot curation that really don’t fit into any common category or curation – yet for some reason or other, an emotional attachment has developed and you’re loath to throw them away. They become your albatrosses; probably of no significance to anybody else other than the imaginator. Why? Because there’s a story there that’s triggered a memory, your imagination, or some flight of whimsical fancy; it’s incongruous, unexpected and fleeting. Titles are necessary. MT

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

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Filed Under: hasselblad, On Photography Tagged With: ming, ming thein, mingthein.com, photoessay, photography, singapore, singles, stories, thein

Photoessay: Night falls

December 12, 2016 by Ming Thein

With the benefit of an unusually clear evening in the usually quite overcast tropics, it’s possible to appreciate the subtle and wide variety of hues the evening sky transitions through – and the interesting interplay off the mirrored glass and water between artificial and reflected light. People often ask why I like to shoot in cities; it’s partially because of the difficulty in finding similar natural environments which are close enough to allow you to photograph in often, and partially because only the built environment gives you this kind of transition. It’s also a glimpse into somebody else’s imagination and vision to some degree; how did they envision their creation in the existing environment. Even if it’s merely a product of corporate averaging, we still get to see what the collective masses expect and deem to be ‘good’…MT

This series was shot in Singapore with a Hasselblad H5D-50c and processed with Photoshop and Lightroom Workflow III.

Photoessay: separation in Singapore

November 20, 2016 by Ming Thein

Big city, bright lights, teeming crowds…yet the quest for individuality is perhaps stronger than ever. Yet we’re social creatures, so we want to fit in. But where? How? Here more than ever, people felt transient, subservient, temporary. Native is not native and you’re on the way somewhere else. The stage stays; the actors change. Here more than ever, I’ve always felt like I was just passing through – even the times where I was based here for months. MT

This series was shot with a Hasselblad H5D-50c and processed with Photoshop and Lightroom Workflow III.

Photoessay: Two buildings and a break

October 23, 2016 by Ming Thein

For some odd reason, I’ve always thought these two buildings* to be amongst the most difficult to photograph in Singapore – partially because they’re such iconic landmarks that there’s almost no angle or light or weather condition that hasn’t already been exploited; you’re almost afraid to take a photograph because there’s a high chance you’ll just be doing something unoriginal. On top of that, the structures themselves are oddly shaped and the perspectives available at ground level are somewhat limited so that they look very similar from a wide range of vantage points. In the end, I landed up going back to basics: what is the essence of the form and feel of the structure? The result was a series of abstracts of each building. I’ve left what appears to be an unconnected ‘conventional’ image to divide between them, for the simple reason that under the skin: the hardware and M&E doesn’t change. MT

*If you aren’t familiar with Singapore architecture, the two buildings are of Art Science Museum and the Parkroyal on Pickering.

This series was shot with a Hasselblad H5D-50c, 35-90mm and 150mm lenses and post processed with The Monochrome Masterclass workflow.

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…