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“You start being a true photographer by observing…”

—Ming Thein.

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Ming Thein

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About.

26 years old. Lives in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  Full time commercial photographer specialising in watches, architecture and food.  Part time writer and blogger at:

Ming Thein | Photographer 

Former corporate person in various disciplines around M&A, strategy, and finance.

Cameras and lenses.

“At the moment – Nikon D800E, D600, F2 Titan, F3/T, 24-120/4G VR, 28/1.8G, 45/2.8P, 58/1.2 Noct AIS, 60/2.8G Micro, 85/2.8 PCE Micro, 85/1.8G. Zeiss ZF.2 21/2.8 Distagon, 28/2 Distagon, 50/2 Makro-Planar, 100/2 Makro-Planar, ZM 50/2 Planar.  Leica 28/2 ASPH and 50/1.4 ASPH – waiting for my M 240 like everybody else.  Olympus OM-D, 12/2, 45/1.8, 60/2.8 Macro, 15/8 and Panasonic 100-300.  Hasselblad 500CM, 501C, 50/4 Distagon FLE, 80/2.8 CF, 120/4 Makro-Planar CF and four backs.  Sony RX100 and Ricoh GR1V.  A bunch of Minoxes I collect but don’t shoot.  Another bag full of speedlights and assorted lighting gear.  Certainly far more than I need, enough to cover every commercial eventuality I encounter.”

What’s important.

“Integrity:  in the way one conducts oneself, in one’s image making, and being true to yourself:  do what you love, and if you’re going to do something, do it to the best of your ability.  Family, my wife; without her support I think I’d still be too chicken to quit my day job for photography.”

Interesting fact.

“It’s taken me four attempts to make full time photography financially workable.  So far so good, but one always has that niggling feeling of uncertainty for the months ahead.”

 

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Ming Thein is the prodigious photographer, writer, and editor behind the incredibly popular photo enthusiast site Ming Thein | Photographer.

A graduate of Oxford at the age of 16, Mr. Thein studied to be a physicist before embarking on a corporate career in M&A/private equity.  In early 2012, he decided to follow his heart and fully commit to photography, which — up until then — was a part-time vocation but full-time passion, and walked away from his position as a senior executive.

Ming’s work, reflecting the breadth and scope of his interests and talents, focuses on the specialty areas of watch, food, reportage, and architecture/interior photography.  In short order, he has achieved the ever-elusive photographic goal of establishing a signature look and a consistency of output despite employing a variable array of camera platforms.  Referring to himself as a “brand agnostic“, he uses the equipment he deems best suited to each particular assignment.  In following his vision, he has established an international (and impressively broad client) base.

A visit to Ming’s website will confirm that this success has not come by way of accident because — in addition to Ming’s honed photographic output — a treasure trove of noteworthy and comprehensive reviews, essays, and opportunities for learning may be found.

Finally, Ming’s recent article on the new Leica M* at long last gave Leica fans what they were desperately seeking, but had not yet seen:  impressive sample images.

Please join me, then, in welcoming the prolific and seemingly inexhaustible Mr. Ming Thein.

Thank you,

—Peter.

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*Editor’s note: see my previous comments on Ming’s Leica M article.

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Q&A with Ming Thein.

What motivated (and still motivates) you to pick up a camera?

“Part of it is the process, part of it is the output, and part of it is the way it forces you to see and be more aware of the world around you.  You start being a true photographer by observing; then you try to shoot it; then you realise how much you have to learn to translate your vision into an image – more importantly, to make sure what your audience sees is also what you see.  As your skill improves, your vision gets more complex, and it’s a never-ending cycle: there’s always more to be said in an image, and better ways of saying it. I also feel a pathological compulsion to document the world around me, but I think that’s a more recent consequence of being able to do so and having done it for the last ten years rather than the initial driving cause.”

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What do your images “say” about you?

“I don’t think it’s possible for the creator to answer this objectively.  You should ask what do you want them to say about you instead – ultimately, the viewers are the judge of whether you succeeded or not.  I’d like to be known for finding beauty in the mundane; for capturing the missed slices of life; for being able to create light to showcase an object or thing in the best possible way.  And my compositions should look perfectly balanced, and the execution technically perfect.  It almost never is, which means there’s always some room for improvement.”

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How have you evolved as a photographer/artist over the years?

“I’m a lot more focused now, and also a lot more commercially-minded – you have to be to survive as a business.  I used to shoot everything and anything; partially for experience/ the challenge, partially because it was all so new and I hadn’t had the chance to really specialise.  These days, I shoot watches, architecture, food, and for my own work – street/ travel.  That’s it.  I went through both stylistic and subject phases in the past where I’d shift from one genre to another – street, wildlife, travel, landscapes, portraits, fashion, catwalk…but I’d get bored of them and come back to the core three.  However, having tried and being reasonably competent at many types of subject matter means that you can apply things you learn across the board, to give you that creative edge.  I’ve also spent more time understanding my subject before I shoot it – not only does this yield better images because you know exactly what it is the creator intended, but it’s also easier to deal with clients – you speak the same lingo.”

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Any further comments about your work you’d like to share?

“I think every really serious photographer has to spend some time and effort in finding and developing their own style; you can only go so far by copying somebody else.  Learning to copy/replicate well trains your technical skill, but not your artistic skill; it’s only in the last couple of years that I’ve really been able to nail this down personally.  It means that my more recent work all has a signature to it that gives the whole portfolio a good level of consistency – it’s to do with the use of light, the color palette, the tonal feel, technical execution and overall compositional balance of the image.  I don’t expect to make any major changes to my style or the way I shoot, but I do look forward to the evolution.  That said, it’s taken me over half a million shots to get here…”

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Images courtesy Ming Thein.

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Once again, my sincere thank you to Ming Thein for sharing his work with us.

Please follow Ming at Ming Thein | Photographer.

—Peter.

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[Previously Featured Photographers may be found here.]

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