Whoa!

Here's a surprise!

Ming Thein's been big on photo essays lately, and here's his latest. Go look at it. Seriously. Go. Look. Take your time and get past any issues you might have with the man or the methods and really look at one picture after another, take them on their own terms.

I don't give a damn if you like the pictures or not. I don't know if I like them or not, that doesn't matter. I direct your attention to the fact that this is a fully realized idea. The text he gives you is direct, simple, and precisely describes the pictures. I glanced at the photos first, and that's exactly what I read. Like, exactly.

This is real photography, real work. He's taken an idea, and a pretty good idea. He's thought about his tools and methods, and worked out a very clear way to express that idea using photographs. And then he's gone and shot a bunch of that. This is the real deal, it's serious and deserving of accolades and applause.

Well done, Ming, really.