St. Petersburg and Helsinki In A Week (c&c)

[Foxx]

Did some travelling this last week with a bunch of friends. Visited Tallinn, Estonia; St. Petersburg, Russia, and Helsinki Finland. Saw some AMAZING history and experience culture so much richer and and naunced than my own(in America), it was quite an experience.

Now bear with me, I have 5 shots for you. I couldn't narrow down my favorites to 2 or 3 so just forgive my large series just this once I'll make it up for by provided a detailed background for the shot and what I liked most about it.


Uspenski Cathedral -- Located in Helsinki, Finland. It is the tallest(and largest) Russian Orthodox cathedral in the "European" area(read: outside of Russia). One of Helsinki's most iconic building it sits on a hillside overlooking the harbor. It's also known as The Red Brick Church due to its vibrant red colouring.

This was one of my favorite building shots for the entire trip. The day we arrived in Helsinki the sun was shining and the sky was the bluest I have ever seen. I was told by our guide that this was rare for this time of the year -- indeed for the entire year -- as Helsinki only sees ~100 days of sun a year. Though I cut off the left edge of the building I was quite happy with the exposure for this shot. This entire trip(6 days) gave me ample time to hon by metering skills and I think I have improved my eye for choosing metering spots a bit.

Sushi at New Born -- Located in St. Petersburg, Russia. This restaurant was located directly under the hostel my group stayed at on Nevsky Prospekt, a major road running through the heart of the city. I was quite surprised with the diversity of restaurants and shops (and quality) in St. Petersburg. I didn't do much research before coming but I certainly didn't expect to find Indian cuisine, sushi, hookah bars, and crepes fast food all on the same street within blocks of each other. The city itself was beautiful but the people in it were not always too friendly...

I have always had a love for food photography. I love eating(who doesn't) and being able to evoke hunger just from seeing a picture is something I am fascinated with. I haven't done much food photography but I was particularly happy with this shot. Pictured below is a 6 set of Spicy Salmon Roll with the freshest ginger and wasabi I had ever tasted I missed the focus on the back of the plate a bit but think I managed to bring out enough details to make the shot decent.

Temppeliaukio Church -- Located in Helsinki, Finland. This is an abstract I took from the supporting concrete of the building's ceiling. Again, the sky was so blue that day it almost felt like looking into space. The entire church is built into an unworked rock wall which gives the church incredible acoustic properties. Honestly it was one of the most beautiful contemporary churches I have ever seen I will have an HDR shot up in the HDR forum shortly that gives a wide view of the church. http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/hdr-discussions/260558-churches-helsinki-st-petersburg-2-c-c.html

Catherine's Palace -- Located in Pushkin, Russia. Formerly a summer residence for the tsars of Russia, this 325 meter 18th century mansion in now a historical musuem showcasing the life and history of tsars past. On the day of our arrival at the palace there was a huge commotion, landscaping being done, armed guards everywhere. We found out from asking some of the guards that Vladmir Putin was visiting the palace that day so the grounds had to be cleaned up and presentable for his appearance. This also happened to be the first day of snow in Russia I have pictures of the gate during a heavy flurry but I felt this shot was stronger.

Pictures is one of the groundsworkers raking leaves on one of the huge laws surrounding the palace. ****ty job eh?

Finally, and with little fanfare, this is shot of one of the many chandeliers suspended in the lobby of one of the ships we traveled on. I was drawn to the triangles and symmetry created by the inside of the structure and the mirror ceiling from which it was suspended just added to the effect.

Thanks for reading through! Any critique or comments you can add would be greatly appreciated

 

[shootermcgavin]

Nice photos, that certainly is an interesting looking sushi roll...

 

[Foxx]

thanks for the reply! only one though?

 

[Raincheck]

The Spicy Salmon Roll is a good photo, others are to photo shopped try to be more gentle with your sharpening tools.

 

[JAC526]

My favorite shot is the guy raking leaves. That's a great shot. It's so cleared of leaves by where he's been and so full of leaves by where he hasn't that the photo just automatically hits you that he's got some work to do.

I really like it.