Russia, Finland, and Estonia

I've been accepted to present at a conference in Finland (Jyväskylä) in August, and thought I might make most of the opportunity to go to Russia (Moscow and St Petersburg) and Estonia (Tallinn) as well, since they are so close (well, not Moscow, but, you know). I've been looking at other places in Scandinavia, as well as other parts of Europe, but the lure of Russia is the strongest for me right now, so that's where I want to go.

At the moment my plan would be to fly to Helsinki, and from there get on another flight straight to St. Petersburg or Moscow, or if that doesn't work, the ferry to Tallinn. Regardless of where I start, I would do a loop (by train) between all three of those cities, before returning to Helsinki for a couple of days and then spend my last couple of days at the conference. In total I will probably be gone for 3 weeks, spending 4-5 days in Moscow and St Petersburg each, maybe 3 days in Tallinn, 5 or 6 in Finland, with the remaining days (and possibly nights) used for travel.

At the moment I would appreciate any advice about any of the places that I've mentioned. I wouldn't mind doing day trips out of the cities to visit particularly interesting or photogenic places. Similarly, any photo advice would be great too - places to avoid, best times to visit (from a photography standpoint), camera stores and/or places where I could stock up on film if needed, etc.

Lucky you!

Thanks Andre! I am lucky in that I can attend international conferences that are paid for by work, which allows me to add a personal holiday to it as well (on my own dime of course).

You might want to visit Tampere. It's one and half hours by train.

The city is between two lakes (Pyhäjärvi and Näsijärvi) with a height difference, hence there's a whole lot of industrial revolution-era architecture along the rapids that connect the lakes. All of this is right in the center of the city, less than ten minutes walk from the railway station. There's also the Pyynikki ridge, which rises to more than a hundred meters of height in between the lakes. On top of the ridge there's a small observation tower built in late twenties - not to be confused with Näsinneula, which is a huge concrete tower built in '70s.

There's also a camera store in town, with emphasis on film. I work there.

https://kameratori.fi/en

Thanks onre - I've added it to the list of possibilities.

As a personal choice, I would not do anything to improve the economic situation of Russia - either by visiting the place or by buying anything made there currently.

In Finland I have only been North to the Arctic, via the airport at Rovaniemi. During August there is similar(-ish) landscape to be found further South of course, so with some planning you could combine the coastal island areas and a visit inland somewhere (perhaps as suggested by Onre, above, or simply near the conference town). A mosquito headnet might be a good idea for increasing personal comfort in certain areas of countryside!

The Baltic states are visitable by ferry and public transport, and are interestingly different to Kyoto(!).

Enjoy your trip!
(I wonder how Baltic cemeteries look like)
Bert from Holland

TheToadMen said:

Enjoy your trip!
(I wonder how Baltic cemeteries look like)
Bert from Holland

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I've already found a few that I want to visit!

Just curious about a few other things, but first I should say I've also added Sweden (Stockholm) to the list (I was able to extend my trip a little).

I'd like to bring my tripod along for either dusk/night shooting, or long exposures during the day, and was wondering if I might have any problems with using one within any of the major cities I'll be visiting (Helsinki, Stockholm, Tallinn, St Petersburg, Moscow). For day trips to smaller places I probably won't be using the tripod - too heavy to carry all day.

Do I need to worry about xrays when visiting major sites? I'd imagine not, but just want to be prepared.

Also, if anyone knows of interesting camera shops to check out used gear, I'd love to know about them.

Finland is a lovely country, and incredibly photogenic. If you have any interest in architecture and design it's worth checking out Alvar Aalto's original house and studio in Riihitie, near Helsinki.

http://www.alvaraalto.fi/aaltohouse.htm

nick_clark said:

Finland is a lovely country, and incredibly photogenic. If you have any interest in architecture and design it's worth checking out Alvar Aalto's original house and studio in Riihitie, near Helsinki.

http://www.alvaraalto.fi/aaltohouse.htm

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Add some nice cemeteries in Finland to the list and she'll be visiting you before you can say "(there was a url link here which no longer exists)" in Swahili ....

Of those countries I've only been to Estonia. (My son lived there for 3 years.) it was in 2001, so things might be a bit different. All the tourists go to Tallin, which has some lovely architechture. Outside of Tallin, they were thrilled to have foreign tourists. At one museum, I asked about taking photos. They were so excited I'd be taking pictures back to North America with me, I was offered a refund on my admission. I let them keep the money.

I'll go back through my photos and see if I can come up with suggestions.

If cemeteries are of particular interest, there's the Pitkäniemi cemetery on the west border of Tampere. It's small but very atmospheric. Last burial there was in 1964 and it's situated next to a mental care facility. Also the old cemetery next to Aleksanteri church is rather pleasant, but it's more of a park than a cemetery nowadays. It was in use from 1785 to 1880 and it's right next to the aforementioned used camera store.

Here's a couple of second hand camera shops in Helsinki, they're actually very close to each other and the Hietaniemi graveyard, which has been in use since 1829. Right next to it there are also Jewish, Muslim and Orthodox cemeteries.

http://www.saunalahti.fi/kamerahu/ Oksasenkatu 2, Helsinki

Mustonen & Laine, web page only in Finnish. This place is almost legendary. It's a repair shop but they also sell second-hand equipment. The place is like a time machine as they have been on the same premises at least since early '80s, if not earlier. It's run by two old men, of which the one with curly hair is more friendly, but that's a bit like saying that a conventional warhead is more pleasant than a nuclear one. Still, I'd recommend visiting. The prices aren't cheap, but they give a half-year warranty to basically everything they sell.

http://www.optotek.fi/ Runeberginkatu 46, Helsinki

Again only in Finnish. They have less second hand gear, but still do have some. There's a catalog of 2nd hand stuff on their webpages, but usually the most interesting items are not on it. They also have a nice assortment of fresh film in their refrigerator.

mooseontheloose said:

I'd like to bring my tripod along for either dusk/night shooting, or long exposures during the day, and was wondering if I might have any problems with using one within any of the major cities I'll be visiting

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Can't think of any problems other than having to carry it with you.

mooseontheloose said:

Do I need to worry about xrays when visiting major sites? I'd imagine not, but just want to be prepared.

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I don't know of any place in Finland that'd have X-ray checks other than airports, Parliament House and courts. Haven't run into any in Sweden or Estonia either.

If you need a place to stock up on film there is also Fotoyks on Fredrikinkatu right in the Helsinki citycenter, decent selection. Don't have your film processed there though as the hit rate with scratches on negatives is high... :-(

X-ray scanning I would indeed not worry about, the Helsinki-Vantaa airport is also rather relaxed and the last time I asked for film not to be x-ray'd it wasn't a problem.

I've actually never been to southern Finland (only been to the lake-ridden north ), so I cannot give you any specifics there.

As for not visiting Russia, because of some politics? I say screw all politicians and go meet the people instead, people in general are nice anywhere you look and if you go, a Russian may have a day or two where he/she earn a little more money than normal. The EU restrictions isn't hurting Putin and his gang of thugs much, it's the people who suffer from this the most.

As for Estonia, (my experience) I've been to Tallinn and concluded with the following:
The most photogenic part of Tallinn, is the old-town, definitely. A strange mix of European (German'ish? architecture and more eastern influenced stuff). Tallinn isn't a huge city, and the inner part with the old town is absolutely possible to walk around during a single day.

I was mostly looking for old FSU-cameras and lenses there, and the Russian-managed marked ( "balti jaam-market", situated just outside of the walls of the old-town, google-map it and you'll find it ) has the biggest collection of that, as well as various WWII memorabilia and communism memorabilia.
- I have no idea of authenticity though, and I would try to haggle, as the prices there are way high. The old town also have a lot of "Antique" stores, where you will find a lot of the same (among them, zorkis pimped out and labeled as "Leica" ), though the prices are often high there as well.
- Generally I concluded that it was better to just buy stuff from eBay, at least it has often been CLA'd

I also found Riga in Latvia to be much more interesting than Tallin, as they are more "eastern", at least when I was there. The countries are small and easy to access, since they are EU-countries, so you can cover Tallinn, Riga and even Vilnius (never been) in a weekend.

- Estonia and Tallinn has very little in terms of old Soviet architecture (from what I could see), the only thing left that I found, was the old Lindahall https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linnahall, it's located at the harbor/ferry-stop, not very far from the old town and can be worth a stroll, since it's such a strange piece of building.

The language in Estonia is so weird, sounds like similar to Finnish and I suspect a Finnish-guy and an Estonian-guy can understand each other pretty well. ^^

Some shots from the Old-town of Tallinn (First one is from my Yashicaflex and the last two are shot with my lovely little Zorki 1d, both with Ektar 100)











As for Moscow
- Again, my experience.
You can read more about my experience in Moscow here:
http://helino-photo.blogspot.no/2013/03/trip-to-russian-federation.html

You need: Visa.
To get that, you first need an invitation to Moscow, the invitation is an addendum to the application for Visa, which you apply at the Russian consulate.

Sounds complicated, but it really isn't.
Google around for travel agencies that operate in Moscow or travels to Russia in general.
They will create an invitation for you and can arrange the whole process getting a visa, you will need few days for this to be in order, as well as the days you are planning to stay, so do this in good time before you travel. You will also need to get your visa registered and stamped properly while in-country, or you will have trouble getting out again, normally the hotels will deal with all this and if you travel trough a travel-bureau, they will manage this.

You also need to arrange with transport from the airport to the hotel, and back, normally a travel-agency can help you and arrange that.

I am not sure if there are special restrictions because of the ongoing (historical) dispute with Russia and Japan over those northern islands, but I am sure you can get all this cleared out when you contact a travel-agency.

As for hotels, I can recommend "Golden Apple" ( https://no.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g298484-d530249-Reviews-Golden_Apple_Boutique_Hotel-Moscow_Central_Russia.html ), where I stayed. It's nothing fancy, but it is very very close to the Red Square (walking distance) and reasonably priced.

I found Moscow to be incredible lovely, even in March when it was "daymn cold", lovely architecture all over and the inner-city subways are real marvels to see. ^^

Some Kodak ektar, shot with my Rolleiflex Automat MX-EVS: (the color-balance on this scans are a little off, but ther you go )

Moscow by Ole-Henrik Helin, on Flickr

Moscow by Ole-Henrik Helin, on Flickr

Moscow by Ole-Henrik Helin, on Flickr

Moscow by Ole-Henrik Helin, on Flickr


I have not been to St. Petersburg, but from what I've read, there is some kind of special visa you can get when you use a ferry-service to the city. The visa will give you 24-48 hours in the city (only), you need to check that out (google), the ferry may even leave from Helsinki, Finland for all I know.

I wish you a great trip, be open, low key and avoid politics and a lust for dragging communism into every conversation and you will have a great time. ^^
- Then again, as a Japanese, I am certain you how fully well how to be welcoming and polite, suppose Japan comes at first place here.

I've been to Japan twice and seen much of the (south of the) country, can't wait to get back there, to raid Yodobashi and Bic and the cool classic shops at the Ginza-strip, before branching out in the various cities and countrysides (great food, lovely country and people) Incidentally, the shots here, with the Rolleiflex Automat and the Yaschicaflex, are both cameras I bought in Ginza, Tokyo

In my opinion Vilnius is great place to visit - been there twice. Sort of like an old European City. Minsk, Belarus should also be one of the possibles.
Not as crowded as Moscow and still a lot of the old Soviet architecture. (My wife is from Minsk.) (Be sure to check on the visa requirements.)
As to Russia - I am not going there for the reasons mentioned above.

Thanks everyone for the information, especially Helinophoto - great details and nice photos! I really enjoyed your blog post and photos, although the fact that you were shooting at high ISO with a non-film camera confirms that I'll need to bring a tripod, at least for low-light (and/or long exposure outdoor) shooting. Did you have any problems shooting in the subways? I know better than to use a tripod there, but I really hope I can shoot at a number of the stations while I'm there, although I'm sure the light levels will be really low. I do have a Fuji x100s that has pretty good low-light capabilities (that's why I bought it), I may have to bite the bullet and bring it along with me. And FYI, I'm not Japanese, I just live here.

I would love to visit other parts of the Baltics, having had friends there when I was younger (particularly in Riga and Vilnius), but I have to make choices with such a limited amount of time, and I feel the trip I've planned is what will work best for me at this time. I understand the feelings of some of not visiting Russia, but as helinophoto said, for me it's more about meeting and being a part of the regular Russian populace than it is about politics. Depending on how this trip goes, I may be back again to explore the region further.

onre, thanks for the detailed information about Tampere, especially the cemeteries (see my signature for my cemetery blog) and photo stores - I keep debating whether or not to keep it as part of my trip, and now it looks like it may stay permanently on the schedule!

For all of you up north, how bad are the mosquitos in August? In Canada where I'm from it often depends on the weather, but in normal to slightly wet springs and summers the mosquitos are absolutely terrible in the countryside (and slightly less so in the cities), especially in the evenings when you want to enjoy the long sunsets and twilight. I remember the last time I was home I tried to go shoot some farmer's fields around sunset, but the second I stepped out of the car I had about 100 million mosquitos covering my DEET-covered body. The only escape was going back in the car and trying to kill all the mozzies that came in there with me!

Finally, a question about Sweden, Stockholm in particular - I've been reading that it is moving towards a cashless society, but would it be difficult to pay by cash for most things (besides transit), like food and entrance fees? I'm reading a lot of conflicting information and I just want to be prepared. I want to avoid international transaction fees if possible, in addition to the fact that my Japanese bank card and credit card cannot access cash outside of Japan (it's a real PITA, meaning I have to take most of my cash with me and exchange it there).

Yeah, the subway-stations are both busy and some are rather dim lit. (some are brighter)
Since i was shooting mostly *d* in the subways (from my blog) I looked up the exif, most are shot at F4, ISO 6400 1/40's, you may fare better with a very fast lens though (I used the 24-105 F4 L on those)
I did try and shoot some with film and the shot above, from the subway is my rolleiflex on the floor, self timer, not sure about the rest, except that it was most likely shot at F3.5, which is max aperture ^_^


Maybe Cinestill can do well in there...? ( https://www.google.no/search?q=cine...X&ved=0ahUKEwip3KrxjJHNAhUG1ywKHRi7CZYQsAQIMQ )


I think Stockholm is similar to Oslo in that they are still bound by law to accept money. In Oslo where I live, I haven't had cash in my wallet for 2 years, but shops still accept real money.

Thanks Helinophoto! I'm going to spend some time shooting in the subways and train stations here and see what I can get with pushed film, both black and white and colour. I definitely can't go as high as 6400, but hopefully I can figure something out at 1600 or so. My fastest lens is 1.8, but I may try to get something a little faster before I go (that said, shooting wide open is not necessarily what I want to do either).

It's funny - Japan is such a cash society here, that they don't really consider the impact that has for people travelling both within and out of the country. They are gearing up for the Tokyo Olympics here and one of the complaints tourists have is that, outside of hotels, fancy restaurants, and certain shops, it's almost impossible to use your bank/credit card here. There are only 2 national banks (the post office and 7-11) that allow you to take out cash using an international card, but if you are travelling in a small place, good luck with that as the post office has limited hours and 7-11s, while everywhere in big cities, are not necessarily so in smaller towns - they've begun to realise that they need to deal with these issues sooner rather than later.

When I travel back to Canada I rarely have cash in my wallet (not more than $20) because it's much more convenient to use my bank card, but in Japan it's not unusual for me to have hundreds of dollars of cash at any given time.

Balti Jaam in Tallinn is closed. There's a huge renovation going on. I'm afraid it will be turned into something completely different.