R. Doug Wicker's Blog, page 108

St. Petersburg — Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral

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Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral, Saint Petersburg

One day after Vision of the Seas departed Tallinn, Estonia, we made port in St. Petersburg, Russia. This would be a two-day stay, starting on Tuesday, August 15, 2017, and ending around 6:00 p.m. the following day. During those two days we had quite the tour lined up with a fabulous tour operator — Alla Tours. I cannot say enough about this two-day adventure, which I will share with you over the next several weeks.

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Saints Peter and Paul Cathed...

Fun Photo Friday — Tallinn Favorites 2

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Tallinn Doorway

Today I present one last look of Tallinn with some Fun Photo Friday favorites. Next week we move on to St. Petersburg, Russia.

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Iron Hull and Copper Sails

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Lamppost

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Bricks and Doors

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Monking Around

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Cauldron

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Watch That First Step!

Baltic Cruise — Tallinn, Estonia Part 4

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Tallinn, Estonia

Many of today’s photographs were taken in or near Tallinn’s old Town Square (Raekoja plats), site of the Tallinn Town Hall built in 1404.

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Old Town Square, Tallinn

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Old Town Square, Tallinn

The tower in the background of the photograph below is part of the Town Hall:

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Tallinn, Estonia

The great thing about this area of Tallinn is, of course, the wealth of architectural detail:

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Baltic Cruise — Tallinn, Estonia Part 3

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Tallinn, Estonia

Traipsing around Tallinn is a fun experience. There is much to take in, as well as photograph. Whitewashed buildings with colorful banners, for example:

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Tallinn, Estonia

Then there are the silent monks haunting the Danish King Garden:

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Danish King Garden

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Danish King Garden

Turn the corner around Town Hall and you might even see a green dragon acting as a downspout:

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Copper dragon downspout, Town Hall, Tallinn

Of course, there’s always some place to stop for a quick bite, and ou...

Fun Photo Friday — Tallinn Favorites 1

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Tallinn in B&W

Frequently you’ll find highly textured subjects a natural for black & white conversion. The absence of color seems to enhance the texture, especially if the subject to monochromatic from the start.

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Tallinn in B&W

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Tallinn in B&W

Stark shadows in relief against a bright background can also be enhanced with B&W conversion, such as with these two images:

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Tallinn in B&W

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Tallinn in B&W

But not all textured, monochromatic images benefit from such treatment. Occasionally you’ll stumble...

Baltic Cruise — Tallinn, Estonia Part 2

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Tallinn, Estonia

Most of the photos you’ll see this week and next of Tallinn, Estonia, were taken in the Old Town, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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Tallinn, Estonia

Indeed, Tallinn has been around since 1219, and obtained city status twenty-nine years later. However, the area was initially settled well before that, with artifacts indicating human settlement as far back as 3000 BC.

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Tallinn, Estonia

One interesting building in Tallinn is a Lutheran church that dates back to late 13th cent...

Baltic Cruise — Tallinn, Estonia Part 1

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Tallinn, Estonia

Vision of the Seas arrived at our next Baltic destination on Monday, August 14, 2017, a mere one day after our departure from beautiful Riga, Latvia. But, if anything, we found ourselves in an even more picturesque venue, for we had arrived to Tallinn, capital of Estonia.

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Tallinn, Estonia

While Tallinn is a town of much bright and cheerful color, it’s also a city with a lot of texture. As such, over the next two weeks you’re going to see a lot of photos in black & white, as t...

Fun Photo Friday — Riga Favorites 3

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Knight Time

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Streetlights

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Cat of a Hot Copper Roof

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The Ladder Guy

Baltic Cruise — Riga, Latvia Part 6

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Riga, Latvia

Are you impressed with Riga, Latvia? We certainly were. But it turned out that we would find ourselves even more delighted with our next stop on this Baltic cruise.

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Riga, Latvia

We’ll begin that tour next week, after this week’s Fun Photo Friday favorites of Riga.

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Riga, Latvia

So, next week we’ll move on to Tallinn, Estonia. Meanwhile, I’ll leave you with this photographic tour of Riga:

Baltic Cruise — Riga, Latvia Part 5

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Riga Art Nouveau

As I mentioned previously, Riga is famed for its extensive collection of Art Nouveau architecture. That will be the sole focus of today’s article.

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Riga Art Nouveau

Most of Riga’s Art Nouveau is concentrated in the city center, where up to one-third of the buildings there reflect this style dating back to the late 19th-early 20th centuries. And many fine examples of this style are found in the façades of the apartment buildings on Albert Street (Alberta iela).

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Riga Art Nouveau...