Soviet Republic of Estonia on Michael’s Domain

Same place, 38 years later (part A)

Sat, 19 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

I visited Tallinn for the first time in 1987. It was also my first and last visit to the Soviet Republic of Estonia. I took a few photographs at the time (I had one roll of 35-mm film with 36 exposures). Last week, I went back after more than 25 years of not having been there to take re-shots of some of the places. I received help from an expert, who pinpointed the exact locations, down to a few meters, where I had taken the shots in 1987. However, it was still difficult to get the perspective right, and I clearly failed in three of the four pictures. I thought I had taken my 28-100 mm Zoom objective in 1987, but after looking at the pictures, I am not so sure anymore. I also had a 70-210 mm Zoom, and I might have used that one. It’s somehow clear from the 1987 images that I must have been far away from the people I photographed, since nobody took notice. I should have used the same camera (which I still have in a drawer that I hadn’t opened for a decade or longer), but I didn’t manage to get photographic (“chemical”) film on short notice. Shot #3 was especially challenging since none of the buildings visible in the 1987 image still exist. Happy to get feedback for my next visit!

Same place, 38 years later (part B)

Sat, 19 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

#Not necessary! # #

Same place, 38 years later (part C)

Sat, 19 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This was the most tricky image and I am not sure at all whether the new image captures the correct place. Again, I think the 1987 shot must have been taken with a focal length of more than 100 mm. There was no building that could have served as a clearly identifiable fixpoint.BTW: All the 2025 images were taken with the mobile phone camera of a Samsung Galaxy A35. Taking the original camera (Ricoh XR-P) with me would have approximately doubled the weight of my luggage.

Same place, 38 years later (part D)

Sat, 19 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Next time I’ll take my old SLR camera and the 70-210 zoom objective. I guess I could have used the digital zoom of my mobile phone…