Editing while in Tallinn

Lana Vogestad and I are having a show at the Lost Horse Gallery in the beginning of October. I have been photographing the American Base for an installation I would like to show. I want to show the eerie quality of the place. How it feels abandoned and how it looks so alienating. The structures look very utilitarian and totally stiff. It is my goal to present these images in a way where the viewer also experiences that. At this moment I am struggling with form. I want all of the forms to be the same. It would fullfill all of my dreams if I could capture every building in the same light and at the same angle. So far, that has been difficult. I also don’t like getting cars in the shots and that is sometimes hard to avoid since it is not totally abandoned.

Here are 2 shots that clearly show the aesthetic I am going for.

Trying to make a Disney Land set out of Tallinn

So, I have been trying to find a way to capture Tallinn in a way that it looks like the set from a Disney movie. I have not been successful yet. Maybe this isn’t really the sort of town. I realize that a more provincial French town would be more appropriate. Probably my reaction to this town looking like a Disney set is that I have not traveled around Europe very much and haven’t seen many small medieval villages. This being one of the first is leaving a big impression.

I was walking in between the old city, the new city, a newly re-furbished conodized yuppies neighborhood and the harbor today. You can see some of my wanderings.

Click here to check out today’s wanderings…

Enter here:

Disney Land?

I feel like I have just entered Disney World or Disney Land. As an American my only experience in old cities is Disney World and Disney cartoons. Somehow, despite all of the politics of this place and history, Tallinn, feels like a memory of a wonderful and romantic place.

I just arrived here yesterday afternoon. I have yet to do a lot of exploring, but I have seen most of the old city. It feels like I am in a movie set. I can’t wait to see whats on the outside.

Super Star Boat Trip

Above was the view of the sky from the boat. It was a gorgeous day on the trip from Helsinki, Finland to Tallinn, Estonia.

Thanks to the Estonia Artist’s Association, I have a wonderful apartment and studio for the next 5 days. I will be making the most of my time here. I already have some ideas of photographs I want to make. Disney World is coming to mind.

An image from the park around the old city limits.

Even the trees are out of a Disney movie.