Back in the USSR, the mystery picture Photo

Photographer’s Note

Strange title, isn't it ? Why is it actually so mysterious ?

Well just because I just can't remember where it has been taken, I rediscovered a few scans of my very early negatives and this one was there among some Warszawa photos, looking at it I first believed it was from the old city but could not recognize the Barbakan. Then I noticed the license numbers on both cars are Soviet, which rules out Poland. Considering the date it has to be Baltic, and I believe it is Lithuania, but I'm still not sure and I hope somebody will confirm the place.

To help I visited Vilnius, Trakai, Kaunas and Klaipeda in Lithuania, Riga, Jurmala, Ventspils and Liepaja in Latvia, Tartu and Tallinn in Estonia.

Because the negative is in bad shape, turning it into sepia and adding some contrast and noise seemed an obvious choice, all scratches original ;-)
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EDIT: TE showed its strength, it only required 65 minutes to have the mystery solved, thanks to Hanno we now know this picture shows the Viru gates in Tallinn, thanks a lot Hanno !

alekpet, tcht, ChrisJ, Silke, singuanti, Lynette, daburg has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

alekpet (4659) 2006-07-25 4:14

Hi JY.

This place is from some fairytale, you've never been there, it's just a photographic record of your imagination :)))
I love the scrathes, makes me think of sharing old photos.
I hope your imagination is still working as back then. Your memory clearly stopped working :)))

all the best, Aleks

Zepi (22848) 2006-07-25 4:33

Lol, salut maître des pixels…
Lol, et dire qu’il y a quelques jours tu me disais que ma photo de SeaWorld éteit bof bof car la vitre était griffée !
Et vlà que tu passe tes négatifs au papier de verre brut à présent !
Lol…..
On aura tout vu !
Bref, j’accroche pas trop sur ce coup là !
Dommage
A++
Zepi

tiduke (46) 2006-07-25 5:16

Nice picture. It is taken in Tallinn and this is Viru gates on this picture.

imrek (4) 2006-07-25 5:26

HI Jean,
very nostalgic old picture from Old Town of Tallinn!
regards,
imre

tcht (7298) 2006-07-25 5:57

Hi JY,
Classic sepia pic. I actually quite like those scratch marks cuz they make it look even older, sending the pic back to the 1980s. Good framing showing all the important features of this place. Nicely done.
CheukHin

talikf (1290) 2006-07-25 6:58

Wow, you reached 600 pictures already. That shows what a good photographer you are, I don't think I have so many good pictures. In any case I am not going out to shoot much during the winter. I should probably travel to bring some pictures from the world.

I think the scratches look great in this picture. It is amazing how you've been all over the world and I want to do it too, how did you find the time??

Tali

cbrman (18851) 2006-07-25 7:28

Hello,

Oulala ! Cette photographie a été ramenée d'un champ de bataille !! Une image assez étrange effectivement sans grand centre d'interêt si ce n'est son âge ! Je trouve sympa l'idée de la soumettre afin découvrir le lieu de la prise de vue !
A+

Dominique

ChrisJ (70283) 2006-07-25 7:41

Salut Jean Yves

I like the symmetry of the twin turrets. Good sharpness, & the noise & desaturation only enhance the "aged" look. Merci!

vinicio (22412) 2006-07-25 9:15

I love the old images and this with all its noise is very lovely, beautiful work, compliments, my theme about the old images thanks you.
Ciao
Vinicio

Silke (3023) 2006-07-25 9:55

This is an intriguing shot and seems so much older than the date you have given, thanks to the scratches on the negative and the choice of sepia. Remarkable how quickly you've identified the location too!
I'd be intersted to know how you go about scanning negatives. I have tried and the result is a jpeg of immense size and poor colour quality.
Great composition, lovely POV
Kudos
silke

Cormac (26449) 2006-07-25 11:23

Knowing that you like to simulate old shots with some creative processing, I thought this was another one, however, it really is an old shot, with original scratches even (definite bonus!). Great treatment which adds to the ambiance and makes this very interesting, like looking back in time.

bibiweb (8) 2006-07-25 15:12

Salut Jean-Yves,
Pas mal le coup du "je n'ai aucune idée de ce que je poste, mais vous allez me le dire"... et en plus ça fonctionne! C'est ça la magie de TE. :o)
La photo a moins de 15 ans, mais on a l'impression de voir un daguérréotype avec ton passage au sépia et toutes ces rayures. Y'a juste les voitures qui font un peu trop moderne. :o))
Bonne soirée.
Bibi

cgale (62) 2006-07-25 16:28

It's definitey Tallinn, Estonia, right by the market. I love the old walls of Tallinn, and I really like the sepia tones you've got here. But yes, for you records, it's Tallinn.

Rockyboy (20580) 2006-07-25 17:39

Je n'ai aucune idée également de l'endroit de cette photo mais en tout cas, elle m'a donné l'idée de poster celle d'aujourd'hui, même si ici, tu as une voiture française en avant plan! (tout de même une lada en arrière plan)
Enfin, la photo est bien composée et je n'ai pas l'impression de reculer en 1992 mais plutot en 1982;)

singuanti (15240) 2006-07-25 22:02

Hi Jean-Yves. Uhh yeah I'd be useless in figuring out where this was taken. I'm glad you had the mystery solved. I might draw a fence around those nasty areas with dust and scratches and see if I can sort of get rid of them. That negative deteriorated surprisingly quickly. tfs JY.

jinju (14265) 2006-07-26 3:41

Technically its isnt perfect, scratches and all, but its a very valuable shot for documentary purposes JY. And the sepia is natural;)

Lynette (1615) 2006-07-29 9:07

Hi Jean, I love the sepia colour. I am glad you left the scratches as is. A 'bad negative' as u say which reminded me of the 'ugly duckling' that turned out lovely.
A beautiful adjustment to an old picture.
Regards
: ) lynette

IvarsU (2499) 2006-08-01 13:05