In March 2004 I found myself in Tallinn, Estonia presenting at a pre-accession IT conference. Nearly spring at home, the temperatures remained determinedly below zero throughout as the streets rattled to the sound of studded tyres on tarmac. On one of the short days we escaped to Kadrioru Park by the shores of the Baltic and walked upon the water – the sea was deeply frozen as ferries navigated in and out of the port through roughly carved channels.
The return flight banked over the Baltic and some years later we returned by a defrosted sea on our return from St Petersburg. Thus I have floated on the Baltic, walked on its waters and flown over its deep seas. A couple of weeks back I even went inside:
Actually, I have been inside the Baltic Mill, Gateshead on many occasions. It is a wonderful building but the content rarely lives up to its fine exterior.
(this is another image courtesy of the smartphone).
northumbrian : light 
Good smartphone!
When I think about how much I spend on the ‘proper’ equipment I get quite depressed by the results that can be achieved with a phone. The Samsung S4 Zoom promises even better.
At least my phone is so basic it can’t show me up
All the more reason to stick to my £10 phone with the ‘voice chat’ and ‘electronic telegram’ features. Suspect a modern smartphone can do most of what my SLRs can do and would almost rather not know…
Above all else Patrick, the reason they work so well is because they are almost always to hand……no amount of expensive glassware is worth having if it is gathering dust at home – your Dad is trying to justify the X100s 🙂
oh, and eye of course😃
You were right first time Mick 🙂
This is an amazing shot, especially in B&W!
Many thanks for your generous words – pure luck – saw the image and just happened to have my smartphone to hand.
Great smartphone, btw! 😀
The winters are long up there. It would be interesting to visit at that (this) time of the year, but I can’t imagine living there.
It has some parallels with your post on Vilnius – it is worth seeing before it all changes although beyond the Prague-like old town it is a strange mixture. There are new-money glass & steel hotels, decrepit brutalist Soviet-era apartments and in between some very old, quite beautiful weather-worn clapboard houses. Coming in from the east is a super-wide highway built to accommodate easy access for tanks (or so I was told). Like many places, I would recommend a deep winter visit.
Like the angle and the lead-in lines. Very nicely composed.
Thanks Graham, much appreciated