Available as a 1000x1500 JPEG or a 2600x3900 low-compression JPEG (2MB)

Kolpino (suburb of St. Petersburg). Relatively new housing developments

This picture illustrates Travel St. Petersburg - Trondheim page and is included in Picture Collection (ref. nr. a18-16) on Photo Pages

Taken on December 17, 1999 from a plane approaching Pulkovo 2 airport at the estimated altitude of 1100 m.
Fujichrome Sensia II 100 film, Canon EOS 500N, EF 28-80 1:3.5-5.6 IV USM lens at its wide end, UV(0) filter, f/4 1/60, partial metering: white and mostly white textures +1.5; handheld. Scanned on Nikon LS30 scanner. Uneven brightness across the image partially corected in Photoshop (via some work with layers and radial gradient tool).

In 2004, I was asked how much it would cost to take another shot like this in St. Petersburg. It turned out (after an extensive search for available services) that flying a helicopter to a specific point above the city followed by the obligatory security clearance of all the images I take would cost together no less than EUR 1600. Then, the client had to add my pay on top of that. A bit pricey, isn't it?
How you can use this image. ©1999 Vadim Makarov