Maria Kärner, who was part of the photography team, shares her festival impressions.
I’m Maria, and this is already my second year at Open House. I’ve been doing photography for a year and a couple of months. The call for Open House volunteers really piqued my interest because it gave me a chance to test myself and encounter new people and places. Just like last year, I ran around and discovered exciting locations around the city. This year, I chose: Bank of Estonia, Tallinn Courthouse on Pärnu Road, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Vana-Lõuna Tram Depot, ERR Television House, and the National Library of Estonia.
Preparing for the festival meant checking my camera, camera bag, and batteries a million times so that the battery wouldn’t run out during a tour under any circumstances.
Of course, I was also very worried about the weather. For a week before the festival and the tours, I think checking the weather forecast was all I did every single day. Luckily, most of my tours were indoors, but there was still a risk of the camera getting wet. Fortunately, we got lucky with the weather, as the sun came out on both days and the air was pleasant.
I took photos at the festival on Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday, my first stop was the Courthouse. There I was greeted by lovely volunteer guides, escorts, and staff from the courthouse itself. A video team from Kanal2 also joined our tour. I was even seen on TV! The Courthouse was very exciting, and the courtrooms were beautiful and interesting.
After the courthouse, I headed to the Bank of Estonia. Before that, though, I had about 50 minutes. I made good use of the time, sitting in a café in Solaris and editing photos. This year, I decided to leave enough time between tours so I could have the photos ready and saved in a folder right after each tour. That way, there wouldn’t be too much editing left for the evening, and the organizing team could access the pictures faster.
It was time to head to the Bank of Estonia. I took a photo of the door (since that was requested in our guidelines). They have very strict security measures there, but I’m not surprised—it is the Bank of Estonia, after all. My biggest surprise was that I actually wasn’t allowed to take photos inside. I was allowed to take pictures of two paintings and one corridor. For a moment, I was a bit disappointed, but at the same time, I completely understand that taking photos might be forbidden in an institution like that. Still, there were such beautiful ceilings, so many details and decorations, and so many things preserved from earlier times. If you manage to go next year, I definitely recommend seeing it with your own eyes.
After the Bank of Estonia, I headed back to the café to edit photos. Fortunately, it went faster since there were significantly fewer pictures. I prepared to move toward the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. There, my camera bag was scanned, and I walked through the security gates myself. I was really looking forward to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs because my aunt works there and it was exciting to see her workplace. We were shown the foyer, the “sprat tin” hall (Kilukarbisaal), the Jaan Poska hall, and various other rooms. In addition, we saw a statue of Lennart Meri. One interesting fact I learned about it was why the window latches stop in the middle: there used to be a statue there, and they didn’t want the line of windows to ruin the backdrop, so a gap was left. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is a cool, exciting, and beautiful building to photograph and capture.
With that, my day came to an end, and I headed home to rest up for the next day.
Sunday brought me another exciting day. First, I went to the Vana-Lõuna tram depot. It was so cool to see the workshop where the trams rest, along with many other exciting things. The tram depot was a highly requested site byVolunteer Maria: “I really enjoyed volunteering, taking beautiful photos, and meeting new people”
Maria Kärner, who was part of the photography team, shares her impressions of the festival.
I’m Maria, and this is my second year at Open House. I’ve been doing photography for a year and a couple of months. The volunteer call-out post for Open House really caught my interest because I can challenge myself and encounter new people and places. Just like last year, I ran around and discovered exciting locations across the city. This year, I chose: the Bank of Estonia, the Tallinn Courthouse on Pärnu Road, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Vana-Lõuna Tram Depot, the ERR Television House, and the National Library of Estonia.
Preparing for the festival meant checking my camera, camera bag, and batteries a million times so that there was no chance a battery would die during a tour.
Naturally, I was also very worried about the weather. Every single day for a week before the festival and the tours, all I did was check the weather forecast. Fortunately, most of my tours were indoors, but there was still a risk of the camera getting wet from humidity. Luckily, we got fortunate with the weather—the sun came out on both days, and the air was pleasant.
I photographed the festival on Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday, my first stop was the Courthouse. I was welcomed there by lovely volunteer guides, escorts, and staff from the courthouse itself. A camera crew from Kanal2 also joined our tour. I even ended up being seen on TV! The courthouse was very fascinating, and the courtrooms were beautiful and interesting.
After the courthouse, I headed to the Bank of Estonia. Before that, I had about 50 minutes to spare. I put that time to good use by sitting in a cafe in Solaris and editing photos. This year, I decided to leave enough time between tours so I could process the photos right away after each tour and put them in a folder. That way, there wouldn’t be too much editing left for the evening, and the organizing team could access the photos faster.
It was time to head to the Bank of Estonia. I took a picture of the door (since that was on our checklist). They have very strict security measures there, but I’m not surprised—it is the Bank of Estonia, after all. To my biggest surprise, I wasn’t actually allowed to take photos inside. I was permitted to photograph two paintings and one hallway. For a brief moment, I felt a little disappointed, but at the same time, I completely understand that taking photos might be prohibited in an institution like that. Still, there were such beautiful ceilings, so many details and decorations, and so many things preserved from earlier times. If you get the chance to go next year, I definitely recommend checking it out with your own eyes.
After the Bank of Estonia, I headed back to a cafe to edit photos. Luckily, it went faster since there were significantly fewer photos. I got ready to move toward the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. My camera bag was scanned there, and I walked through the security gates myself. I was really looking forward to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs because my aunt works there, and it was exciting to see her workplace. We were shown the foyer, the “sprat-can hall” (kilukarbisaal), the Jaan Poska hall, and various other rooms. In addition, we saw the statue of Lennart Meri. One interesting fact I learned about it was why the window latches stop in the middle—it’s because a statue used to stand there, and they didn’t want the line of windows to ruin the backdrop, so a gap was left there. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is a fun, exciting, and beautiful building to photograph and capture.
With that, my day came to an end, and I headed home to rest up for the next day.
Sunday brought another exciting day for me. First, I went to the Vana-Lõuna tram depot. It was so cool to see the workshop where the trams rest, along with many other exciting things. The tram depot was a highly requested location among visitors. Even though the tour limit was set to 15 people, we actually had nearly 30 people on our tour. I really liked how the light fell through the windows onto the trams in that building, making the photos very interesting and pleasing to the eye.
Since I unfortunately forgot to eat breakfast, I was very hungry after the tour. Luckily, we received a message right then that the logistics team had brought food to the headquarters early, which meant I went straight there. I had two hours until my next tour, so I was able to eat and edit photos at a relaxed pace. Other photographers were there at the same time, so I was able to chat with them and talk shop. We discussed each other’s photography preferences, what camera everyone uses, and how long everyone has been taking photos. It was so nice to meet other wonderful and hardworking people. Once lunch was eaten and the photos were processed, I rushed off to the next venue: the ERR Television House.
At the ERR Television House, we first walked around the museum area. The guides took us to the TV studio first. There was so much interesting equipment: large cameras, massive screens, so many lights, and other gadgets. Seeing those studios, the same thought crossed all of our minds: “These rooms look bigger on TV.” They sure have good TV tricks. After the TV studios, we were guided down to the basement where the archive was located. Unfortunately, I couldn’t stay there any longer—the tour ran long, and I had to rush to my final location, which was the National Library of Estonia.
When I arrived at the National Library of Estonia, quite a few people were waiting outside the door. Luckily, I was let in before the tour started, so I managed to take beautiful photos of the interior architecture as well as our volunteers. That building is so majestic. So spacious, bright, and airy—a really pleasant place where I could see myself working or reading. Although interior work was still underway in the building, we still had a great time looking at the details crafted on the glass and listening to exciting stories from the guides. In other rooms of the National Library, photographing was more challenging because it was darker. There was a lot of noise in the images, so I had to play around a lot with settings, angles, and the available light. The National Library was also a very, very popular location that visitors really enjoyed.
Sunday’s photo shoot ended with a fun volunteer appreciation event where we got to eat kringel, cakes, and pastries, and drink good tea and delicious coffee. We also played a trivia game where my team finished fifth. I chatted with lovely people and had a wonderful time. I really enjoyed volunteering, taking beautiful photos, and meeting new people. I will definitely do it again next year, and I strongly encourage you to participate as well if you haven’t done so yet.
Thank you for this wonderful experience, Open House Tallinn!
