Photo Album: Lithuania

Lithuania? Of all places?

In early April of 2026, I was asked by a coworker to join a work trip to Lithuania. Most people would jump at an opportunity like this, but I had serious reservations about attending. I don't really enjoy traveling... I would prefer to stay in my air conditioned office, where nothing bad can happen and no one can hurt me. Like SpongeBob, I would rather stay indoors and spend time with Penny, Chip, and Used Napkin.

Aside from seeing extended family in Canada, I've never left the country, so the prospect of flying all the way to Lithuania seemed... intense. And I was right: this work trip was pretty stressful. But I'm glad I went! It was a great learning experience, and I got to snap some pictures in my downtime.

Silhouettes against the sky

My coworkers and I were working during the day, so my only opportunity to explore the city was at night. Thankfully, this was not my first nighttime photography rodeo.

The most obvious challenge when taking photos at night is the lack of light. Jacking up the sensitivity of the sensor (i.e., boosting the ISO) fixes this problem, but introduces grain and sacrifices sharpness. Not the style I was going for. To keep photos sharp and clean, it is better to dramatically reduce the shutter speed, allowing as much light into the sensor as possible. This is called "long exposure."

Using a reduced shutter speed creates a new problem; any slight camera movements will cause the entire image to be blurry. Unless your hands are unbelievably steady, you'll need a tripod. Thankfully, I packed one in my suitcase. None of these photos would've been possible otherwise.

The above photo is a 25 second long exposure shot, taken with my zoom lens. The stars in the sky typically appear stationary to an observer, but their movement is captured elegantly behind the statue, appearing as blurred blips. Both the zoom and the long exposure contributed to this effect.

But enough about my photography snobbery. Let's talk about the subject, which is far more interesting: Lithuanian history. Despite alternating between Soviet and Nazi occupation in the 20th century, they have thankfully retained their national identity and heritage which has spanned most of the millenium. Some of the historic buildings reminded me of playing Age of Empires II as a kid. Those Teutonic Knights were formidable indeed.

Speaking of Teutonic Knights, it was fascinating to read about the Christianization of Lithuania. The Vilnius Cathedral (which appears in many of my photos) was once a pagan temple before its conversion to Catholicism. The Roman-inspired architecture paired with Christian symbolism was gorgeous to see illuminated at night. I attended mass at the cathedral during my trip, where I discovered the interior of the building was equally beautiful.

The founders of the nation and capital are also featured prominently. Gediminas, the Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1315 to 1341, is depicted with a wolf he supposedly saw in a dream, mirroring the Roman "Romulus and Remus" legend. Gediminas ruled over a staunchly pagan people who would have killed him for converting to Christianity. And he was at war with Teutonic crusaders who wanted to kill him unless he converted to Christianity. A lose-lose situation for poor Gediminas, who was unable to please everyone despite his best efforts.

Casting a shadow

Of course, I write all of this as a simple observer.

Reading a Wikipedia article certainly doesn't make me an expert on Lithuanian culture. But while I'm at it, I may as well continue to insert myself into their history. By accident, my shadow appeared in a few of these shots as I stood next to my tripod. I didn't even notice my shadow in "Big Brother" until I returned home to see my pictures.

And that's assuming the shadow actually belongs to me. If it doesn't, then it must be Gediminas' ghost. Speaking of which...

Fatal frame

Photography is typically more representational and functional than a drawing or painting, because you are just capturing light. But light can play weird tricks in the dark, especially when the exposure is long. The resultant photo is "real," yet it captures something that cannot possibly be real. Like a ghost.

A car passed in front of my tripod when I was lining up my photo of King Mindaugas, creating a gaseous spirit passing through the statue and dissipating on the left side of the image.

I can't even begin to describe how this next photo happened. Somehow, the feet are visible while the bodies have faded away, casting an impossibly long shadow in front of the king.

And finally, an army of darkness parading in the streets near St. John's Church Bell Tower. Shutter speeds longer than a second seem to reduce humans to something distinctly nonhuman.

European culture

This was my first time traveling to Europe, and the culture shock was... shocking. There is no sense of urgency. Life is slow paced. Everyone smokes. It certainly fits the European stereotypes, but it inherited some "vintage" American culture that I wasn't expecting to see. All the young adults, men and women alike, wore black leather jackets. 90s and early 2000s pop music played in all the restaurants (lots of Black Eyed Peas and Brittney Spears). I would say that Gediminas is rolling in his grave, but he was actually cremated in a pagan funeral ceremony.

I did my best to capture Vilnius' nightlife on camera by setting up my tripod in old town Pilies, near the restaurants. Taking photos of people in the streets is difficult because it "feels wrong." Thankfully, no one seemed to care. The Vilnius people don't really acknowledge your existence when passing them in the street, similarly to an American cosmopolitan city.

I took dozens of photos from this location, adjusting shutter speed and waiting patiently for the best framing. The slight blurring helps anonymize the faces too.

Proportion and scale

Night was turning to day, and my photo spree was coming to an end. As I walked back from Pilies towards the Neris river, I stopped at the Vilnius Cathedral and adjacent bell tower one last time. Switching to my wide angle lens, I wanted to capture the sheer size of these buildings, and how small they made me feel. By extension, this entire travel experience made me feel quite small.

I brought my camera remote with me, making it possible to feature myself as the subject of these photos. Very iterative process, getting the posing just right. Lots of outtakes. But through trial and error, I created my favorite two photos from the trip. They perfectly encapsulated everything I was feeling and combined it with historic Lithuanian architecture, producing something more akin to a painting.

One of the hidden benefits of late night photography is the loneliness. Everyone is asleep, so I can disable my self-awareness and not worry about looking stupid in public. It was just me out there.

Bonus pics: Trakai Castle

A few days after the late-night photoshoot in Vilnius, my coworkers and I ventured to the neighboring city of Trakai, home to Trakai Castle. I excitedly brought my camera with me, only to make a tragic discovery; Europeans use a different interface for converting alternating current to direct current (i.e., you can't plug your American charger into a European wall).

My camera battery was completely drained from the hundreds of long-exposure night shots, so I only managed to capture a handful of decent photos in Trakai.

When digitally enhancing the RAWs from my camera, I generally only make small adjustments that exaggerate the existing character of the image. Here, I wanted to make this otherwise boring photo of the castle look like a postcard, so I boosted the saturation much more than usual. The castle is definitely not this orange.

Just to contrast this second castle photo with the previous one, I used a darker, grungier filter in my software's editor, making the castle's entrance appear almost swamp-like.

I only snapped a few pictures from within the castle walls. Hope you like taxidermy.

Even from beyond the grave, these vicious animals still managed to kill something: my camera. The bear was the last thing my camera saw before the battery died.

What did I learn from Lithuania?

1. Nighttime photography's limitations are actually a strength. It exposes many artistic choices not available during the day.
2. Photos of popular landmarks and monuments are not boring by design. Even a small shadow is enough to add character to them.
3. Bring a European-to-American AC adapter when traveling internationally.

Thank you for reading!