The pictures were taken with the Nikon D70S, a 17-55mm lens and a small tripod.
St. Petersburg is the world's most northern city with a population over 1 million, and it stands at such a high latitude that the sun does not descend below the horizon enough for the sky to grow dark during the Summer. In fact night becomes curiously indistinguishable from day, so much so that they never need to turn the city’s street lights on! The locals call it "the white nights".