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Jzeppelina
@jzeppelina
Traveler and photographer based in Spain
During childhood, I was constantly devouring all the Jack London adventure novels. In my imagination, I would travel to all the places in his book. This creative style of thinking has probably affected the path I’m currently on. As a child, I also remember browsing my mom’s black and white photos of her youthful adventures in the Caucasus mountains. These images were taken with her old Soviet film Camera, Smena 8M. I would often play around with it as it was so interesting. After each shot, you had to rewind the film roll manually. It was impossible to know what would come out until the processed film was received from the photo lab.
The first camera that I personally owned was the Canon Ixus 50. I’d saved up a bit of money working in my job, as I decided to skip going to university and begin my career early. I took this camera on my first solo trip in 2005 to the Netherlands for a music concert. I captured dozens of shots during this trip that represent a special memory.
"From that moment on, I've been snapping pictures and traveling ever since."
I like to spend a lot of time discovering new exciting places, even in my hometown. I take my camera with me everywhere I go, and photography has been invaluable support throughout my life. After the breakup of my 5-year relationship, I had to deal with a lot of pain. Photography was escapism for me during this period; it was a way for me to emotionally recover.
During these challenging moments, reflective thinking has helped me so much. This self-awareness not only helped me accept my shortcomings and consider how I can become a better person to be happier today but also how I can have a positive impact on my environment and contribute to a healthier world.
When you are out on the beach or just anywhere out in nature, it can definitely make you feel at peace with the world. The tranquility I personally felt as a child, when I used to be with my dog and we’d go out into nature together, still affects me to this day. I would often just sit on a big rock with her in the middle of a meadow and contemplate the surroundings. These moments always made me feel totally at peace. Everything seemed to be just perfect.
There was also the seaside I loved going to while living in the capital city of Estonia, Tallinn. I adored going there and practicing long exposure seascape shots. Having lived in such a great environment, it may seem a little odd to you why I’m now living in Spain. I never imagined this was where I would be all those years ago as a kid. But after a few trips here, I knew this was the place for me. Madrid was the city I chose to move to – in the middle of Spain. This meant I had to compromise the proximity to the sea that I was fortunate to have in Tallinn.
"Having said that, though, I found myself surrounded by the mountains and impressive climatic diversity that has spurred me on to want to explore the rest of Spain."
My significant other has taken me to all of the places I’ve been eagerly waiting to visit. Receiving this level of support has meant a lot to me while adapting to living in Spain. He’s sacrificed many early morning sleep hours for me, which I appreciate massively.
And there are still so many more places I would like to explore. The list of my favorite spots in Spain keeps growing every year. I fell in love first with Ronda village in Andalucia and Cuenca, with its picturesque surroundings.
Living here in Spain and exploring all these locations has motivated me to start my own website and travel blog. In the current year of the pandemic, we’ve been traveling only around the north of the country. I was definitely smitten by the foggy mornings in Covadonga and mountain views on the road through Pajares. But one of my favorite moments was one early morning in Corconte village. Getting out of the car, I saw the fog coming from the mountains, and we decided to go for a walk. We were surrounded by fields with haystacks and pastures with animals; cows, horses, and sheep. Every time they moved, we could hear the bells around their necks ring. Observing this rural life provoked a silly childlike smile on my face. It was terrific, and after returning from the walk, I grabbed a coffee at a local Conchita hostel-restaurant.
"I sat there sipping on my coffee while editing some of my photos from our road trip. This was one of the best moments I experienced during the whole year."
Moments like these are why I enrolled in an online photography school. Although I had a full-time job when I started, I still found the motivation to complete my assignments. I would often walk around my neighborhood while carrying my camera, looking for the right opportunity to capture my shot. However, while waiting for my assignments to be evaluated, I lacked the feedback I much desired on my images. Sometimes it made me feel like I didn’t have a sense of direction.
I’m continually looking to improve further. But I think, to speed up my growth, I need to get out into the field to practice alongside other great photographers. Being able to hear from their personal experiences and working on projects together will help me rapidly develop.
But there have already been so many people who have helped me in my journey. Previously I was a part of a landscape photography masterclass held by photographer Pavel Oskin, based in Prague. It was a valuable experience and connected me to other creative people. Max Muench, through his online masterclass, and Spanish photographer Pablo Ruiz Garcia, during his workshop in Cantabria, were two other big influences.
"Both of them had a contagious passion for what they do, which inspired me. I'm certainly grateful for having these opportunities."
Meeting such great people and going to incredible places during my photographic journey has definitely been exciting. When you’re out in nature or by the sea, feeling the waves come up against you, it’s truly a time to relax and be mindful of how lucky we are to be experiencing this thing we call life. When it’s time for us to leave this planet, it’s time to go, so we must cherish every moment we are here.
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