evil eye

San Sebastian, Spain | © Verena Fischer 2013

San Sebastian, Spain | © Verena Fischer 2013

San Sebastian, Spain | © Verena Fischer 2013

San Sebastian, Spain | © Verena Fischer 2013

San Sebastian, Spain | © Verena Fischer 2013

All pictures taken with: Olympus Pen E-PL3 and Panasonic Lumix 20mm f/1.7 ASPH.

The other day Brian Bothwell commented on one of my series on G+ saying that people look a lot happier in my San Sebastian pictures. Well, of course they do! Imagine being able afford to live in a place at the sea, with a nice beach, mild weather, opportunities to surf, a local spa and having access to great food every day! It does sound a lot nicer than living in one of the rough neighbourhoods in Berlin, which is Siberian and dark half the year. It’s no wonder then that I feel infinitely more relaxed while I am here in San Sebastian. Sure, San Sebastian has its own issues – any place mostly inhabited by rich people, seasonal workers and tourists will have those, but these are very different problems from those of Berlin Wedding for example.

I have been wondering how this will affect my photography though. Is San Sebastian a good place for street photography? I honestly can’t say yet. It’s not as if I haven’t taken my share of odd pictures in San Sebastian, so I wouldn’t say it’s more boring photographically. Maybe the problems of San Sebastian are less visible and harder to capture at times, but I see this as an opportunity for growth rather than as a hinderance. Besides, I’m hoping that being infinitely more relaxed on a daily basis will help to improve my health so much that I can travel with ease and take pictures in all the exotic places I’m going to visit – yes, the other day I wrote down a whole list of places that I’m planning to visit in the future, starting with Dresden in December. Maybe I won’t be going to Buenos Aires, New York or Tokyo next week, but eventually I definitely want to go there! Not being stressed out by my rough neighbourhood in Berlin anymore will definitely be a good first step to make this possible.