Instagram is Exploding! who to follow

The phone based publishing app Instagram has been around for over a year but lately it seems to be exploding with professional photographers. There is a huge stream of really good images. National Geographic got into the game recently by giving 50 or so of its freelance photographs direct access to post on its Instagram feed (for thoughts on that go here). It makes for an eclectic set of images -from a red spotted newt I found while walking at home to John Stanmeyer's MSF photos from South Sudan. The New Yorker is taking a different approach by giving individual photographers a week to post by themselves.

Instagram is a super exciting and rapidly evolving publishing platform. But it is a crowded world. How do you know who to follow?

In general I follow people whos work I admire Here is a short list of people worth following. Feel free to suggest your own in comments.

@benlowy Ben Lowuis a photojournalist based in NY. He published on Instagram daily

@pennydelossantos Penny de los Sanntos is a NY based food and travel photographer 

@edkashi Ed Kashi is a long time NG contributor, VII member and current New Yorker Instagram publisher.

@davidalanharvey David Alan Harvey is a member of Magnum and the publisher of Burn Magazine

@jimmy_chin Climber, photographer and film maker Jimmy Chinn publishes from his travels around the world.

@johnstanmeyer John Stanmeyer helped start the VII collective, need I say more?

@mcbphotos Michael Christopher Brown has been shooting serious subjects with a cell phone camera longer than anyone else I know.

@yamashitaphotos Legendary NGM contributor Michael Yamashita publishes only occasionally but when he does it can be extraordinary. 

@salvarezphoto me, long time NG contributor and occasional photo pundit. 

There are also 2 publications that I follow. @natgeo and @newyorkermag both give the photographers direct access to their audience. That is a tectonic shift in the world of publishing.

Stephen Alvarez

 

 

 

 

Comments

[Stephen Alvarez]

two more photographers who should have been on the list

Lynn Johnson @ljohnphoto she doesn't post too often but when she does it is memorable.

David Burnett @davidb383 founding member of CONTACT, the best coverage of the London Olympics I saw was his instagram feed.

[David Moser]

Thank you, appreciate the response.

[Stephen Alvarez]

@David Moser I guess I should be more clear about what I mean by tectonic shift. It isn't a shift in economics, the economics of publishing continue to be dismal and in that respect instagram is no different than any other online photo sharing system. The shift I am talking about is in publication editors not being involved in photo publication. I don't really know about the New Yorker, but the @natgeo instagram feed is run by the photographers. The magazine editors are not involved. THAT is a tectonic shift. For years publications have been removing the photographer from the publishing equation. Instagram moves it somewhat back into our court.

[David Moser]

Ed Kashi's pictures for NewYorker have been brilliant this week, your picture on the motorcycle is wonderful, always nice to see the young girls Harvey hangs out with and read about his go-go-go life, one can only imagine, only imagine... but... Tectonic shift in publishing? = uploading "content" for free, like everyone else? With all due respect, because you are indeed working at the highest levels -- where's the upside?