Instagram, a service that lets you share pictures and videos with your social network, has gone through its ups and downs in recent times. But many of us still can't resist the urge to share, like and scroll down through our Instagram feeds, when looking for inspiration or just bored out of our wits on the journey back home. So here are 10 Instagramers currently on our 'like' list — they’re London based, informative, and have inspired us to take more pictures and enjoy getting lost in the city.
Jonathan Daniel Pryce is a street and fashion photographer who also has a fascination for men with beards. His 100 BEARDS, 100 DAYS project features some majestic examples, and proves our theory that men with great hair grow great beards.
Susanna Lau is a writer, editor and well-known fashionista who was previously the Editor of Dazed Digital. Lau is now devoted to her Style Bubble blog and all things related to beautiful people and the art of shopping. We like her style, her sense of humour and we wouldn’t mind having her wardrobe.
No list of London Instagramers would be complete without including Hans Ulrich Obrist, art curator, critic and Co-director of Exhibitions and Programmes, and Director of International Projects at the Serpentine Gallery, London. Every day he posts an original handwritten statement by a famous art personality, which range from declarations to the universe to simple home truths. Our favourites are ‘Early is the new late’, by architect Fritz Haeg and ‘If you can't run with the big dogs, STAY ON THE PORCH!’ by American filmmaker and artist Liz Goldwyn.
While there are lots of Instagramers who capture the city at its beautiful best, Bal makes it to this list for his elegant use of light and his candid shots of people on the tube.
We enjoy Woody’s pictures of London’s street art for the sheer variety and regularity with which new images are posted. It reminds us that walls can be put to greater use other than for keeping things out or shielding things in.
Paul Winch-Furness specialises in photographing food and restaurants. Along with beautifully presented plates you also get a glimpse into some great interiors; definitely an account to follow if you like your food looking pretty and exclusive.
The negroni-loving Clerkenwell Boy is another of our favourites for good food ideas. He makes us hungrier by the minute, especially for hot tea smoked salmon and green tea moon cakes.
Miss Underground’s pictures of empty tube stations are impressive when you consider that it’s actually quite hard to find London tube stations that are empty for more than a quick moment. But she manages to capture them when all is quiet and asleep, and in doing so brings out a symmetry that is lost on us as we dodge around fellow commuters during rush hour.
Paul Talling is the author of Derelict London and London’s Lost Rivers and brings us some great pictures of London’s ruined and forgotten structures. Talling also offers Derelict London guided tours, the next of which is on 1 September 2013.
And last but not the least is Guillermo Becerra whose images are accompanied by inspiring quotes. Combining the thoughtful and thought-provoking, he makes us fall in love with London all over again.
While this is nowhere near an exhaustive list, we hope you’ve found at least a couple of London-inspired Instagramers to follow. Do you have any you’d like to add to our list?
By Gillian Da Costa