Cabazon Dinosaurs
Meet the Cabazon Dinosaurs, roadside attractions that make for a great photo-stop on a drive through the California desert!
Photos by lbroad, beckeelenore, srcurran, halliep, dansamiljan, socalliss, parkdj808 & tamarlevine.
Weekend Hashtag Project: #streetartistry
Weekend Hashtag Project is a series featuring designated themes & hashtags chosen by Instagram’s Community Team. For a chance to be featured on the Instagram blog, follow @instagram and look for a photo announcing the weekend’s project every Friday.
This weekend’s theme was #streetartistry, which asked participants to capture photographs of street art. Every Monday we feature some of our favorite submissions from the project, but be sure to check out the rest here.
Photos by @toso1979, @nwagner, @rowaneva, @chrisprad, @lysschr, @jungletimer, @licclevicky, @tanpg, @38ssiew, @sean_rees, @misskary & @travisjenkins.
The Week on Instagram | 26
- Happy Mother’s Day!
- Update: What’s New in Android Version 1.1.0 (Tilt-Shift!)
- Bon Appetit’s 15 Best Instagram Accounts for Food-Lovers
- NY Daily News: Jimmy Choo launches street style blog to illustrate personal styles
- Weekend Hashtag Project: #streetartistry. View photos from the last project, #buggingout.
- Photo Feature: Tilt-shift for Android
- Follow Friday: Travel
- Spotlight: Israel
- The Making Of: Fine, Fashionable Footwear
- How I Shoot: Dodging and Burning, by Finn Beales
Photo Feature: Tilt-shift for Android
We’re so excited that our friends on Android can now experiment with tilt-shift, or selective focusing, on Instagram in order to create miniature scenes and give the appearance of depth of field!
Tilt-shift photography is a process that uses a special lens with the ability the physically tilt for plane of focus, and then shift to adjust the position of the subject. Since mobile photography doesn’t employ external lenses, the process typically refers to selective focus in order to simulate miniature scenes. Selective focus can also be used to create a shallow depth of field in order to place the focus on a subject then blur out either the foreground or background, creating the appearance of depth.
Since we’ve previously provided tips on how to best utilize the tilt-shift tool we wanted to showcase some fantastic photographs shared to Instagram utilizing this brand new Android feature!
Photos by @owenkam, @neilmenday, @alemarengo, @danthwaites, @menghengg, @mindgrains & @vininstagram.
Follow Friday: Travel
From hotels to pilots, there are plenty of ways to get your travel fix through Instagram photos. Here are a few of our favorite accounts!
@thestandard - Hotel
@virginamerica - Airline
@seeaustralia - Tourism
@bkindler - Pilot
The photo at the top of this post was taken by @nikosono
Spotlight: Israel
Since launching, we’ve seen Instagram spread from our headquarters in the Bay Area to every corner of the globe. In this series we’ll highlight top users from countries and cities with thriving Instagram communities.
Israel is as young as it is small. The coastal nation turns just 64 years old this year, having been declared an independent state in 1948. A full 70% of its 7 million inhabitants live in a narrow strip of land as little as 9 miles (14 km) wide.
Despite Israel’s compact size, the country manages to churn out some of the artsiest Instagrammers on the planet. Below are a few of our favorites.
@bashkin
@reabd
@aviadbn
@blackpentagon
@gali_roze
The photo at the top is by @alonik.
The Making Of: Fine, Fashionable Footwear
This week’s “The Making Of” takes us to Red Wing, Minnesota, where Red Wing Shoe Co.—@redwingheritage on Instagram—has been in production for over 100 years.
Red Wing’s Instagram feed is a wonderful behind-the-scenes look at the production—and producers—of their handmade footwear. And of course, they also provide plenty of finished product photos for their followers to ogle.
Know any other Instagrammers doing something unique with their hands? Send us a note through Tumblr.
Update: What’s New in Android Version 1.1.0
Hurrah! Instagram for Android v1.1.0 is now available in the Google Play Store! We’ve appreciated all of your feedback since our last release, and are excited to announce we’ve added the feature you’ve all been waiting for:
An image before and after applying tilt-shift.
Tilt-Shift
Our popular tilt-shift feature allows you to easily alter depth of field in your photographs. By adding a realistic blur to the setting around a focal point, you can emphasize the heart of your photos and even make some scenes look miniature. To get you started, here are some great tips on how to maximize tilt-shift.
How I Shoot: Dodging and Burning, by Finn Beales
How I Shoot is a series where we ask Instagrammers to tell us about their photo-taking processes. In this post, Finn Beales (@finn) explains “dodging and burning,” a photo-editing technique popularized by American photographer Ansel Adams.
Vantage Point: I generally look for a strong central focal point. A roadway, tree or something else that sits smack in the center of the frame.
Shooting: I shoot with the iPhone native camera app and usually expose my pictures to a mid-tone, bringing back areas that I want to highlight during processing. There’s often a lot of detail in the sky, as well as the shadows, and it’s a shame to lose this. Double tap an area on the screen that is closest to the midpoint between black and white (i.e gray). This will give you the best exposure for all the elements in the frame.
Editing: For this photo, I made edits using Snapseed. First, use Tune image > Ambiance at about 30% to put some life back into the picture. Next, choose the selective adjust tool and add points to areas of the image that you want to enhance. I generally work with the light already in the picture. It’s a simple process of brightening the highlights and darkening the shadows, always working to isolate the subject at the center of the frame. This technique is called dodging and burning, and the legendary Ansel Adams was a master of it (although he used chemicals to get the effect as opposed to a swipe of the finger!).
When you’re finished editing in Snapseed, save the photo and then apply an Instagram filter that tones the image according to your preference. In this case, I used Sierra.
Weekend Hashtag Project: #buggingout
Weekend Hashtag Project is a series featuring designated themes & hashtags chosen by Instagram’s Community Team. For a chance to be featured on the Instagram blog, follow @instagram and look for a photo announcing the weekend’s project every Friday.
This weekend’s theme was #buggingout, which asked participants to capture photographs of bugs. Every Monday we feature some of our favorite submissions from the project, but be sure to check out the rest here.
Photos by @shutterbugbri, @drewdomkus, @deepskywonders, @amy_leee, @arctologiste, @famousjody, @unicornpoop, @eprimasatya, @lukepenketh, @undertheopensky, @sheribisbee & @worksology.

















































































