60 Feet Underwater: Instagramming from Mission Aquarius

Want to see more? Check out pictures tagged with #missionaquarius, Aquarius’ location page, as well as Brian’s article “The Extreme Difficulty of Leaving an Underwater Base”.

Brian Lam, an ocean exploration journalist and the editor of The Scuttlefish and The Wirecutter, recently embarked on a week-long trip to the NOAA Aquarius Reef Base — the world’s last remaining undersea habitat — where he interviewed Sylvia Earle and dove with Fabien Cousteau, the grandson of Jacques Cousteau.

While 60 feet underwater, Brian shared beautiful photographs of his mission through his Instagram account — @blam. Learn more about Mission Aquarius, sharing Instagram images from deep below the blue ocean, and Brian’s desire to document his best adventure yet in the audio above!

The Scoop on Food Photography

Want to see more photos? Check out @sonyayu’s profile and pictures tagged #onthetable.

Are you a food photo fanatic? If so, you’ve got to check out @sonyayu. Sonya is a full time food photographer in San Francisco. She serves up bird’s eye photos of gorgeously cluttered restaurant tables around the country.

When we were in need of food photography tips, we went straight to Sonya. Listen in for some of Sonya’s insider tips above.

How to take a shot like @sonyayu:

• Order colorful food and wait for the entire meal to be served before shooting.
• Stand up on your (stable) chair to capture the grub from above.
• Get the light right! Always sit by the window, avoid overhead spotlights, and never, ever use a flash - it’s food porn murder.
• Not all foods are equally photogenic, but that’s not the only factor in a tantalizing food photo. The dining surface, drinks and silverware can add allure and a distinct atmosphere to even the plainest, ugliest foods.

From Hong Kong to New York City for an InstaMeet

The next Worldwide InstaMeet is July 26! Check out meetup.com/instagram to find a meetup in your city.

Tyson (@twheat) is an expat in Hong Kong who has helped organize many of the fantastic meetups in his new city. Recently, he took a trip to New York City and met up with several NYC Instagrammers. Sit back and listen to Tyson’s story of what it was like to meet up with Instagrammers whose photos he’s been following for over a year!