InstaCity is a weekly blog series that introduces you to Instagrammers in different parts of the world. We’ll feature a new city, and a new group of Instagrammers, in each installment. We love exploring the world through photos, and hope you’ll be inspired to follow some of the users we feature here to learn more about the city they call home.
This week, we’re taking you to Chicago, Illinois, USA! There’s an extremely active local group of Instagrammers in Chicago, and we’d like to introduce you to five of them.
Ryan
@ryanpostel: I joined Instagram on October 6th, 2010, the very first day it came out. I was just looking for a photo effects app that day and didn’t realize I was downloading the app that would be my most-used app and create an inspiring new creative community of friends. The Instagram group in Chicago is amazing and we have meetups every few weeks. It’s amazing to me how an iPhone app could connect complete strangers with a shared interest in photography in such a life-changing way. I’m challenged and inspired every day by my Instagram friends. Because of instagram, my iPhone camera has replaced my DSLR.
Left: One of my favorite things to do is take photos that change people’s perception of Chicago. Most people don’t know that Chicago has beautiful, scenic beaches and don’t believe this could exist in the Midwest. I took this shot because, on this cold autumn afternoon, the north side beach was completely empty and the symmetry was absolutely captivating to me. It looks so deceptively surreal, tropical, and warm to me. Chicago has so many dimensions besides a skyline.
Right: This photo was taken in one of the most scenic places in Chicago: Millennium Park. No matter how many times I visit the park, I still find new areas I love. I jumped down into the little water retention area to get this shot. Normally there’s too much water to jump in, but luckily that day the water was low enough for me to grab the rare shot. I love how the reflection of the water gives new symmetry to the scene. It’s so crisp and clear that it feels like a whole other world exists underneath.
Jeremy
@jmharch: As an architect, Chicago is the place to be. So much of what has shaped the profession in the past 150 years has occurred here - it’s amazing. The gamut runs from Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright to Mies van der Rohe and more. The Great Fire in 1873 created a fresh start from which Chicago has never looked back. In general, Chicagoans take their architecture seriously and I love to share my perspective on it via my photography. Instagram has been a great outlet to do that and find out about others’ perspectives as well.
Left: This photo was taken during the most recent IGersChicago InstaMeet. We toured the Chicago Cultural Center. The building originally housed the Chicago Public Library and has some amazing architectural details including this stained glass dome by Louis Comfort Tiffany.
Right: This photo, showing part of a pedestrian bridge designed by the architect Frank Gehry, was taken on a walk earlier this fall in Millennium Park.
Matt
@chicagomatt: Instagram enables me to share my love of Chicago with the world. Many of the comments I receive are either from people who used to live here and miss it, or from people who have never been and now see reasons to come visit! I enjoy shooting everything from the amazing architecture to the back alleys and fire escapes. Being a part of the IgersChicago group, I’ve met so many great people who are as addicted to Instagram as I am.
Left: I normally wouldn’t pull out my iPhone in a subway station, but I saw this shot as I came down the escalator and had one of those “moments” where I had to capture it. The lines of the ceiling being drawn towards the opposite end looked awesome.
Right: The “L” is one of my favorite Chicago things to photograph. I captured this shot as it passed by the very colorful Harold Washington Library.
Josh
@jbcopeland: My photos on Instagram are the story I tell about the “everydays” of my life. With very few exceptions, my Instagrams are posted the same day I took them with my iPhone. And I love that Instagram lets me in on the “everydays” of people in India, Russia, Japan, Norway, Great Britain and even here amongst my friends in the States. The people I follow on Instagram inspire me to stop and take notice in the everydays. I only hope I inspire others to do the same.
Left: My job keeps me moving all around town on a daily basis. This photo from last week was a moment I caught looking out the window from one of my client’s offices in a building that overlooks Millennium Park. I happened to be there at dusk when the light caught the silhouette of the Loop skyline and the glint of Anish Kapoor’s Cloud Gate sculpture. This picture sums up a lot of what I love about living here in Chicago.
Right: As I finished a long run in Lincoln Park, I thought Fullerton Street looked an especially brilliant shade of yellow, and the couple strolling down the sidewalk gave it all the right perspective. Hard to believe that in just a few weeks this scene will be completely white with snow.
Luke
@agentluke: The Instagram community has inspired me in many different ways. Most notably, it’s inspired me to run a stream full of step-by-step tutorials submitted by a small but growing group of mobile photographers and designers. The stream, @ideaexchange, is aimed towards showing new users how to best take advantage of many applications out there, as well as expose seasoned mobile artists to new techniques.
Left: Who’s to say what’s what. This is The Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art, in Ukrainian Village. This street photography shot combines two things I love the most about Chicago: its people and its architecture, and the way they create history together.
Right: Streeterville Reflection. It’s good to go out after a little rain. There seems to be a different dynamic as to how Chicagoans go about their day. It’s refreshing to see orderly disorder. And put it in your pocket or share it with the world, of course.
We hope you enjoyed learning a little about the Chicago Instagram community! If you have suggestions for cities and users we should feature next, reblog this post and let us know!
Thomas (
