Landscape/Cityscape Photographers
Sserkan34 – This guy is a professional nature photographer that takes some really unbelievable shots. He does landscapes, cityscapes, and more. He’s a Turkish photographer and has over 80K followers. We kind of found him on accident but we’re glad we did. He uses colors and textures really well, and much of his photography is somewhat surreal. He’s definitely someone to check out.
Appletreeroad_luke – A freelance photographer from Sydney that does some really great work. His use of contrast and juxtaposition are really interesting. A lot of his photos use soft textures that almost make the photographs look like paintings. He only has 3K followers but we’re hoping to help bump that up.
William_patino – Another Australian photographer that does some great landscape shots. His style is one that frequently appears in nature photography, including the use of slow exposure to capture motion and high color saturation. He’s at around 23K followers and growing. What’s with Australia and the nature shots? I’m looking at you Peter Lik — where’s your Instagram?
Curious2119 – This guy delivers medical supplies for a living and takes photos of rural areas as he goes. He takes photos around Wisconsin and Minnesota, for the most part. He has over 500K followers; for a delivery man he sure has a good eye for a nicely set up shot.
NASA – These may not be landscapes/cityscapes, per se, but they are really damn cool. They post everything from pictures of planets to nebulae. They, surprisingly, only have around 300K followers. It’s true what they say: We don’t support NASA anymore …
Action Photographers
Calibertrucks – This is a skateboard truck company that has some great action shots from people riding with their gear. These guys take the composition of their action shots to a level many skateboard photographers don’t get to. They’re really good at capturing unique positions for each action shot too. One of the people who helps run the company is a professional photographer so it’s no surprise. They have about 10K followers and are based out of Southern California.
Surfinglife – Some great surfing photos here. Who doesn’t love a good shot from the inside of a wave? They also have a pretty good sense of humor. Surfing Life is an Australian surf magazine, out of Queensland, that’s been around since the 1980’s. We swear the government of Australia did not pay us to feature so many of their artists. They have over 40K followers.
GoPro – GoPro is a brand of premium action cameras used by extreme sports enthusiasts all over the world. Their Instagram has some really cool shots from exotic and unusual settings. Their cameras are sold in more than 50 countries. They have over 1 million followers, probably because their reach and subjects are so diverse and interesting.
Red Bull – The people that jumped from the edge of our atmosphere obviously have a pretty cool Instagram. The best thing about their Instagram is that it covers a wide array of action shots, kind of like GoPro. They have almost one million followers, most of whom are really energetic. Their photos are often intense and capture the peak of the moment that someone made the leap into oblivion.
Xgames – The X Games has dirt bikes, rally cars, skateboarding, winter sports, and pretty much anything extreme (imagine that). They post some great videos on their Instagram so you can watch when it’s not on the tube. One of the coolest things about this account is getting to see candid shots of your favorite extreme athletes that you wouldn’t necessarily see elsewhere. They just broke 200K followers.
Portrait Photographers
Nicolelhill_ – This girl takes really good pictures of pretty girls … She takes pictures of other things too, but we couldn’t get past the pretty girls. She’s a professional photographer in Southern California and seems to specialize in high fashion and beautiful settings. Her style is raw and celebratory. Did we mention the pretty girls? She has just over 6K followers.
Luisgarvan – This guy does portraits that are usually in black and white and capture extreme contrast and angular lighting. His portraits are almost poetic in style and appear Gothic, or almost old world. He’s based out of Mexico and has fewer than 1K followers. We don’t care if anyone knows, he’s awesome.
Koci – This guy also does black and white portraits but with a bit more of an experimental aesthetic to them. His use of shadows and silhouettes are eye-catching. He has a pretty big following, at over 175K followers. His photos almost all look as if they are from the 1950’s or earlier. He’s currently behind a project called “Out of the Phone,” a mobile phone photography book publisher.
Mrpimpgoodgame – Who would have thought one creepy smile over and over could get you thousands of followers? We would, because it’s awesome. This guy photographs himself a lot and it’s hilarious. He has over 100K followers (I know, right?) and was featured in Vice magazine for his Instagram. Gawker referred to him as “the only Instagram account that should bother existing.”
_gabrielflores – This guy does a lot more than portraits, as most of these people do, but we especially like the portraits. He has a raw style that is captivating, and he uses mirror images/contrasting subjects well. Many of his portraits are far-off from the subject and capture movement or moments of mental reflection. He seems to use color sparingly but with intent. He’s based in Brooklyn and has almost 60K followers.
Bands
Unknownmortalorchestra – This Portland-based band takes some of the more artsy/bizarre photos we found. It’s all good to take photos of your touring van and such, but you have to include some strange ones too. Their photos often seem psychedelic and washed out, in a good way. The photographer, Ruban Nielson, gets some really good concert photos too. They have around 8K followers.
Swiftswift – Richard Swift, currently in The Shins, is a weirdo (in a good way). His portfolio on Instagram is essentially an amalgamation of strange black and white photos from every aspect of his life. He seems to be a fan of distorted photos too. He is based in central Oregon and has over 25K followers.
Afasm – Cat Power is also a good weirdo. Many of her photos are strangely sexual, which we’re okay with. She seems to have a strange obsession with random body parts. Her photos are often black and white or sepia. She only has around 5K followers. Come on people.
Questlove – He’s the drummer for The Roots and should be your hero. He’s smart, a snappy dresser, and has a cool Instagram account. He seems to take photos as he goes, jet-setting around the world. He has almost 250K followers. We’re still trying to figure out how he’s doing these no-handed selfies …
Snoopdogg – Need we explain more? It’s Snoop Do–Lion, or whatever. He’s been famous since the beginning of time, so he of course has over 2 million followers. Come watch him get high!
