Instagram Anniversary

According to And7YearsAgram, today is my one year anniversary on Instagram. I’ve always liked taking photos with my iPhone, but those were mostly just used to illustrate something for a blog post. It wasn’t until I started using Instagram that I started to think more about my photos as artistic expression.

Up until Instagram, I believed that taking good photos required expensive cameras and a tons of books on how to use them properly, but when I surfed through Instagram I ran out of excuses. Other people where taking fantastic shots with the same exact device I had… so why couldn’t I?

Over the last year, I’ve worked hard at improving my skill and received a lot of great opportunities because of it. Though I don’t use the built in filters anymore, Instagram continues to be the greatest point of inspiration for my photography.

I now have this awesome job as Sincerely‘s community manager, where I get to organize mobile photography walks and share tips with other users. I helped found Objective Scenes, a group blog dedicated to sharing the best in mobile photography. I’m 312 days into my year long Daily App Experiment project. My photography has been featured in the New York Times (along with an online step by step breakdown of my process). And I’ve gotten some swell love from SF Weekly and Refinery 29. All of which wouldn’t have happened had it not been for that little Instagram app.