Calling all iPhoneographers! Today at 1pm @LolitaLens and @Jacelinda will host #InstalunchNYC…a lunchtime Instagram photowalk! Meet them at the Flatiron Building on 23rd and Broadway. Nice weather today so come on out and meet your fellow iPhoneographers (we’re a friendly bunch) and shoot cool photos in Madison Square Park. If you’re joining us, please tag all your photos with #InstaLunchNYC. If you can’t make it, check out the hashtag later today!
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Calling all iPhoneographers!

Today at 1pm @LolitaLens and @Jacelinda will host #InstalunchNYC…a lunchtime Instagram photowalk! Meet them at the Flatiron Building on 23rd and Broadway.

Nice weather today so come on out and meet your fellow iPhoneographers (we’re a friendly bunch) and shoot cool photos in Madison Square Park.

If you’re joining us, please tag all your photos with #InstaLunchNYC. If you can’t make it, check out the hashtag later today!

Ink361.com Unveils New Feature: Map Viewer

This week Ink361.com (formerly known as Inkstagram), a web interface for Instagram, launched a fascinating new feature: the Map Viewer. Just click on “Map” on the bottom of the site, and you’ll see a global map…with locations of geotagged Instagram photos. Click on the icons to see the actual photo, who shot it, etc. It’s a fun, new way to discover new photos and photographers from all around the world, from your neighborhood to your favorite cities.

By: @LolitaLens

Spotlight On: Rich Nacin and @OccupyWallStreet

Last week, Time Magazine recently named “The Protester” as its 2011 “Person of the Year”.  From Egypt to Lower Manhattan, 2011 was the year people took matters into their own hands….and facilitated the changes they wanted to see…globally. Arguably the most influential and far-reaching was the Occupy Wall Street movement. We spoke with Rich Nacin, who created the @OccupyWallStreet feed on Instagram, allowing himself and fellow NYC Instagrammers to photograph, document and present an unfiltered view of the people and events of Zuccotti Park.

InstagramNYC: What was your photography background before joining Instagram?

Nacin: I have been a serious amateur photographer, or at least, I like to think so (smiles), doing mostly travel photography to document my trips. The Instagram collective experience ignited in me a passion for people and street photography that became my trademark on my Instagram stream.


InstagramNYC: What were your initial reactions/opinions when you first heard about the Occupy Wall Street movement?

Nacin: I had no idea about the movement at first when I came down to Zuccotti park on the 3rd day of the protest…I heard about it from friends and visited for what I thought would be ‘good’ street or documentary-style photography. At the time, I knew very little about the protest and what it stood for. Later, I started returning to the park more often as I became energized, almost infected, by the variety of people showing up, who were too colorful to ignore. Some were more radical, some naive, but many smart and levelheaded trying to make a stand and have their voices heard. I enjoyed meeting and talking to them, listening to their grievances and/or ideas about how to improve our current political and economic situation. So, I kept coming back and photographing it all.

InstagramNYC: Why did you start the Occupy Wall Street feed on Instagram?

Nacin: I felt it was the least I can do. In the beginning it was not a story covered by mainstream media. So I wanted to share my and my NYC Instagram friends’ vision of what’s going down there…show daily scenes, personal portraits, the signs, the interaction between protesters and police, the demonstrations, the practical exercise in direct democracy and horizontal decision making and everything else. Basically, just go out there and document the protest movement live, as it was developing.


InstagramNYC: What has been your most interesting experience shooting at Zuccotti Park?

Nacin: Just daily experiences of engaging people, talking with them and trying to understand their point of view. Some of them flying in from far away to show support and learn about the movement, from as far as Estonia. Plus, the really thankful email exchanges I had with folks whom I photographed and sent pictures to.

InstagramNYC: What do you ultimately hope to accomplish via the feed?

Nacin: To document something that I feel will be a part of our collective memory and history. Zuccotti Park is just a symbol, a cry loud and clear for people who feel left behind by the social system. Even if it is permanently cleared out, another one will spark, somewhere, sometime, again. Besides, I really wanted to show the humanity behind the movement and share it far and wide with people around the world.

Thank you, Rich for speaking with us!

Visit the following feeds:
@OccupyWallStreet
Rich Nacin: @RichNYC

By: LolitaLens

Inkstagram.com is now…Ink361.com

Just letting you know that Inkstagram.com, the innovative web interface for Instagram, has undergone a name change. It is now Ink361.com. The site’s modern, user-friendly interface allows you to view, manage, “like” and comment on Instagram photos…plus share them with friends & family from any browser (those without an IG account can only view photos). Want to learn more? Check out our recent interview with the site’s Managing Director, Carel van Apeldoorn.

The NYC Instagram Scavenger Hunt? Good times….

Recently, lots of NYC Instagrammers…from rock stars like Anton Kawasaki (@Anton_in_NYC) to relative newbies, came out in force for our 2nd Scavenger Hunt! Mother Nature even cooperated, providing the eager teams with an unseasonably balmy November day. Tasks included everything from getting a pre-teen to flip the bird….to licking a subway pole (whoa!). “Saying it was fun isn’t enough. It’s hard to explain how enjoyable it is to explore New York City with three new friends, ask locals and tourists to act out scenes, and tap our individual knowledge of the city to complete the items on the list”, said Brian DiFeo, who co-organized the event with Kawasaki. Wanna see some of the fun photos? Check out the hashtag #InstaHuntNYC on Instagram, or this photo album on your browser…

By: @LolitaLens

Spotlight On: Carel van Apeldoorn, Managing Director of Ink361.com

Barely a year old…and with over 10 million users…the Instagram iPhone app has sprouted a cottage industry of apps and websites. One of the leading sites is Ink361.com (see link under our header) which allows you to browse and manage your Instagram photos right on your PC or Mac. And the cool thing is, you don’t need an IG account or even an iPhone to enjoy Ink361.com. The site’s clean, modern, user-friendly interface makes it easy to share your mobile masterpieces with friends, family…anyone…with internet access (although you do need an account to “Like”, comment and follow people). To learn more, we spoke to Carel Van Apeldoorn, the site’s Managing Director….

InstagramNYC: Tell us how Ink361 was born:

van Apeldoorn: Ink361 was born from Joshua INKenbrandt  in March 2011. He instantly fell in love with the app after downloading it, and as a rock star engineer wanted to solve the issue of making Instagram accessible for the web, which he did as soon as the API was released. Inkstagram has grown very fast, obviously due to the success of Instagram. For the last couple of months it has reached the milestone of 500,000 unique visitors since March 1, 2011.

InstagramNYC: What makes Ink361 different from the many, many Instagram-related websites and apps out there?

van Apeldoorn: In terms of product features we have already shown innovations that our users have embraced….
1) My Likes: We launched this even before Instagram started including it.
2) My Public Profile: Sharing your IG content with everybody who has an internet connection in a beautiful slideshow and grid viewer.
3) Hashtag Albums: This allows users the ability to organize their own photos in separate hashtag albums and sharing those photos with friends, loved ones and everybody out there who is interested. This feature has been very well received and we see many new albums being created daily.
4) The new All-Screen Map Viewer helps users discover IG from a different perspective.
5) Last but not least, users always share that they love the intuitive user interface.

InstagramNYC: What innovations can we look forward to with Ink361? Can you give us a peek of what’s in store?

van Apeldoorn: Without disclosing a specific feature in detail we are developing a way for users to organize their content better. With the growth of users’ own photo content, the issue arises that people tend to view only the most recently uploaded photos. The fact that there is so much hidden beautiful photos in all those streams requests a proper solution to make them easily accessible.

InstagramNYC: Why do you think Instagram (and photo-sharing in general) has become such a social-media phenomenon?

van Apeldoorn: The Instagram community is embraced by people who love to share and be creative. There is a human desire to tell stories and explore/follow other people’s lives, and Instagram made this especially simple, with filters and an easy user-interface. With so many sub-cultures and unique individuals present on Instagram, there is something to be excited about for everybody, whether it is just the love for photography, following your favorite fashion brand, keeping up with celebrities, making new friends with like-minded people and obviously sharing your life story. Plus there’s the fact that there are unknown Instagrammers with 10,000+ followers, creating the exciting element that you can be discovered tomorrow and experience the excitement of being talked about. And now, we are seeing companies like Burberry, Starbucks and Red Bull amongst others start to experiment with Instagram. So we are confident that companies will further explore the options they have to integrate photo-sharing in their marketing strategy. Photography in our view will remain a very important communication tool, because it tells stories instantly. Once you are presented with a photo, you get the complete story, which makes it extremely powerful.

Thank you, Carel, for speaking with us!

Website: Ink361.com
Facebook: Facebook.com/ink361
Twitter: @Ink361

By: @LolitaLens

Our first #InstaLunchNYC? A success!

On Friday, 14 Instagrammers came out in the cold during their lunch break for a photowalk through Bryant Park and the Veteran’s Day Parade. A good time was had by all, and plans are already underway for the next one! Wanna see pics? Check out the above hashtag on Instagram or on your browser with this Inkstagram photo album!

And don’t forget our next big event, next Sunday, 11/20…another scavenger hunt! If you attended our first one, you know what a blast it was. If you didn’t, it’s great way to meet Instagrammers old and new, take photos and have a TON of fun…

Details/RSVP: http://instagramnychunt.eventbrite.com

by: @LolitaLens

Today: InstaLunchNYC Photowalk @ 1pm!

TODAY’S THE DAY! InstaLunchNYC photowalk hosted by @Jacelinda and @LolitaLens. Meet at Bryant Park (corner of 42nd and 6th) at 1pm, and spend your lunch break meeting Instagrammers (we’re a friendly bunch), as we walk around taking photos. Make new friends…catch up with old ones…learn new techniques. If you’re off for Veteran’s Day…even better!

If you’re running late, leave a message for @LolitaLens on Instagram (or Twitter) and I’ll send you our current location.

Can’t make it? Check out the hashtag #InstaLunch on IG and Twitter for all the fun!

By: @LolitaLens