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!
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
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
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
How would you like to see your iPhoneography exhibited in a gallery…AND win prizes as well? From December 16-22, The International iPhoneography Show will take place at the Soho Gallery for Digital Art, and submissions are currently being accepted until December 10. Just take a terrific photo with your iPhone and edit it with the FX Photo Studio app (you can use other apps as well). Submit it here or via email: show@macphun.com.
On December 12, the 100 finalists will be announced. The winning photos will be displayed at the exhibit…and each finalist will receive goodies and prizes! Plus the best photo (chosen by popular vote) will win the top prize: a $500 Apple Gift Card…
Click here for all information, rules and prizes…
Give it your best shot…literally. And good luck!
By: @LolitaLens
The website Good.is challenges its readers each month to improve both the world…and themselves. This month’s is to document your life with your camera! Each morning in November the site will post a daily challenge, which you can find on their site and on Twitter (for example, Day 1 was “Document Street Style”). It’s up to you to shoot it, then share on Facebook, Twitter or Tumblr, using the hashtag #30DaysofGood. Though they don’t officially list Instagram, a quick check on the app shows IG’ers are happily using the hashtag there as well. Good times!
By: @LolitaLens
Check out photos from the third Worldwide Instameet held in cities across the globe yesterday…including our own @RichNYC passionately discussing photojournalism and Occupy Wall Street. Remember, there’s an Instameet here in New York every month, and we’ve got some very cool things in the works for you! In addition, there’s always Insta-walks, workshops and gatherings, organized by dedicated members of the NYC Instagram community. Stay tuned here, follow us on Twitter or join our Facebook group to stay in the loop!
By: @LolitaLens
The Worldwide Instameet is tomorrow! This is what you need to know:
With its 5 megapixel camera and an App Store overloaded with photo editing apps, the iPhone 4 became a legitimate player in the world of digital photography, even becoming the most popular camera on Flickr. Now comes the iPhone 4S, with its 8MP camera as one of its most highly touted features. If you’re curious about how a subject looks captured by Apple’s newest baby vs. its predecessor, check out this enlightening article and slideshow by venerable tech website CNET…and you make the call.
By: @LolitaLens
It’s the new annual ritual: lines wrapped around Apple stores as customers eagerly await the launch of the newest iPhone. And Friday was no exception, as this panorama of the Fifth Ave. store shows. Not surprisingly, the device has flown off shelves, with predictions of up to 4 million units sold this weekend (consisting of pre-orders and reserve stock). By comparison, last year’s model sold “only” 1.7 million during its debut weekend…but that was before Sprint and Verizon came on board. The iPhone 4S should be of note to us Instagrammers because its camera is supposed to be a nice upgrade from its predecessors, with 8 megapixels, improved low-light performance, a better lens and more. Missed out? We’ll keep you up to date as to when the next shipment will be.
By: @LolitaLens
