Weekend Instacraft Project

This weekend I worked on a creative project I’ve been wanting to do for several months. My friend Julie got me this fabulous Pier 1 frame for Christmas and ever since then I’ve thought it would be the perfect way to display some of my Instagram prints. (If you’re feeling super DIY, I found this link to make a similar frame on your own).

The frame hangs in our bedroom and I love that I’ll be able to see all my favorite images right when I get up in the morning.

Brian helped me make and cut the prints. He’s much better at this precise production kind of stuff than me! We printed these a little smaller than 4.5″x4.5″ at 140 dpi on Ilford Galerie Pearl paper.

We did prints of some of my other favorite Instagrams, too. So fun to be able to hold them and display them around the house rather than just have time stuck in my phone. And I look forward to swapping out the current pics in the frame with different ones as I get inspired from new photos.

If you want to use a service to order prints of your Instagrams, here are a few options:

  • PostalPix is a free app that let’s you order 4″x4″ prints along with other dimensions.
  • The Boo Box shadow box looks really nice.
  • The free Postagram app lets you create and send postcards of your Instagrams from your iPhone for only 99cents each. I received my test one last week and it looks pretty cool. The photo pops out, too, so your recipient gets a nice little keepsake.

I’m “jennlee” on Instagram if you want to follow me (the link is to web.stagram.com – a fabulous web-based IG viewer). New to Instagram? Check out Instagram Tips a free app my hubby and I made.

Instagram Emeryville Photo Walk

On Sunday Brian and I went on a photo walk with some IG’ers we met at the SF Instagram photo walk back in February.  A small group of us wandered around Emeryville and Oakland with our iPhones in hand. You can check out our shots using the hashtag #instawalkeville.

This was from one of the community gardens in the neighborhood.

This is another one from the community garden. I didn’t realize that the bee was in the frame. Pretty cool that I was able to capture it. Feels so spring!

There were lots of cool metal sculptures in the neighborhood. This robot sculpture was in front of a recycling center.

Was fun to be out and about snapping shots and hanging out with fellow IG enthusiasts. On May 7th there will be several Instagram photo walks all over the world. You can find out more information at the Instagram meetup page.

SF Instagram Photo Walk

Tonight Brian and I joined a group of fellow Instagram enthusiasts for a San Francisco photo walk with Josh Johnston of Bunch of Squares. Josh is traveling by train February through March to several cities throughout the U.S. to host photo walks. For details by city, visit the schedule on Facebook.

This is my favorite shot from my set because it really says “photo walk” to me. It was pretty funny to see a group of us wandering around holding our phones up at the sky. Or maybe it was even funnier to see a whole table of peeps at dinner, each of us heads down on our iPhone! Ha! No, we did chat, too, and it was great to connect with other people just as IG obsessed as us. And it was awesome to hear someone mention our app Instagram Tips as a great resource and they were all excited to find out that it was our app!

A little street art grab on the way to getting some grub.

And of course, I couldn’t resist a classic Bay Bridge shot.

I hear there’s talk of an Oakland weekend photo walk in March. I would love that!

Week of Wild Weather

Here are some Instagrams from this week’s wild weather. On Wednesday we had hail/rain/sunshine/hail/rain. Which seemed crazy because just a few days before that…

… Brian and I enjoyed a lovely hike at the Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve here in the East Bay under blue, sunny skies. It was a gorgeous weekend…

… and beautiful cherry blossoms hinted at spring.

Sigh. This weekend it’s temperatures in the low 40s (which is cold for us Californians! whine, whine!) and rain, rain, rain. Above is a pic from today of raindrops on Lake Merritt. The good thing about the crappy weather is it’s a great excuse for cozying up at home and resting!

Instagram Obsession and Insights + IG Tips App

For the past several months my husband and I have been going out on Instagram photo walks together around Oakland. It’s been fun to develop a shared hobby, explore new locations, and play with a different creative medium.

We were both sick for awhile, but this weekend was the first time we were out and about again. And the weather is absolutely amazing (it’s sunny and in the high 70s today!).

Here’s a shot from yesterday when we visited Lake Temescal for a bit after eating lunch. There were even people going for a dip in the lake it was such a nice day!

I’ve been enjoying exercising my photography muscles with this fun app and I’ve appreciated the new insights I’ve had into my creative process.

  • An unfamiliar medium encourages you to look at things differently. When I do intuitive painting I’m used to diving deeply into my own internal world but with photography, I’m more focused on my external world. I’m paying attention to the environment, to the details, to who and what is around me.
  • You have to try many different angles to get the shot. As a newbie photographer, I’ve learned one of the best things to do is to approach the subject from different angles. Shoot from above, below, move to the left, to the right. Experiment with where you are in relation to what you’re shooting. It’s a great metaphor for seeing how you can turn a situation on it’s side to discover new insight.
  • Indeed, a picture is worth a thousand words. It’s been fun to follow fellow IG’ers from across the globe. We may speak a different language and I may not be able to read their captions or comments, but I can still see the world through their eyes when I look at their photos. It’s inspiring.

Join in the fun!

You can see a feed of some of my Instagram photos here or on flickr. Or if you’ve got an iPhone, get the app. You’ll love it! It’s got the social media connection aspect of Twitter and cool photo filters like the Hipstamatic app. You can follow me on Instagram at “jennlee.”

Instagram Tips App

If you want an orientation to Instagram and some tips on how to best use it, check out the pet project my hubby and I have been working on: the free Instagram Tips iPhone app. We’re doing an update this week that will talk about the new hashtag feature and more. Enjoy!