Instagram is many things. It has many pros and cons, but it's also a place to share, a place to discover, and a place to be inspired. There are countless accounts of photographers, both amateur and professional, filled with stunning images that motivate millions of people. While the accounts with hundreds of thousands and millions of followers are obviously doing something right, I find myself more interested in the aspiring artists who are on that daily grind. These are the people that I really learn from, that can I relate to the most, and that I like to support the most. This journal entry serves as a spotlight for some of those artists, showing off which pieces of theirs truly inspires me to be a better photographer and to get out of my comfort zone. Each of these artists consistently puts out amazing work and inspires me in ways unique to each person.
The featured photographers, in no particular order, are as follows:
• Erik Young (@erik_young)
• Nicholas Aspholm (@nicholasaspholm)
• Justin Poe (@justinmpoe)
• Dan Kim (@d___kim)
• David Aguilar (@davidaguilar_photo)
Erik Young
The photography from Erik Young is striking. Behind each shot, you can see how much work and dedication went into creating these works of art. Erik's color palette changes fairly frequently. Most of the images I chose for this post have blue undertones with some orange accents, but the top-middle photo was from a time where Erik experimented with a faded, forest green palette (masterfully, I might add). That same photo is so abstract, that you could be looking at any number of things. Is it a painting? A drawing? A photograph isn't the first thing that comes to my mind, if I'm being honest. Erik is so subtle with his use of color, which I believe is the mark of a truly talented artist. He never overdoes it or underdoes it; it's always perfect.
Erik is based in Denver, Colorado. While taking advantage of his beautiful surroundings, he doesn't limit himself to that. As you can see above, several of the photos are from the Southwest region of the U.S. The natural landscapes of that region made it easy for him to achieve that blue/orange palette that I mentioned earlier. If you take some time to scroll through Erik's portfolio on his website, it will be apparent to you that his approach to his art is from a place of admiration, appreciation, and respect for not only his subjects, but for the process of creating art.
Instagram: www.instagram.com/erik_young/
Website: www.erikyoungphotography.com/
Nicholas Aspholm
Nicholas has a unique approach to his work, one that I'm admittedly a tad jealous of. Instead of following the more traditional route of finding some interesting foreground to go with an interesting background, he takes a more abstract and minimal route. Nicholas' work screams in a whispered voice, "less is more." As a landscape photographer myself, I need to be reminded of that quite often. He achieves his signature style by isolating subjects or finding unique perspectives on everyday things, which draws the viewer into a deeper appreciation for the artwork as a whole.
Nicholas hails from Sweden, but frequently travels to different corners of Scandinavia to capture his photos. According to his website, he is inspired by the distinct seasons of the North, ranging from the raging snow storms and freezing weather of winter to the endless daylight in the summer months. Again, Nicholas' work makes the viewer do a double-take, asking themselves, "what am I looking at?" This extra layer to his artwork truly elevates it to another level; it's timeless, it's landmark-less. It's simplicity at its finest.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicholasaspholm/
Website: https://nicholasaspholm.com/home
Justin Poe
Justin Poe is as classic as landscape photographers come. He boasts unique and interesting takes on Pacific Northwest subjects, such as Mt. Hood and Mt. St. Helens. Justin's compositions are some of the strongest I've ever seen and the way he frames his subject is near perfect in every image he takes. My favorite example of this is the waterfall photo in the bottom left of the gallery; there are several large branches hanging down from a mossy tree above, but Justin manages to place the waterfall right in the center of that chaos, with no branch obstructing the silky flow of the falls. As someone who has tried to do this many times, it's a lot more difficult than it looks.
Another of Justin's strengths that has always caught my eye is his choice of foreground in his images. Whether its a rushing river, frost-covered rocks, or a field of wildflowers, Justin inspires me to work harder for my foregrounds. His work motivates me to pay more attention to the subtle aspects of my compositions, such as the way a rock fits between a pair of mountain peaks, or the way branches are hanging into my photo. Justin does a remarkable job at capturing the beauty of the Pacific Northwest in a unique way and each time I come across a new photo of his, it makes me miss my old home.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justinmpoe/
Website: http://www.justinmpoe.com/
Dan Kim
Dan's eye for composition and light is unmatched. The flora he uses in his foregrounds always steals the show. The focus is always perfect. The light is always perfect. Dan is one of the rare photographers I follow that blows me away with every photo he posts. He is based in California, but regularly makes trips to the surrounding states to photograph a variety of different landscapes, such as the red-rock deserts of Utah and Arizona, the snow-covered peaks of the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone, and, a personal favorite, Yosemite National Park.
I'm personally most attracted to the shots of his which use a wide-angle lens, such as the bottom three images in the gallery above. But as you can see, Dan employs a variety of different equipment to achieve his style. Another thing that jumps out at me about his compositional knowledge is his use of S-curves; only one image in the above gallery has a clearly defined S-curve, but just taking a scroll through his Instagram (linked below) will reveal many more. From personal experience, I can tell you that S-curves are not easy to find in nature, but Dan does so frequently! If you aren't following Dan Kim on Instagram, you're doing something wrong.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/d___kim/
David Aguilar
If you hadn't yet noticed, David Aguilar has an incredible talent for capturing mind-blowing landscape photos. The colors in his shots are so vibrant, yet not too vibrant. Believe me, that is a VERY delicate balance and it's not easy to achieve. I've seen so many artists who have an eye for composition but overdo it on the editing by just cranking that saturation slider up. David doesn't do that and seems to have mastered color in his images. The way that the autumnal colors pop in the top left image in the above gallery perfectly demonstrates my point. The trees don't overpower the image, but rather serve as a tasteful frame for the river flowing between them. Same for the photo with the auroras; the blue-green from the streak of aurora isn't blown out or over saturated. It's just right. Plus, the way it washes the entire scene in a faint blue-green light is beautiful!
David's home base is Sevilla in southern Spain. From there, he has access to all of the natural beauty that Europe has to offer, and obviously takes advantage of it. While I recognize a lot of the locations in his images, I will admit that I don't know European locations as well as I know American locations, so I don't know the specific locations he frequents for his adventures. But that's probably for the better so we can keep those places wild! David Aguilar is a world class photographer that produces absolutely stunning imagery and if you're not following him yet, I'm sure you don't need a reason after seeing his work above.
Website: https://www.davidaguilarphoto.com/
I look forward to seeing new work from these amazing artists every time I open Instagram. There are many other artists that I feel also deserve recognition for their creative drive and talent, but I decided to only choose five. As I mentioned in the introduction, I believe it's worth your time to check out artists with relatively small follower counts (compared to people like @fursty with his 1m+ following). More often than not, there will be some gold buried there. Hopefully, you're inspired by these incredible artists the way I am and it makes you appreciate our world just a little bit more.
-Jordan
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