Welcome to my newest series of posts, called ‘A Brief Look At My Instagram Photos’. In these posts, which I will publish on a monthly basis, I will review some of my best Instagram photos of the past month by sharing some unique insights to each photo (or, as some might say it, “an unprecedented behind-the-scenes look”).
For each reviewed Instagram photo, I will share the following information:
- Title
- Date & Time
- Location
- Camera
- Motivation & Comments
Title
I always give my Instagram photos a well-defined title. Not only does it helps to identify the photo, but it also can assist in understanding the motivation of the photo.
Date & Time
It is very interesting to know on which date and/or time a certain photo was taken (not when it was uploaded to Instagram), as it puts the photo on a well-defined timeline, ands also helps the viewer in getting a good understanding of the meaning of a photo and its motivation.
Location
Knowing the location of a photo may also be helpful. If a viewer thinks the subject is interesting enough, detailed information about the location might convince him to go out into the field and take a photo of the very same subject.
Camera
Information about the camera is also very interesting, as it helps to get a good understanding of the technical capabilities and limitations that were in place when the photo was taken.
Motivation & Comments
A photo always has a motivation. Why did a photographer take a certain photo? What convinced him to take his camera, compose and finally press the shutter release button? Is there a story behind the photo?
In a nutshell, I hope these posts will not only help you to appreciate some of my Instagram photos, but will hopefully also assist you in becoming a better photographer yourself.
Now, let’s get started by reviewing my best Instagram photos of December 2013…
GEnx
Title: GEnx
Date & Time: December 10th 2013 – 13:00 LT
Location: Ostend Airport (OST/EBOS), Belgium
Camera: Apple iPhone 5
Motivation & Comments: This photo was taken whilst deboarding Jetairfly’s first Dreamliner OO-JDL, after the first of two special ‘Dreamflights’ on December 10th 2013. As I walked down the stairs at Ostend Airport, I couldn’t help noticing the huge yet very beautiful GEnx engine on the aircraft’s left wing. As I was looking at this amazing engine, I could only think one thing: “this is one beautiful piece of aviation technology”. I simply couldn’t resist taking a photo of this huge ‘beast’. Eventually, after a bit of editing on Instagram and adding one of the black and white filters, I think the final result turned out very well. It depicts the GEnx engine almost as an very abstract ‘out of this world’ piece of technology.
Good Morning!
Title: Good Morning!
Date & Time: December 16th 2013 – 08:30 LT
Location: Brussels Airport (BRU/EBBR), Belgium
Camera: Apple iPhone 5
Motivation & Comments: I must admit that I am a huge fan of sunrises and sunsets. To me, these are the two most beautiful moments of every day, as quite often (depending on the meteorological conditions) the sky can take a lot of colours, from all ranges of blue and yellow to orange and even a deep reddish cast. On this very occasion, whilst arriving at work, I got this amazing view on the sky and simply had to take a photo. I decided to compose the photo in such a way that it captures as much of the sky as possible, whilst still having a tiny bit of ground in it as well, as it helps to get a better idea of size. Finally, when uploading the photo to Instagram I used the Lo-Fi filter, as it colourizes certain photos just a notch more.
Kaarsje Voor Prinses Harte
(Candle For Princess Harte)
Title: Kaarsje Voor Prinses Harte
Date & Time: December 17th 2013 – 21:00 LT
Location: Home
Camera: Apple iPhone 5
Motivation & Comments: The motivation for this photo is related to a 6 year old girl named ‘Harte’. Harte lived with her family in my hometown of Mechelen. A year ago she was diagnosed with a very aggressive brain tumor. Unfortunately, her mom and dad had to let her go only a few weeks later… The parents decided to start a local charity named ‘vzw Prinses Harte’, that would help and assist young children (as well as their relatives) who are also diagnosed with cancer.
The charity ‘vzw Prinses Harte’ was also one of the 732 charities that were subject of an annual charity action held by Belgian public radio station ‘Studio Brussel’. The week before Christmas was dubbed ‘De Warmste Week’ (‘The Warmest Week’) and three of their hosts camped on a recreation site while airing a non-stop radio show. Eventually, the annual charity action raised 2,5 million euros in total, for all 732 charities.
To remember Harte a year after the tragedy, the parents asked everybody to lighten candles and take a photo…
Winterboom
(Winter Tree)
Title: Winterboom
Date & Time: December 25th 2013 – 11:00 LT
Location: Mechelen, Belgium
Camera: Apple iPhone 5
Motivation & Comments: This photo was taken whilst walking to my parents’ house. When looking at the trees, I noticed the a certain symmetry and beauty in them, even without leaves. Hence I quickly composed a photo of one of the largest and most interesting trees. When uploading to Instagram I used one of the black & white filters, as it gives a dramatic touch to the subject, while keeping all details intact.
Futuristisch Ruimteschip Of Aquarium Zoo Antwerpen?
(Futuristic Spaceship Or Aquarium Zoo Antwerp?)
Title: Futuristisch Ruimteschip Of Aquarium Zoo Antwerpen?
Date & Time: December 28th 2013 – 12:00 LT
Location: Zoo Antwerpen, Antwerp, Belgium
Camera: Apple iPhone 5
Motivation & Comments: Three days after Christmas we visited the Antwerp zoo. As the zoo has quite some sharks, and they happen to be one of the favourite animals of our son, we immediately headed for the aquarium house. It had already been more than a year since we last visited the (slightly outdated) aquarium house, so we were happily surprised to see that a large part of it had already been fully refurbished. Unfortunately, the zoo was still refurbishing the sharks’ aquarium, hence we could not see them swimming around. But nevertheless, the newaquarium already looks very promising (even though all benches have been removed).
Upon entering the partially refurbished aquarium house, I immediately noticed some similarities with a spaceship ( the rounded windows, the arches and the blue lights,…). I just had to take a photo of this aquarium house and upload it to my Instagram account.
Jurassic Park Revisited
Title: Jurassic Park Revisited
Date & Time: December 28th 2013 – 13:30 LT
Location: Expo Dino Adventure, Antwerp, Belgium
Camera: Apple iPhone 5
Motivation & Comments: During a trip to Antwerp we visited the ‘Expo Dino Adventure’, an exposition mainly aimed at children to explore the wonderful world of prehistoric dinosaurs. After paying a hefty entrance fee of 14 euros (per adult) and after receiving a ‘free’ audio guide, we ran through the various sites of the exposition. One part of the exposition hosts a model of Jurassic Park (a 4 meter high model of a T-Rex that is trying to escape). Hence I grabbed my iPhone and made a quick photo of the T-Rex, as I think the model as well as the setting are very dramatic.
Sweet Inflight Sunset!
Title: Sweet Inflight Sunset!
Date & Time: December 10th 2013 – 16:50 LT
Location: Inflight, North Sea abeam Nieuwpoort, Belgium
Camera: Apple iPhone 5
Motivation & Comments: This photo was taken shortly after takeoff from Ostend Airport (OST/EBOS), onboard the Jetairfly Boeing 787 Dreamliner OO-JDL, during the second ‘Dreamflight’ on December 10th 2013 from Ostend to Brussels via Charleroi. We took off from RWY 26 and, just few moments later, we were already flying above the North Sea. As the sun had already started to set on the horizon, we got a magnificent view on the left side of the aircraft, whilst climbing to our cruising altitude of FL90. The window was not perfectly clean as you can see, but I think the few spots even add a bit more drama to the setting sun.