12 Travel Instagrammers That No One’s Heard Of (Yet)
I like to think the future will be like one of those dystopian novels, the ones with the robots and the moral lessons and the vaguely communist posters. But no matter how bleak or twisted it is, and no matter how much an avocado may cost, you can bet there will still be people out there taking photos of mountains and using the Crema filter. The travel Instagrammers.
But whose accounts will dominate the decades ahead? Who are tomorrow’s best up-and-comers? We decided to find out.
After spending about two days trawling through the murky depths of Instagram to compile this list, we found some absolute gems. We only had two criteria: these accounts had to have fewer than 1000 followers, and they had to be good. That was about it. The influencers of the future. And no-one even knows their name (yet).
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#1 @itsmebaldwin
Talk about an up-and-comer – @itsmebaldwin only has five posts and nine followers. By sheer numbers, he’s Instagram small fry. So what’s he doing on the list? Check out those five photos and tell us we’ve got it wrong. We’re holding our breath for number six…
#2 @hosni_hannoun
If you’ve been neglecting your Algerian photographers in recent years, shame on you. There’s some serious talent out there. Honsi’s style is black and white and personal, with some pretty cool experiments using multiple exposures. This isn’t your daddy’s Instagram feed.
#3 @vanessas.diary
Only 77 followers and 16 posts so far, but Vanessa has the ‘look’ down pat. You know, the whole desaturated mountain with occasional North Face backpack motif. But the feed seems to play with texture a bit more than your standard travel account: the colour of a river, the mist on a hill, the crisp white of new snow.
#4 @prickly_park
Prickly Park is based in Vancouver and according to her profile enjoys ‘beautiful spaces’, ‘timeless design’, ‘simplicity’, ‘coffee’ and ‘nature’. All things that make a killer Instagram feed. Definitely one for you minimalists out there. The palette is pure Smith Journal.
#5 @isabel.foo
We’re a sucker for a good illustration account, and Isabel Foo is one hell of an illustrator. Not all the pics are travel related, but someone needs to commission a series of these or something. The account is one part kids’ book, two parts Hong Kong anthropology project.
#6 @thedarlingalli
The Darling Alli has posted a fair bit, but hasn’t quite got the traction you’d expect. Which is weird when you consider her bio says she’s dedicated the feed to a) travel and b) baked goods – a marriage made in croissant heaven. Her style is becoming more travel focused though, so perhaps Instagram fame is just around the corner.
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#7 @stumcg
If you like your nature accounts raw, heavily filtered and maxed out on rugged wanderlust, @stumcg has you covered. There’s the odd shot of a wife and bub, but mostly it’s just #wilderness all day long. Follow if the closest you usually get to the Great Outdoors is watching Bear Grylls wrestle spiders while you eat cheese and laugh.
#8 @kevin.moravec
Kevin Moravec gets around. In the first 10 shots alone you’ve got Cape Town at sunset, a stormy central London and Arizona from the sky. This guy lives like Carmen Sandiego, but takes way better pictures. There’s a good mix of styles and subjects too to keep the feed fresh.
#9 @thinkmotive
A design studio based in Colorado. What’s cool about this account is the variety. You’ve got ridiculous snow-covered vistas right next to some kickass illustrations and dreamy flat lays. It’s the sort of feed that makes you feel like you should start a vegan typography business, or perhaps buy a flannel shirt.
#10 @amybaoillustration
Love, love, love this account. How often do people watercolour anymore? Not a whole lot. Amy Bao does a mix of landscapes and life drawing, but someone really needs to bite the bullet and send this girl on a round-the-world trip. Can you imagine the coffee book?
#11 @albertocarmagnani
There are 591 people out there who appreciate the stunning shots Alberto Carmagnani is pumping out on a regular basis. The rest of us have no idea. Which is a shame, because this feed is one of the best we’ve seen (and we spend our lives looking at this stuff). You just can’t teach a good eye.
#12 @bnplmr
Get on this kid before he hits the big time. Ben Palmer and his trusty Nikon D7000 travel the world capturing the weird and the wonderful. His theme is full of small moments – a look, a gesture, the colour of an overcast sky – but the cumulative effect is simple: pure talent.
(Lead image: left;@thinkmotive/Instagram, right; @vanessas.diary/Instagram)
Like our Instagram @AWOL_aus if you’re after some more seriously inspirational travel snaps. #GoneAWOL
