5 Reasons I Love Instagram

I feel like I'm kind of alone when it comes to my affection for Instagram. Not in the greater sense of course, obviously tons of people love it, but within my circle of friends I'm the odd one out. I don't know a lot of people who even have Instagram accounts, and many that do don't update very often. But I don't use Instagram to keep up with my friends and family! I have Facebook for that, as well as actual, you know, conversations. Not that I dislike when they post, I mean I'm always happy to see a new picture! My point is that even though a lot of people hate Instagram because of the "pointless filters" (I'm looking at you, Zach!), there are five big reasons that I check the app first thing in the morning as a great way to start my day.

1. Cat Pictures

I just freaking love pictures of cats. It really doesn't matter who they belong to, or how many there are, or what type; they make me really flippin' happy. So when I pop open Instagram and see a new picture of Nala the Cat, I can't help but smile. I currently don't have a kitty (first time in my life), and these cutie pies help to fill the void.

Here are my favorite people to follow for cat pictures:

nala_cat (dedicated)
cats_of_instagram (dedicated)
adamtots (life, comedy, and cats with hats)
thedaintysquid (fashion, life, photography, and LOTS of cats!)

2. Nature and The World

There is a great, glorious world out there around me, and I don't get to see a lot of it. Enter Instagram, where I can get a first person peek at nearly anywhere in the world! I follow some astounding people on Instagram (many of whom I can't even remember how I found), and it's thrilling to wake up to a photo of the sun rising over the Swiss mountains, or the rainfall in Norway.

Here are my favorite people to follow for world photography:

mhairig (life, family, lots of nature, travel, based out of Scotland)
cmoretz (the actress Chloe Moretz, tons of around the world photos and videos)
ellnmllr (travel photography, children, food)
ellenminerva (a college student living in Norway. Tons of gorgeous scenery!)
masquerade78 (frequent, beautiful hiking photos from the Pacific Northwest)

3. Famous People

Alright, when I say famous people, I mean some very specific ones! I follow Chloe Moretz because she posts so much travel photography. She as an actress is wonderful, but I don't much care about her personal life. The famous people in question, here and now, are the stars of the upcoming Starz TV production of Outlander! You see, there is an amazing book series called 'Outlander', written by Diana Gabaldon. It all started back in 1991 or so, and as rabid fans approach the release of the 8th book next spring, we are also gearing up for finally getting a TV series. It looks to be amazing, and so far the cast members are all excited and kind to the fans. The two leads, Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan (who will be playing Claire Randall and Jamie Fraser, respectively) have Instagram accounts, and are already treating fans to the beginning of production.

I am delighted whenever they post a new photo, and it helps to bring even more excitement as the show comes to life! Follow samheughan and Caitrionabalfe to follow the fun.

4. Fandoms

I may already 'like' pages on Facebook, subscribe to videos on Youtube, follow accounts on Twitter and Tumblr, but sometimes just a picture is nice. No extensive hash tag paragraphs, no insane jokes to try and understand (sorry Tumblr, but sometimes I simply can't keep up), just pure, lovely photos to encapsulate a fandom. They're bite sized nuggets of the things that I love, well poised to perk up my day when I pick up my phone after an exhausting data entry marathon at work.

Favorite Instagram accounts for my beloved fandoms:

nintendo (official)
harrypotterfans (movie stills and photo shoots)
nbcparksandrec (official)
thesuperwholockian (compilation images for Doctor Who, Sherlock, and Supernatural)

5. Art

Through various channels I have found wonderful artists on Instagram. They amaze and inspire me every day with their skill sets, and it makes me feel great to know that I get to see their work on a regular basis. And the diversity! From traditional pencil drawings, to 3D creations, to (my personal favorite) paper sculptures, I get a glorious dose of art straight to my eyes first thing each morning.

Here are my favorite artists on Instagram:

badgercreations (perler beads and cross stitching)
lightandpaperali (paper craft)
britsketch (paper craft)
paperbeatsscissors (pencil/paper)
fayeballine (paper craft)
itsbirdy (colored pencil)

My account is abitofgeek, and I post art, friends, animals, and whatever else feels right. Feel free to follow! Do you use Instagram? What are your favorite accounts?

-MJ
*All photos are screenshots from my phone. Images belong to their respective owners! Header image is comprised of my own bitchin' Instagram photos.

Read More

Fun Find: Casetagram

Today's Fun Find from the Internet is Casetagram, a fully customizable phone case made out of your Instagram photos! Actually, not just your Instagram photos. Users can also pull over Facebook pictures, and upload images from their computers as well! The website offers a wide variety of phone cases to choose from, too, so this isn't an Apple Only club!

Thrown together from casetagram.com

Prices are reasonable, with iPhone 4/4s cases being only $34.95 (prices do vary depending on your phone model), plus free worldwide shipping. The website includes a simple to use drag-and-drop interface to assist the user in creating their custom case. Casetagram even includes pre-made templates to help with the design process. Once you've chosen your phone brand, you can immediately begin importing pictures. From there you drag and drop your images onto the phone template. So simple! Users canchange the template as many times as they want to suit their needs and find the best layout for their work! Note that changing the template does erase the images that you've dragged over.You can also have your choice of clear,black or white for the case, and Casetagram even includes Instagram-esque filters to apply to your completed design.

I originally learned about Casetagram from The Dainty Squid, a wonderful blog that I love to read. Kaylah posted about her new custom case (covered in pictures of her kitties!) and I was immediately intrigued! Sadly, I have no kitties to photograph :[ I do, however, have tons of video game photography! Check out the case I designed for funsies!

Users can save their designs into a gallery on the Casetagram website for future viewing and purchase. They can make as many designs as they want, it would appear, and can even submit their cases into the Challenge to try and win prizes!Creations can only be purchased by the user unless they submit it for considerationto the Collection section. If you have a great design, why not put it up for sale?

Unfortunately I can't speak as to the sturdiness of the case, but from The Dainty Squid's picture it looks as though the print quality is quite high! I think it's time for me to squirrel away some cash and save for the video game iPhone case of my dreams!

Have youused Casetagram? If you've made any creations then we'd love to see them! Just send us a link in the comments : )

-Miranda

*header image from casetagram.com

Read More

Nintendo Photo A Day Collection

Last month Nintendo hosted a fun internet event titled "Nintendo Photo A Day" where, for the month of June, they encouraged users to post one photo a day that a) related to Nintendo and b) was from a specific list. Being an avid Nintendo and photography fan myself, I ecstatically obliged. For ease of use and enjoyment I thought it would be a good idea to compile them all here for you, dear readers!

So, without further delay, please enjoy my 30 day Nintendo photo project!


Day 1 - Favorite Character Day 2 - Another Castle Day 3 - First Nintendo Game


Day 4 - Your Game Collection Day 5 - Green Day 6 - Character You're Like


Day 7 - Coins Day 8 - Cosplay Day 9 - Animal Crossing


Day 10 - Heart Day 11 - Favorite E3 News Day 12 - Best Wii U Game


Day 13 - Best Nintendo 3DS Game Day 14 - Favorite Console Day 15 - Powerup


Day 16 - Something Old Day 17 - Something New Day 18 - Something Cute


Day 19 - Link Day 20 - Mario Day 21 - Black and White


Day 22 - Happiness Day 23 - Can't Live Without Day 24 - Your Game Face


Day 25 - Change Day 26 - Epic Day 27 - Princess


Day 28 - Everyone Should Play... Day 29 - Food Day 30 - Game Over

And there you have it! Did you participate? If so then let me know your instagram name so I can look at yours! Do you particularly enjoy any of mine? :D

-MJ

Read More