When I created my Instagram account in October 2011, I had no idea what would come of it. As far as I was concerned, this was a cool way to put some *SICK* edits on pictures. Does anyone remember the days of the Toaster filter? Or Nashville? MAN those were the days.
I know this post is extra to the max, but I want to put together a little tribute to instagram and the photography community it's generated for me. I'm putting together some of the pictures, both good and bad, that I've posted to commemorate 1,000 instagrams. Enjoy.
My pictures have come a long way since this one, my first instagram on October 28th, 2011:
5 Likes, 3 Comments - Jake Meyer (@jakemeyer) on Instagram: "Party Rock!"
October 2012. This is some incredible pictures quality - no? I've come a long way since then. One summer I stole/borrowed my mom's camera and then got my own the following Christmas. This is the first picture I ever took and edited all on my own. I remember sending this to everyone I knew because I was so excited to have taken an "artsy" picture.
43 Likes, 2 Comments - Jake Meyer (@jakemeyer) on Instagram: "Took this with my mom's camera and edited it myself. I will give myself a pat on the back for this...."
January 2013. I used to sprint outside at sunset and mess with every possible setting on my mom's camera to get a picture to look how I wanted it to. This picture was the first time I was able to accomplish it.
82 Likes, 2 Comments - Jake Meyer (@jakemeyer) on Instagram: "#nofilter a picture I took of the sunset on the 23rd! I took it with my mom's #canonrebel"
December 2013. This picture was the first time I took a picture of the stars. I had no idea what I was doing, but I remember being ecstatic when I saw this picture. I've taken a lot more star pictures then.
187 Likes, 6 Comments - Jake Meyer (@jakemeyer) on Instagram: "Last night I sat by the ocean, took pictures, and listened to "Oceans" by Hillsong United. It was..."
On July 21st, 2014, I got baptized. This was the day I died to myself and accepted the free gift of eternal life that Christ Jesus offers us. I was an idiot then and I'm still an idiot now. But leading up to that day, I realized I was an idiot and accepted that the Lord was greater than anything I could strive for or achieve in this life. This is the video I posted of my baptism.
333 Likes, 36 Comments - Jake Meyer (@jakemeyer) on Instagram: "July 21st, 2014: The day that Jacob Allen Meyer died. Today I died. I died to myself, I died to my..."
One of my favorite projects I've ever done was take portraits and put them in black and white. I posted all 25 of them on the blog at http://www.jamimagery.com/blog/black-and-white.
342 Likes, 12 Comments - Jake Meyer (@jakemeyer) on Instagram: ""When you photograph people in colour, you photograph their clothes. But when you photograph them..."
Fast forward a little bit and we get to my black and white phase. I loved posting only in black and white and I feel like that's where I learned about myself as a photographer.
282 Likes, 7 Comments - Jake Meyer (@jakemeyer) on Instagram: "guys, it was a busy weekend. I shot another proposal tonight! can't wait to show you who it was 😏..."
I think this might go down as my favorite picture I've taken today. It was a normal Wednesday at OSU, but I love this picture. It represents a huge part of my life with OSU.
388 Likes, 10 Comments - Jake Meyer (@jakemeyer) on Instagram: "what is your orange passion? mine is student leadership opportunities on campus and helping..."
That brings us to here. I've grown as a person by becoming a photographer. I see photo sessions as a way to spend time with people while also creating a product that I love.
272 Likes, 3 Comments - Jake Meyer (@jakemeyer) on Instagram: "I have had a BLAST taking people's senior pictures this spring! still need to take some and want to..."
I get asked a lot how to be a photographer, what camera I use, etc. My biggest piece of advice for people who ask me any camera related question is to keep shooting. I have taken 10s of 1,000s of pictures in the last 4 1/2 years and taken almost as many video clips. I follow that advice with some other tidbits:
Keep shooting. Create. Find people who inspire you. Tell stories. Find a vision for your pictures and figure out a way to make it work. Create. Develop a style. Tell stories. Do you. Create. Take pictures. Tell stories. Create because we were born to create. Tell stories because stories make life fun.
Thanks for reading. Excited to see what social media holds in the future.