PLATFORM Magazine

Instagram is not just a place for people to share their love and passion for photography. It's also a place where people can display their other talents. I really enjoy this aspect because it allows you to find new areas of interest that you didn't even know about or you can really delve into your passion and discover like minded people which can then lead to a whole new world of ideas and never ending possibilities. One of the people I found was @linda_lomelino. She creates the most exquisite cakes and desserts and shares them for all to see. The details and skill that goes into making these beautiful masterpieces is an art all on its own!

@spellelepahnt is a mixture of close up everyday objects and details.

The eye for using lines to draw you around the image is clear indicator of someone who knows about composition. The main subjects appear to be building corners, doorways and stairways and this is no surprise because these are always perfect places to find those rarely seen details and interesting angles. There are blocks of colours that add an extra layer of texture to the photos and can turn something that seems quite neutral and bland into a whole new image.

@jonasromo has an instagram feed that is sprawling with architecture, graphic lines and forms. The use of angels and shapes to lead the eye around the frame is a very clever and allows you to take in every different aspect of the image.The subject isn't necessarily anything attractive to look at, but it's the use of form and structured angels that catch your attention. There is a simplicity to the images which I really enjoy and the clean cut lines and subtle hues create a kind of calm that keep me coming back for one last look.

@lellopepper is a great feed to scroll through when you need a colour pick me up! It's like looking through a fashion magazine but the photos have a comical edge to them. A mixture of still life inspired setups and models in fashion poses provide a variety that keep you interested and waning to know that little bit more. The use of bright pastel colours as the backdrop or a slice of detail makes image very fresh and modern. There is something very simplistic about the photos which I think is why they are so appealing and enjoyable.

@Tozzzze is all about the details. You can look through this feed and become so absorbed in the smallest detail, pattern or colour that when you look up you realise an hour has passed! My favourite photos are the super bright block colours that are parts of buildings or a stack of chairs. The eye for detail and composition is so very natural that it makes me look at my own surroundings in a different way, trying to find similar sights on my walk to the bus stop or on my way to work, noting the colours and details of buildings I pass so I can go back and photograph them later. Tozzzze also uses a very simple but effective trick of flipping images to create a whole new image that will keep you on your toes and excited for whats coming next.

@parkerfitzhenry has an instagram account that is filled with good old fashioned film photographs (unless noted otherwise) His portraits could have fallen straight from a fashion magazine, with their great compositions and use of texture and light to highlight the details and draw you right into the image. There are also subtle landscape shots thrown in here and there, which provides a little bit of variety as you scroll down. But ultimately it's the use of light in his portraits that keeps you going back time and again.

Scrolling though the photos by @lalovenenoso makes me feel like I have stepped into a holiday album. The fresh feeling and washed out brightness really does let you know that this is a Barcelona based stream.

She takes the normal everyday but captures it in a way that makes you see it as something new and exciting, like a swimming pool or quite simply, a pair of knees.

This way of looking at the things around you with an artistic eye invites you to see the beauty in the everyday and something one person might find dull she finds a new beauty in and transforms it into something very special. 

Image: Rozalind Williams

1. What got you into photography?

I was a musician for a long while whilst I was growing up; I was enrolled in a music school in my teens and I was learning to play the guitar and drums. On a whim I went to go and see a photography exhibition of Henri-Cartier Bresson’s work. I came away from it with a feverish feeling that I couldn’t quite make sense of. I went home and my Mother saw a change in me without us exchanging a word, it’s like I was awoken to something, like I was viciously in love with someone but had no idea who it was.

For a while I thought it was a deep desire to be a model and tried to get signed but it didn’t feel the same. I realized it in the middle of modelling for an album cover, draped with fruit and crushed red fabric. His style and passion couldn’t be further away from mine and still be called photography, but in that moment I knew I’m supposed to take images, not like Henri, but because of Henri and how his work made me feel.

Image: Rozalind Williams

Image: Rozalind Williams

2. What inspires your work?

Lots of things, my dreams are very vivid and always have been which can be a grand source of inspiration throughout my life. Though, I’ve actually been stifled for inspiration lately. I’m usually an inspired person and new ideas could keep me awake for half of the night, but recently there’s been a lull. So, in order to get that inspiration back I’ve been looking for ideas within less obvious places, such as Brain Blessed’s amazing storytelling abilities, poets like Kate Tempest and Geneen Marie Haugan, and performance artists such as Marina Abramović and Millie Brown.

Image: Rozalind Williams

3. Which photographers have influenced you over the years?

In the beginning, it was mainly documentary photographers like Henri, Lee Miller and Robert Capa. But, when I discovered creators of fantasy and abstract storytellers, such as Tim Walker, Mario Testino, Rankin and Nick Knight the doors of possibility really opened up for me. It’s almost as if, in some cases, you could say more in the studio than you could within the action, it certainly suited what I want to say and who I wanted to be a whole lot better.

Though, don’t get me wrong, I still love to find creative and notable folks and document them being them. To create a character of your own choice is great, reliable, stable and steady; to find a character and let them be who they are in front of your lens can surprise the daylights out of you, turn your ideas about-face and blow your mind.

Image: Rozalind Williams

Image: Rozalind Williams

4. Are you working on anything specific right now that you'd like to tell us about?

I’m very lucky to have a few collaborations with couturiers Eva Jacobs and Gore Couture and Anastasija Potjomkina the RottenZombieFairy coming up soon. I had a bunch of editorials and interviews come out in September, so you should have a look at them! I’m also doing independent business study at the moment and going to a lot of seminars about online business and marketing; this is something I’ve previously learned whilst I was going along but I’ve benefitted greatly by being a little more studious and ordered about my learning of the business side of the industry.

I’m finding that when you work from home, your muses can sometimes become quiet. There’s only so much you can learn and experiment with whilst at home in your hooded leopard print dressing gown. I’ve therefore been trying to surround myself with artists of all kinds; to join in with their vibes, collaborate and feed from their energy. I feel that you need a lot of input when it comes to making images, especially when you feel lacklustre or uninspired.

Image: Rozalind Williams

5. What is photography for you?

A ravenous muse-like metaphorical monster that needs to be fed with creation and creativity. If it’s not, I simply don’t feel like myself and experience the “itch” that is common with a lot of creative people. It’s everything to me, my lifeblood and my soul fire.

Image: Rozalind Williams

6. If you could shoot anything or anyone, what/who would it be?

I would photograph Frances Bean Cobain and Andreja Pejić in the Las Vegas Neon Museum wearing Roberto Cavalli gowns. Though, I’d worry if I could to do so much beauty justice, my heart would be literally bursting with excitement and gratitude. 

Image: Rozalind Williams

When I look through this photographer's feed I don't feel like i'm looking at some fully retouched, full framed DSLR shots. Instead they are truthful and natural.

It's refreshing to some across a photographer who doesn't need all the fancy after effects to create beautiful images. We are shown everyday life and it's surroundings, but its the thoughtful composition that makes this everyday scene something a little more extraordinary.

Whether this is a natural eye or a very careful set up, it comes across as flawless, and

makes me want to know more.

I stumbled across @frybros just the other day and i'm so glad I did. The photos we're presented with are very personal and the use of soft lighting makes them seem like something from an old film or as if you're looking back through your grandparents photo album at photos taken with a rolliflex or perhaps a polaroid. 

Some might think the subject matter is a sensitive area, but the careful yet artfully composed images allow us that extra glimpse without making you feel uncomfortable.

I adore the use of simple tones and the fact that we don't know the stories or details of the people in the images. The whole account oozes privacy, but is oh so intimate at the same time.

You might think that @yellowillow incorporates the colour yellow into every one of her photographs, but this isn't quite true. Colour is a very key aspect throughout however.

This instagram feed is a mixture of detail, landscapes and nature which are all linked with her clever use of colours and tones to attract the eye and draw you in to the smaller details. My favourite images on the page are the street scenes with the different cars taking the centre focus.

She has a great eye for the unusual, and the framing of the photos makes you take more time to appreciate what is it you are actually looking at.

@Finn has the tagline of 'the space around me' on his instagram page and the photos really truly do some that up. The landscapes and details he captures show off the natural beauty of the land around us and what we could witness if we just chose to look. The tones and colours of the photos give that wistful and slight vignette people crave but it's very subtle so as not too create an overly edited or 'photoshopped' finish.

It's HERE!!

PLATFORM Magazine's Issue 11: Travel is no live and ready to view at www.platform-mag.co.uk!

Thanks to all the incredible photographers who have shared their work. Please reblog/share if you like what you see.

@marijekuiper is and Amsterdam based photographer. Her instagram feed is a lovely

glimpse into her life and the people she meets along the way. I really enjoy the fresh

feeling of her portraits and the use of natural light makes them appear very real and

natural. She has a great eye for composition and frames her subjects to allow them to be the centre point of focus but with enough detail and background info to give a little bit more to the story of the image.