Ibn Ibn Battuta's Instagram Favorites: Global Edition
Check out my favorite Instagram accounts from travelers across the globe!
Global category: Featured photos from @arnaudmontagard, @theadventurehandbook, @toby.harvard, @lucylaucht, @rjisely, @romdilon, @boy.hill, @cedricroux, and @lifeof_riley. By @ibnbnbattuta.
This is the first post in my "Instagram Favorites" series. To understand how I chose them, see "Intro".
Confession: I did a terrible job whittling this list down. This first installment of my "Instagram Favorites" series was certainly the hardest to keep brief, given all the amazing photographers out there.
And long as it is, this list isn't even complete. Missing from it are my favorite film photographers' accounts, my favorite accounts from the Middle East and North Africa, and with them my favorites from Algeria. Stay tuned—I'll be highlighting those categories in special posts in the coming days.
This list includes my favorite aggregator and individual accounts from the "general" category. While individual accounts are self-explanatory, aggregator accounts (my term, since I couldn't find a better one elsewhere) are those that combine works from many artists, providing a wider range of perspectives, styles, and inspiration. As a content creator myself, I only follow those that give proper attribution. Beyond that requirement, I simply try to follow aggregators that balance diversity of perspectives with consistently high quality.
The accounts below don't necessarily belong to the world's best photographers, nor are they the ones with the greatest audiences. (Some have just a few hundred followers!) But to the last, they conform to the criteria I outlined in the introduction to this series, and they're just really damn stimulating. Enjoy:
Aggregator Accounts:
1. @boy.hill: The most consistently unsettling, thought-provoking, and fascinating account I follow. Buckle up for modern art.
2. @hurtlamb: A close second, highlighting a wide range of offbeat talent.
3. @theadventurehandbook: Amazing travel mag. Beware the FOMO.
4. @instagram: Credit where credit is due—Instagram's official account does an excellent job sharing diverse images from known and (mostly) unknown photographers across the platform, and stimulates mass outpourings of creativity with its contests.
5. @suitcase: Planet Earth in all its glory.
6. @verybusymagazine: The nostalgia just makes me ache.
7. @nomades__: Muted colors meet bold style and great taste.
8. @roam.magazine: A great travel mag quickly gaining in popularity—as it should be.
9. @dynamicafricaphoto: Real shots from the oft-misrepresented continent, expertly curated by a team who loves the place and does right by it.
Individual Accounts:
1. @lucylaucht: Beachscapes, portraits, travel shots, and more—all with beautiful colors, textures, and an eye for detail.
2. @romdilon: Marseille-based Romaric makes his city come alive with dramatic angles, baffling reflections, and perfect shadow play. France's seedy southern metropolis has never looked so good.
3. @hellondi: Andi Iskandar's shots of an epic journey across Iran were among the first that made me realize this platform's potential for travel inspiration, and he's been criss-crossing Asia ever since.
4. @uoft.dad: A fellow traveler who's spent much of the past few years in Afghanistan, building up a bank of affectionate images from a place that few outsiders manage to know so intimately.
5. @lifeof_riley: Find me someone who lives a more perfect life—I dare you to try. #mancrush
6. @toby.harvard: Sensuous night shots.
7. @cedricroux: Great street photographer.
8. @dantom: SF-based traveler. Oh, the colors.
9. @arnaudmontagard: High-contrast street shots from a NY-based Frenchman.
10. @jokemichaels: NY Times photographer Jake Michaels. High in contrast and diversity.
11. @skander_khlif: Well-traveled street photographer adept at seizing the moment.
12. @rjisely: Rachel is a vastly underappreciated travel photographer. Superb shots from India.
13. @rhitaylor: Pro travel shooter sharing great shots from her assignments and various journeys.
14. @quazimottoonwx: Precise portraits and body shots. Just beautiful.
15. @lydiache: Photo editor for US News, Lydia has an amazing eye.
16. @fabien_voileau: Talented French photographer bouncing from Paris to Auckland to everywhere in between.
17. @erinleydon: Self-described "unusual" Toronto-based photographer of mountains, weddings, and much more.
18. @easternsuns: More spectacular travel shots.
I hope you enjoyed this list. Stay tuned in the coming days for my picks from the Middle East & North Africa, Algeria, and Film Photography categories! And don't forget to follow me on Instagram at @ibnbnbattuta!