Storytelling With Instagrams: First, Get Your Story Straight

As I explained last time, to my way of thinking, the process of posting photos to Instagram is a form of storytelling. Each little square of visual goodness that I post reflects a tiny tale from my life; every decision I make in creating that image should be focused on helping me tell my story.

The first step of storytelling with Instagrams is to get your story straight.

I've noticed that some Instagrammers focus in on just one particular kind of story. By composing a series of images that repeat certain strong themes, the photographer tells the same story, more or less, in slightly different yet reinforcing ways. Here are some examples:

cucinadigitale

Nicolee Drake, know as cucinadigitale, tells stories about the soft colors and glowing sunlight of Rome. She emphasizes bleached walls, faded colors, and rough textures, often set off by vintage bicycles, old cars, street markets, and quaint lines of laundry hung out to dry. When I look at her feed, I can feel the bumpy cobblestones under my feet, smell the hot city air, hear the commotion of Italian traffic nearby. I've never been to Italy in real life, but after drinking in these photos, I think I would feel quite at home there.

mitsubachinoie

The artist know as mitsubachinoie has a young daughter, maybe 7 years old, who is often featured in her pics. Usually, the little girl is happily playing or exploring some interesting object and is photographed at a distance from the camera. Almost always, she is alone. This style of composition, coupled with the soft pastel tones and gentle filters, gives me the sense of watching a precious Alice in her own personal Wonderland and I feel like I have stepped into a dream.

dswardhana

Dswardhana is all about nature and most specifically, trees. Scroll through this feed and you will see trees in every perspective and variation imaginable - landscape shots, trees reflected in water, close-ups of leaves, branches, trunks, flowers, berries, shadows, highlights, lines and geometry. Edited to maintain realism and a fresh green sense of filtered light, these photos take me out into the woods and make me feel like I've been hiking all morning. They fill me with peace.

ideamaxima

Clean, crisp, geometric design. Minimalist compositions, mostly black and white. Photos of familiar objects are edited and filtered just enough to give me a sense of abstracted reality. I love to stare at these images until I figure out what I am actually seeing; ideamaxima creates picture puzzles that tease my brain and encourage me to marvel at the ordinary.

moonlightice

Lots of Instagrammers do flowers, but moonlightice takes it a step further to tell stories about flowers with bright, bold, translucent colors, lit by a strong sun and often framed against the sky. This perspective of looking up at the bottom of the blossom makes me feel like I am an ant, trudging through a field of gigantic flowers that tower over my little antennaed head. And the sharp, dramatic, slightly unnatural lighting effects give me a distinctive sci-fi vibe, making me wonder if I am living on another planet in a different solar system.

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I admire the restraint and discipline that these Instagrammers bring to their art. By focusing on a certain type of photograph, and repeating the central themes and elements of their signature look, their photos flow together effortlessly to tell a single, cohesive story. 

As for me, I'm more of an Instagramming generalist; I enjoy telling stories about different parts of my life. Which means that each of my photos must stand on its own, and tell a story all by itself.

So here's an example. Let's say that I find myself sitting at a dinner table in front of a fresh, colorful and very pretty taco. 

This is not my taco. But it's Instagram-worthy, don't you think? {source}

Of course, my Instagramming instincts kick in immediately, and I reflexivley grab my phone to take a photo.

But there is a difference between posting a picture of a taco, and telling a story about a taco. This is the all-important moment when I ask myself, what is the story here? 

Is this a special birthday taco, commemorating my grandma's 90th? 

Or a Cinco de Mayo blowout with some rowdy friends? 

Maybe there is a toddler at the table who is about to experience her first taco ever?

Or maybe a midnight Taco Bell run, taken with a heartsick teen who is getting over his first breakup?

These nuances matter. 

Before I snap a single shot, I want to be sure that the story I'm about to tell is clear in my mind.  Every decision I make in creating this photo will be guided by the story I am trying to tell. 

So I'll say it again: the first step of storytelling with Instagrams is to get your story straight.

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P.S. This song, If You Don't, Don't, by Jimmy Eat World, contains the lyric, "Won't you get your story straight?" It played over and over in my brain as I wrote this post. 

Storytelling With Instagrams

I posted three photos to Instagram today. 

They might not be the most technically superior or artistically sublime images ever posted. But what is interesting and noteworthy about these photos is that each one of them tells a little story about my day. They present a tiny vignette that reveals something about me. Here, I'll explain exactly what I mean.

While I was out at the grocery store this morning, I noticed that my third-born had just posted a status on Facebook expressing her desire for a donut. After a short flurry of comments discussing her flavor of choice, I picked out a lovely little pastry for her and Instagrammed it so she could see exactly what glory awaited her. It was a fun little episode that reminds me how technology can make even grocery shopping an interactive and visually rewarding experience.

This afternoon, as I was taking Ranger on his daily walk, he obediently stopped at a crosswalk and sat himself down to await further instructions from me. Such a little angel. But bless his heart, he was slightly off target and ended up parking himself not on the curb but at the edge of the crisp white crosswalk stripes. As I was smiling to myself, enjoying his noble if slightly kittywampus attempt to follow my rules, my eye caught how beautifully the black and white stripes set off his glowing red coat. Out came my camera to capture the moment.

As we continued on our way, I noticed, with a lump in my throat, an accumulation of little golden leaves scattered across the ground. These fallen soldiers are a sure sign that summer has reached its peak, and as I watched my sandaled feet walk across them, I suddenly foresaw the inevitable passing of summer into fall. It's a transition that always leaves me a bit sad and bittersweet, and by snapping this shot, I am officially preparing myself for the end of summer. Sigh.

* * * * *

This trio of images exemplifies exactly what I have come to love about Instagram. More than just a social network for photographers, or a giant data base of random photos, Instagram is a collection of stories. Each photo reveals interesting truths about the person who posted it, and scrolling through an individual's feed is like reading a book with many chapters.

When I first joined Instagram, I just tried to make pretty pictures. Now, my goal is to create Instagrams that reveal artful little stories about my life.

Accordingly, my strategies for taking and editing my pics have shifted and evolved. As I choose my subject, stage the setting, compose the shot, and edit the finished product, I keep foremost in my mind the story that I want to tell. With this new sense of purpose, my images have become more focused, more artistically pleasing, and definitely more satisfying for me to behold.

Over my next few posts, I'll share some tips for telling stories with Instagrams, as well as lots of my favorite storytelling photos. In the meantime, if you're on Instagram, please add me at @dianeagain. And if you're not on Instagram, come on...join the fun!

What My Pets Did On My Summer Vacation

When I am away from home, I worry about my pets. Oh sure, there were plenty of others here to feed them, water them, keep track of their whereabouts and give them plenty of love. 

But really, can anyone do that as well as I can?

Honest answer: yes. 

However, my heart still frets while I am away from my animals, as I was for the past eight days. So I spent most of my time and energy today, my first day back, attending to their furry needs and assessing their emotional well-being. 

Not gonna lie, the cats are fine. I hear that they spent an unusual amount of time outside while I was gone, but that was mostly owing to the schedules of the humans who were still here to let them in and out, and the extremely hot weather of the past week. Who wouldn't rather sleep in a shady flower bed than in an overheated and stuffy house?

The truth is that the kittens have received my triumphant return in typical feline matter-of-fact style, and after a basic cuddle session with each one, our relationships have swiftly returned to normal.

Then there's this guy:

Reportedly, Ranger had a rough time while I was gone. It seems that my little shadow was at loose ends without me - he fussed, he whined, he was fretful and jumpy.

Poor little lad. I missed you too.

My eldest tells me that as soon as I walked back in the house, Ranger calmed down considerably. And while I definitely believe her, I also noticed that today he was still out of sorts. He's been fussy, whiny, fretful and jumpy. If this is the calm version of Ranger, I hate to imagine what he was like while I was gone.

Poor little lad. He must have been a wreck.

So I am in full-blown Ranger-soothing mode. Which means three things: 

• I intentionally keep him at my side every minute; if I leave the room, I call to him so he can come with me.
• I feed him his favorite dog treats every now and then. On an average day, I tend not to serve him anything but his regular food; however, this situation calls for extreme measures.
• I fuss over him to the point of ridiculousness. Sugary sweet voice, lots of snuggly petting, and every precious nickname ever devised for him - all forms of affection are on full go. 

Lucky little lad. His broken heart is slowly mending.

At the moment, he is lying near my feet, stretched out on his side and snoring contented puppy snores.

No more fussing, no more whining, no more fretfulness or jumpiness. Yep, I think Ranger is going to be alright.

You Be The Judge; I'm Too Tired To Think

The last day of a road trip is always brutal. Today we hauled ourselves home from Sacramento, California; not the longest distance I've covered in one day but we were tenacious. Other than a quick stop in Redding for our last round of Double-Doubles at the northernmost In-N-Out, and mandatory refueling and restroom breaks, we drove nonstop.

View Larger Map

In order to preserve our sanity, and to appreciate the gorgeous scenery as it whizzed by my speeding bullet of a car, we snapped a lot of photos. Despite the fact that the camera was hurtling past the subject at upwards of 70 m.p.h., I managed to get a few really decent shots and happily Instagrammed them right away. So satisfying.

But at the end of the day, I found myself at home with a camera roll full of dozens of somewhat interesting photos of highly questionable quality. In my current mindset of road weariness and unconditional surrender to forces beyond my control, I decided to play around with a few of these funky photos to see what I might create. The results are for you to judge; I can only say I had fun making them.

Won't Get Fooled Again

As I drove through the streets of sunny San Diego today, the specific angle of the sun and particular scent of the ocean air took me back in time to my first visit to that fair city.

I was eighteen years old, and after taking a red eye from my home in the Midwest, I headed straight to the beach to spend a few hours while my friend was at work. Not surprisingly, I fell asleep on my towel. Also not surprisingly, my poor pale skin got burned by that powerful Southern California sun. But the magnitude and severity of that burn was quite a shock. My face suffered the worst fate...the blisters were so big that my eyes swelled shut. For the next few days, I ran a fever and did nothing but lie in a darkened room with cool washcloths covering most of my body, and try to convince myself that I didn't need to go to the emergency room.

Sigh. Definitely white girl problems.

Happily, today's visit was much less eventful. With just a few moments to spend, I pulled into a lookout point above Pacific Beach, watched the surfers, and wished I had time to head down to the sand and sit for a spell. But as my eighteen-year-old memories surfaced so poignantly in my mind, I was more than happy to quickly snap a few pics and be on my way.

San Diego, your beaches are spectacular. But I won't get fooled again.

Tucson Sunsets

Dear Tucson,

I owe you an apology. As a west coast snob, I never dreamed that your land-locked horizons could offer a sunset that would measure up to my precious Puget Sound's fiery displays. Oh, how wrong I was. Your evening spectaculars filled my eyes with blazing colors and completely astounded me with their glory. You, dear city, are a sunset hound's Mecca and I am humbled to have seen a few of your miracles with my own two eyes.

Love, Diane

P.S. These photos are all unedited. Those colors came straight from heaven.

In Line

Today was a day full of lines.

I spent a lot of time scrutinizing the lines on my street map of unfamiliar Tucson, making sense of the grid of streets and avenues as I wandered around town.

In a more literal sense, I whiled away quite a bit of time standing in lines. Buying textbooks, queuing up for presentations, standing at crowded restaurant counters, waiting to check out at stores - it was a day for lining up.

But my favorite kind of lines today were the geometric ones. Seemed like everywhere I looked, I saw interesting lines in buildings, pavement, or natural arrangements. Colorful or black and white, intersecting grids or simply straight, bold or gently constructed, the variety fascinated me and begged to be photographed. Who am I to deny a line?