Hi @Canadagram community! My name is @ericmarkdo and I’m a journalist based in Toronto. I’m stoked to share some photos from my Instagram journey with everyone this week!
I love taking photos of cityscapes, anything with symmetry, and places that people normally don’t have access to. It’s always a thrill to get a shot that not many others have, but I really enjoy the execution of taking the photo and the post-processing of it.
My inspiration comes mostly through the beautiful photos I see, literally every day, on Instagram. This platform has really levelled the playing field for aspiring photographers to hone and share their craft, and network with people from around the world. It’s through Instagram that I’ve met a ton of people who constantly inspire me to take my work to the next level. — @ericmarkdo
One photo tip I like a lot, is to experiment with angles and perspective. Taking a photo from eye-level is pretty normal — try taking it from the ground or moving slightly to the left/right.
For example, flip your phone upside down and check out this shot. Pretty average right? But by flipping it 180 degrees you get something that you don’t see every day…unless you walk on your hands all the time! 😂 — @ericmarkdo
I started taking my photography and editing more seriously after seeing a high school friend’s Instagram photos. His feed (@the7illest) showed me that there were way more possibilities on Instagram than selfies with friends and #foodporn.
Soon after that I discovered rooftopping, which led to meeting rooftoppers who were also semi/professional photographers. While I was still shooting on my iPhone 4S for a long time — for example on this shot here — they imparted countless photography tidbits which prepared me well for when I finally got a DSLR. — @ericmarkdo
Here’s a #ThrowbackThursday from my trip to NYC around this time last year. It was my second time in the city, but I had more appreciation for its beauty — especially because I strictly went there for photo ops. It was an awesome adventure, and I met many Instagrammers that I’d been following for a while. Some of them took me down to this part of the subway, which looks like it could be from a sci-fi space movie. We even encountered a strange creature down there, but that’s another story in and of itself lol. This particular shot was taken on my GoPro (Hero 4 Black) and edited in Lightroom.
There are so many great photographers on Instagram that it’s hard to narrow down favourites. But some people who are constant sources of inspiration include:
@asteryx: Cityscapes and awesome moody edits
@_f7: Futuristic edits and amazing architecture captures
@jayscale: Toronto’s very own
@insighting: A must-follow for all aspiring street photographers
@andyto: Captures nature in all its beauty
@jsun217: Shoots LA in all its grit and glory
@bora.vs.bora: Next-level edits
And many more.
Last photo! I’ll take this opportunity to ask everyone to check out the two Instagram pages I created: @Way2ill_ & @PortraitPage — where we feature awesome photos daily (from the #Way2ill and #PortraitPage tags).
I also organize InstaMeets in Toronto regularly, and we’re gearing up for the next @Global.Meet slated in the spring! So if you’re in the Toronto-area or one of the Global Meet cities, feel free to stop by! We usually have great prizes for the best photos from the meets too 😉
Thank you, @Canadagram, for showcasing my work! It’s been fun! 🙏
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