The city of 11,000 photographers

New year, new…hobby?

We are only a week into 2017, but it is easy to get into the rut of our same old routine once again.

However, there are many opportunities to meet new people and perhaps, discover that you have a hidden talent.

The team behind IGersBirmingham, an Instagram page with more than 11,000 followers, are on a mission to get you snapping this year.

IGers is a global movement and brings together amateur and professional photographers in 400 cities worldwide. The initiative, which aims to create communities that are active offline as well as online, was founded by Phil Gonsalez in Madrid back in 2010.

The IGersBirmingham account encourages Instagrammers to use the hashtag #igersbirmingham whenever they upload a photo of Birmingham. Whether it be city centre locations or rural photographs of the Greater Birmingham region. The hashtag has been used an impressive 114,000 times to date and is used over 150 times a day.

IGersBirmingham was set up in 2011 and was taken over by photographer Fraser McGee in 2013. Since then, he has been joined by other Instagram enthusiasts Beth Astington and Annabell Lamba and as a team, they are successfully building IGersBirmingham into a brand around their full-time jobs.

Beth, who is originally from West Wales and has lived in Birmingham since 2014, believes that what makes the account a success is the feeling of being part of a community.

She said: “IGersBirmingham is for people of all abilities, from smart phone users to professional photographers.

“I think the hashtag is such a success because it is the perfect way for people to share photos you have taken with other people. I also think people like to use it as they get inspiration for their own photographs and where they can go in the city.”

IGersBirmingham host monthly ‘Instameets’ at various locations in Birmingham. Instameet’s are the perfect excuse to see more of Birmingham and meet up with others who have an interest in photography, culture and Birmingham’s ever changing landscape.

The events, that take place monthly and are now attracting around 150 people each time, are often in places you may not have thought to have headed to before.

Beth, who works in Marketing at Aston University, said: “Our Instameets are often places which you haven’t been allowed to go as it may not be usually open to the public. Or, it may be somewhere that you pass every day, but being on the Instameet means that you have more time to look at it more closely and see it differently.

“We also run workshop themed Instameets for specific types of photography or locations and invite experts along. The team help each other get the shot they want with advice and tips. Many people who come along see it as a challenge, as they may be used to taking photos of architecture, but by taking them somewhere different like Sutton Park, they have a challenge. There is always a social element to the meets though, where everyone can chat over a drink after.”

The team are now looking at hosting a range of exhibitions after the success of their first one in late 2016. The exhibition, which took place at Glenn Howells Architects, featured a selection of the very best images that had been featured on the Instagram page.

Part of the exhibition included a range of ‘Photo of the Day’ pictures. The team work together each night to decide the very best Photo of the Day which has used the IGersBirmingham hashtag.

Beth explained just how they choose the best one.

“We choose it based on how attractive the picture is.To catch our eye and make it to Photo of the Day, there needs to be good composition, lighting, colour and angle. We also like to see people being creative with the editing process,” she said.

“The most photographed locations are the Selfridges building in the Bullring, the Rotunda, Grand Central and the Library of Birmingham. But something different catches each of our eyes every day and it is great to see places where we haven’t been ourselves too.”

The team are now looking to the future and are feeling optimistic at the start of their fifth year.

Beth said: “For 2017, we are eager to set up more Instameets than ever before as well as exhibitions, encourage more people to use the hashtag and of course, for more people to get involved with us, whatever their experience.”

IGersBirmingham’s next Instameet takes place in mid-January.