Behind the Scenes with NYLON Magazine

NYLON Magazine (@nylonmag) is known for making a splash in the pop culture and fashion worlds. With Instagram, NYLON gives followers an inside look into the latest trends, whether from behind-the-scenes at a photoshoot, the front row of a concert or one of their new favorite hot spots.

For May’s “Young Hollywood” issue, NYLON showcased ultra-insider accounts that provided a unique look into fashion, beauty, music, film, culture and books. Most of the pages in the magazine included prompts that direct readers to these Instagrammers with some favorite photos from each one. NYLON asked established Instagram users such as Ashley Benson (@itsashbenzo) to share how they use the service and why it’s an important part of their lives. Finally, the “She’s Electric” section, a monthly installment that covers tech news, offered more concrete advice about how to make the most out of the Instagram experience.

To see more from NYLON and their followers, visit the @nylonmag account or check out the fan photo hashtag #MyNYLON.

Explore @SouthwestAir Headquarters on a Virtual Photowalk

For more photos from the photo walk around Southwest HDQ, check out the #PhotoSWAlk hashtag

Last weekend, we challenged the Instagram community to participate in #WorldWideInstawalk. The goals were to go out, explore and be creative.

While groups of Instagrammers were exploring places like Johannesburg, Los Angeles and even the top of an Indonesian volcano, Southwest Airlines (@SouthwestAir) used the opportunity to take their followers on a virtual photo walk exploring their headquarters in Dallas, Texas.

As @SouthWest led followers through their 920,000 square-foot headquarters, they explained how their home base is more than just a center of operations, but the heart of their LUV Culture.

The tour began in the building’s lobby, which houses an impressive suspended model fleet of the company’s many planes. They continued through the hallways, upon which hang more than 20,000 framed pieces of the company’s history. The tour continues through their cafeteria, employee university and corporate culture centers until finally leading us to the in-flight crew training capsule (complete with vintage uniforms), dispatch center and maintenance hanger.

Through their Instagram photo walk, @SouthwestAir was able to give their followers a behind-the-scenes experience they may never have seen otherwise. To learn more about hosting your own photo walk, visit our blog post with tips on how to organize and throw a great event.

The Heritage of Johnnie Walker

To launch the brand’s Instagram account, Johnnie Walker (@johnniewalker) wanted to find a way to bring it’s heritage to life. To do this, it picked three aspects of the brand that it felt strongly represented what the Johnnie Walker brand was about. Johnnie Walker then chose three different Instagram users to be guest photographers for a week and document each aspect.

The first stop was a centuries-old distillery in Scotland, shot by Chris Ozer (@chrisozer). Ozer captured images of old whisky casks and the rolling fields of the Scottish countryside and gave followers a look into the distillation process.

The second aspect highlighted was the brand’s involvement in F1 racing. Johnnie Walker sponsors the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes F1 team and sent photographer Phil Gonzalez (@philgonzalez) to the track with the team. The photos take you behind the scenes with the team during final preparations, into the pits during the race, and even into the winners circle at the end of the race.

The final destination was the Johnnie Walker House in Shanghai. Athipan Wongsuebyut (@awnoom) from Thailand traveled to Shanghai to photograph the iconic site. During the trip, he shared images from inside the Johnnie Walker House of artifacts and memorabilia that showcased the heritage of the brand.

Over the course of the month, users following the account experienced the rich visual history of Johnnie Walker told through the eyes of the brand. To learn more about the heritage of Johnnie Walker, view the photos on Johnnie Walker’s Instagram profile instagram.com/johnniewalker.

Photos from the Heart

The Instagram API is a great way to surface the amazing content Instagram users share every second in fun and innovative ways. Use the API to access photos based on things like username, location or hashtag.

Heartwalk is an art installation in Times Square built entirely from wooden planks salvaged from the various boardwalks destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. Over the past month, Situ Studio (@situstudio) brought their followers along as they visited demolition sites to reclaim the wood. Users were able to watch as the wooden planks were transformed into a beautiful work of art.

Now finished, the planks form a heart shaped enclosure where visitors can pause and reflect from within the heart of the city. Visitors are encouraged to post their photos to Instagram with the hashtag #HeartwalkTSQ. The photos are being pulled into a visualization created by HD Made (@hdmade) and displayed on www.heartwalktsq.com through use of the Instagram API.

Heartwalk was created by Situ Studio (@situstudio) with support from Times Square Alliance (@TimesSquareNYC) and Design Trust for Public Space. The installation was the winning proposal in the Times Square Alliance’s annual Valentine Heart Competition.

To view more, visit the Times Square Alliance or Situ Studio Instagram profiles or check out more #HeartwalkTSQ photos.

Explore the World with The North Face Athletes

The North Face (@thenorthface) is bringing their followers to places they will never ever be able to travel, in a very intimate way, via Instagram. They are giving users access to their favorite athletes and helping them discover new ones and new places.

The North Face established an Athlete Instagram Field Team to contribute photos from remote places around the world and to bring people to places they would likely never see. Their main goal is to inspire people to get outdoors and get after it, just as they see the athletes doing. The North Face tries to share as many action-oriented, face-melting images as possible and hopes that seeing the athletes exploring their potential in beautiful, remote places will inspire followers to challenge themselves as well.

Here are a few examples of the athletes you can find featured on the @thenorthface account:

• World-class rock climber Conrad Anker (@conradclimber) took a self-portrait from 8,800 meters on the South East Ridge of Everest on the calmest day of the 2012 pre-monsoon climbing season. Conrad attempted the same climb 13 years prior in bad weather, but did not capture a photo.
• Snowboarder Moss Halladay (@mosshalladay) posting from atop a mountain on a snowboarding trip to Cerro Bayo, Argentina.
• Ultrarunner Nikki Kimball setting the current women’s speed record on Vermont’s 273-mile Long Trail. Kimball completed the trail in 5 days, 7 hours and 42 minutes, putting her in the top five speed records of all time.

Through the eyes of their athletes, The North Face is taking users on unparalleled adventures all around the world. Follow @thenorthface to see more photos from The North Face athletes.

From the Kitchen to Instagram: Learn to Cook with Tyler Florence

Celebrity chef Tyler Florence (@tylerflorence) can be seen cooking on the set of the Food Network (@foodnetwork), in his world-renowned restaurants, and now from his very own kitchen. Through Instagram, Florence is bringing followers into the kitchen with him to demonstrate some of his favorite recipes.

Florence starts by posting an image of the ingredients required and a description of the dish he is about to prepare. He posts photos at every step in the preparation so that fans can follow along. The end result typically consists of 8-12 photos per recipe, topped off with a mouth-watering image of the finished product.

Florence showcases a broad range of recipes, from German Pancakes to Ricotta Gnudi. He also gives followers a glimpse into his daily life, highlights of the projects he’s working on, and previews of the dishes he serves up in his restaurants. Follow along with the Peach-Blackberry Pie recipe above and get your fix of Florence’s behind-the-scenes shots on his Instagram profile page.

The Making Of: @Mastersons Selvedge Denim Shirts

The Making Of… Local businesses are using Instagram to give followers a peak behind the scenes and to showcase their handiwork. Check out more examples on the Instagram Blog.

Michael Masterson, who has spent the past 3 years making clothes by hand, is embarking on his latest venture—Masterson’s, a limited-run batch of US and Japanese selvedge denim and chambray shirts—and bringing his Instagram followers along for the ride at @mastersons.

“I have a collection of over 25 machines, most more than 50 to 70 years old. It takes a lot of finesse and dexterity to keep the machine and stitch working properly,” he says. “Instagram is a quick and easy way to share the production process with people during a busy day. And I think it also helps give people an idea of the time that goes in to producing these shirts.”

To get a peek at the process, visit @mastersons. Because of Masterson’s limited production capacity, they will only be available through Trove General Store.

CBS InstaMeets on the set of VEGAS

Visit the Instagram Blog to get tips on hosting an InstaMeet and to view photos from past events or visit Meetup.com/Instagram to find an Instagram Meetup group near you.

CBS kicked off the new television drama VEGAS by hosting a set of InstaMeets. The series, based on the life of former Sherriff Ralph Lamb, is set in Las Vegas in the 1960’s. Before the series premiere, CBS held two simultaneous Instameets - one 60’s themed photo walk on the film set in Santa Clarita and one modern-day photo walk on Freemont Street in Las Vegas.

On set, participants were given behind the scenes tours and exclusive access to the set. Actors Dennis Quaid, Jason O’Mara and Taylor Handley dropped by to take photos. Executive Producer Greg Walker gave a tour and provided exclusive details about the lot. In Las Vegas, Sheriff Ralph Lamb himself met with the group to share some of his own personal stories.

CBS announced the events on both the CBS and VEGAS Instagram accounts (@CBSphoto and @Vegas_CBS). InstaMeet participants were encouraged to tag photos with the hashtag #InstameetCBSvegas.

GE Instagrapher Contest: A Look Inside General Electric

General Electric (GE) is a multinational company that operates in areas such as energy, health and home, transportation and finance. Despite the company’s size and breadth, GE’s @generalelectric Instagram account builds a personal connection with followers by taking them right to the heart of their research labs, factory floors and locations where their products can be seen in action. They even post photos sent in directly from their employees.

Last fall, General Electric launched the GE Instagrapher campaign as part of an effort to educate consumers about GE. They explained that GE works in four major ways: Building, Powering, Moving and Curing. They encouraged users to take photos inspired by the four ways that GE works, post them to Instagram and tag them with the hashtag #GEinspiredME. The winner would become the next official GE Instagram photographer - the GE Instagrapher - and would be flown to the UK to photograph one of the GE jet engine plants.

GE announced the contest on Instagram, Tumblr and YouTube. They created promotional videos explaining the contest rules and posted photo updates during the campaign. In total, GE received over 4,000 photo submissions for the contest. All submitted photos were displayed in gallery on GE’s Facebook page where users could vote on their favorite photographs.

As the winning photographer, Adam Senatori (@adamsenatori) had the opportunity to be the GE Instagrapher for a day and has since photographed the GE Aviation plant in Wales and the 2012 Farnborough Air Show. You can view some of the most popular #GEinspiredME photos here.

Photo Map Spotlight: @alifewortheating

Learn more about Photo Maps in our Help Center or watch our video to see Photo Maps in action.

Adam Goldberg, the man behind A Life Worth Eating, travels around the world exploring his passion for great food. Along with documenting his adventures on the blog, he also posts images to Instagram and adds them to his Photo Map along the way.

“Instagram is the tool that enables me to instantly capture and share what’s in front of me, from a basket of just-picked garden vegetables to a skyline view of Manhattan from 35k feet,” says Goldberg. “The immediacy of Instagram — the fact that I can share what I’m seeing with thousands of people in a few seconds — is magical.”

By using the Photo Map feature, @alifewortheating gives users the option to follow along with experiences as they happen or to go back and explore the food and culture of specific regions. They can dive into nearby restaurants or simply browse from country to country around the world.

Visit @alifewortheating’s Photo Map to explore the rest of his culinary adventures!