With more than 200 million people using the photo-sharing app Instagram every month, it can be tricky to decide who to follow. To get you started, we’ve rounded up a selection of fabulous South African Igers (Instagrammers) to add to your feed.
Craig Howes
Craig Howes is a photographer and videographer with a keen eye for the beautiful and unusual. His Instagram photos are amazing and it’s obvious that word is spreading – his number of followers (at time of writing 163 546) went up by 400 overnight. At the moment he’s doing all his shooting and editing with his iPhone 5s and GoPro camera – hard to believe when you see the high-quality, stunning images he creates.
Follow Craig if: you love striking, creative photos of nature and the occasional glamorous fashion shoot.
Bonang Matheba
Bonang is one of the biggest names in SA entertainment but she still comes across as a humble, likeable person – albeit a beautiful one who’s a Global Brand Ambassador for Revlon Cosmetics, the face of her own lingerie range Distraction By Bonang, as well as a TV host and DJ. She was on the Forbes list of Top 13 African Celebrities To Watch in 2013 and named one of the Most Influential Young South Africans in Media by Mail & Guardian. And she’s not scared of harnessing the power of social media to reach her fans. She has more than a million followers between Facebook and Twitter, and nearly 150 000 on Instagram.
Follow Bonang if: you want insight into the busy life of a glamorous media dynamo.
Dion Chang
Dion Chang is a specialist in trend analysis and brand consultancy. He also blogs and writes for various publications fromCity Pressto Sawubona, SAA’s in-flight magazine. He’s the director of Flux Trends and used to be seriously involved in fashion at Elle Magazine, True Love and South African Fashion Week. He posts quirky images from his travels around the world as well as unique insights into digital, fashion and media trends.
Follow Dion if: you want to be in touch with global trends in media, fashion and technology.
Sam Linsell
Feeling hungry? Then now’s not a good time to look at Sam Linsell’s Instagram posts. She’s a food stylist, photographer and blogger who’s written a cookbook, Drizzle and Dip, which is also the name of her blog. She was listed as one of Mashable’s Top Instagram Accounts Every Food Lover Should Follow. Her food photography will make you drool.
Follow Sam if: you’re looking for dinner inspiration, or if you simply love amazing-looking, visibly delicious food.
Gareth Pon
Gareth Pon recently won Best Instagrammer Africa at the 2014 African Blogger Awards. He’s a photographer and filmmaker who maximises the opportunities Instagram provides to showcase his talent – so much so that he founded the Official Instagrammers South Africa Community in February of 2013. He posts two or three images a day so his followers are rarely disappointed.
Follow Gareth if: you want a daily (or more) dose of beautiful imagery of all sorts of things and places.
Specially for Heritage Day
If you’re feeling patriotic this Heritage Day, follow instagram.com/southafrica where social media fundi Craig Rodney posts amazing images of everything South African. You’ll cry and smile – but most of all you’ll remember why we love our crazy, beautiful country.
