Cherry Blossoms Bloom Around the World
To see more cherry blossoms in bloom visit San Francisco’s Japantown, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Kyoto’s Maruyama Park (円山公園) and Tokyo’s Chidorigafuchi (千鳥ヶ淵).
Cherry blossoms are tiny pink and white flowers that bloom en masse and grow from the branches of the Japanese Cherry tree. As many cities around the world celebrate with festivals, picnics under the sakura and flower-viewing parties, Instagrammers around the world are capturing beautiful photographs of the short-lived blossoms.
Spotlight: South Africa
Since launching, we’ve seen Instagram spread from our headquarters in the Bay Area to every corner of the globe. In this series, Spotlight, we’ll highlight top users from countries and cities with thriving Instagram communities.
South Africa, the African continent’s southernmost country, boasts 11 official languages, three capital cities and some of the most photogenic landscapes in the world. Instagrammers both homegrown and from abroad have given outsiders a glimpse into this vast and diverse country, from the Namib desert in the northwest to the subtropical forests in the east to the coastline that stretches over 1700 miles (2700km).
Want an insider’s view of South Africa? Follow these locals to see the country through their lens.
- Ofentse Mwase, a cinematographer snapping photos from Johannesburg and its outskirts — @unclescrooch
- Alessio La Ruffa, taking beautiful photos in and around Pretoria — @alessiolr
- Ross Pickford, a software developer sharing photos from Cape Town — @roscoedude
- Gareth Pon, a filmmaker photographing Johannesburg’s cityscapes — @garethpon
To explore the country in depth, you can also browse the location pages for some of South Africa’s most popular destinations:
- Orlando Towers, art and base jumping at defunct nuclear cooling towers
- Lion’s Head summit, with a spectacular view of Table Mountain
- Cango Caves, beneath the Swartberg range near the town of Oudtshoorn
- Knysna Elephant Park, up close and personal with beautiful pachyderms
@Ravivora’s “An Instagram Generation”
Want to host your own InstaMeet or photowalk? Be sure to check out our blog post with tips on how to organize and throw a great event.
On April 13, @projectlife365, @christianflorin, @alexanderpavone and @mattbg held an InstaMeet at the Santa Monica pier in Los Angeles, California. 115 people turned out for the event, and one of them, @ravivora, decided to put together a film about the day and what happens when the Instagram community comes together. Check out his short film, “An Instagram Generation,” above and browse more photos from the InstaMeet under the #santamonica0413 hashtag.
Read more about this short documentary on Ravi’s website.
me <3
my big idol Jorge Lorenzo 99
Weekend Hashtag Project: #WHPfoggy
Weekend Hashtag Project is a series featuring designated themes & hashtags chosen by Instagram’s Community Team. For a chance to be featured on the Instagram blog, follow @instagram and look for a photo announcing the weekend’s project every Friday.
This weekend’s tag was #WHPfoggy, which asked participants to capture photographs of places blanketed with fog. Every Monday we feature some of our favorite submissions from the project, but be sure to check out the rest here.
Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice Turns 200
“You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.” - Mr. Darcy
On January 28, 1813, Jane Austen’s publisher Thomas Egerton released her second novel, Pride and Prejudice. Austen finished writing the novel in 1797 under the title First Impressions, but after prospective publishers declined to even see the manuscript, she heavily edited the story over the following 14 years until Egerton bought it for £110 ($172 present-day USD). Today marks the beginning of festivals, conferences and Austen readathons that “Janeites” have planned throughout the year to celebrate the story of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy’s tumultuous courtship. Two centuries later, Pride and Prejudice remains one of the most-taught and best-loved classics in Western literature.
Keep an eye on the Jane Austen Centre and Jane Austen’s Home location pages for photos from the upcoming festivals.
You’re perfect on the outside, but nothing at the core
this is my feeling right now
And I’m stuck sitting in the front row
I’m singing along like there’s no tomorrow
Just sitting here, trying not to look back
Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo in Indonesia
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