17 incredible travel instagram accounts to inspire you daily
Sharing our favourite top travel Instagram accounts with you: talented and inspiring photographers whose content, composition and quality stand out above the rest.
These are the storytellers who inspire us daily (and we always have notifications turned on for!)
Photography is such a wonderful art form - one that can transport you to a time or place if just for a millisecond, but leave you transfixed forever.
For us, travel and photography go hand in hand, and nothing gives us greater joy than wandering around a new place with our cameras.
Fortunately, we're now in a position where photography is our business, and we're regularly hired to do our favourite thing: photographing our world and it's people.
Travel photography has empowered and enriched our own lives, and every day we still get inspired by the photographers we love (some of whom first inspired us to pick up our own cameras!). That’s why we’ve written this post - we want you guys to be inspired by our inspirations; those photographers whose content, composition and quality stand out above the rest.
These are the guys we’ve got notifications turned on for, whose images evoke something more than the generic pose in a tropical destination.
So if you’re looking for your latest Instagram inspo (minus the orange and teal filters) look no further.
17 TRAVEL INSTAGRAM ACCOUNTS THAT INSPIRE DAILY
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1. MELISSA FINDLEY | AUSTRALIA
We’ve mentioned Melissa a few times on our blog, and for good reason - her landscape photography makes us want to cry with joy it’s that incredible.
We’ve also got a soft spot for her portraits which capture the real emotion of the people she meets on the road.
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2. JARRAD SENG | AUSTRALIA
Truly the most creative and boundary-pushing photographer we follow, Jarrad is a constant source of inspiration for us.
Aside from his incredible self portraits (mostly involving his amazing hair), Jarrad’s use of light, depth of field and unique compositions make him stand out as one of the best.
Oh, and he’s a ripper Aussie who's absolutely not afraid to laugh at himself.
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3. FREYA DOWSON | UK
Incredibly authentic and wonderfully refreshing, documentary photographer Freya has long inspired us with her unique body of work.
From the quirky details of a hip East London cafe, through to her portrait series on Pakistani coal miners, Freya’s diversity sets her out from the current insta-crowd.
Oh, and she’s got the most delightful dog named Molly who often features on her stories causing mischief.
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4. EASTERN SUNS | AUSTRALIA
Jonathon Collins (Eastern Suns) is able to tell unique and incredible stories with almost every photo he takes. Visiting unusual but striking destinations, Jon’s composition and use of light helps him stand out.
He’s also the most talented writer we’ve ever come across, and his captions are moving and educational all at once.
An environmental scientist, Jon also weaves in-depth narratives to highlight the effect of climate change on prone regions throughout the world.
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5. ALONG DUSTY ROADS | UK
It’s not often that travel bloggers also know how to photograph, but Andrew and Emily from Along Dusty Roads definitely have the latter mastered.
Their photography style focuses on detail and the use of light to create simple, perfectly composed photos that feel as if they were lifted from a 1970’s travel magazine.
They’ve also nailed the street photography thing, with some of their snaps from their travel through Latin American streets our favourites.
Up your photography game: our beginner's photography guide
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6. THE SANDY FEET | AUSTRALIA
Another travel blogging couple who absolutely nail the photography game, The Sandy Feet are made up of photographer Chris, and writer Freya.
Together they venture to slightly off the beaten track destinations, taking incredible travel photographs including portraits, landscapes and everything in between. Their content from Central Asia has singlehandedly inspired us to want to visit.
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7. BRAHMINO | ITALY
Quite simply, Brahmino’s photos are art. Using Italy as his canvas, Simone fuses real life with fantasy to create something truly unique on Instagram.
Oh, and did we mention most of his compositions feature Italy? Reason enough to follow. Because Italy.
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8. HANNES BECKER | GERMANY
Hannes Becker's photography is Mark’s go to for landscape inspo.
Epic landscapes have been replicated over and over on the 'gram, but Hannes has always remained ahead of the pack by continuing to push boundaries of both his photography, but also the locations he visits.
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9. HELLO EMILIE | AUSTRALIA
Another profile which borders on fine art, Emilie’s eye and style make her stand out in a very crowded marketplace.
Her compositions are achingly perfect, and her colourful and dreamy curated feed the stuff our dreams.
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10. LE BACKPACKER | BELGIUM
Johan Lolos spent the last summer travelling around Europe on a project titled “Peaks of Europe”, which took him from Scotland to Greece and back again, exploring Europe’s most incredible peaks.
Following along vicariously inspired us daily, and we’re hoping to visit many of Europe’s mountainous regions this summer.
The photography from that project spawned a book, which you should get when it's published in Spring 2018!
Photography inspo: our photo journey through Sossusvlei, Namibia
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11. CHAIWALLA | UK
Allan Edward Hinton's one of those frustrating photographers that can make absolutely any scene look like it was lifted from a magazine, be it National Geographic, Travel & Leisure, or Vogue.
His sheer talent and eye for photography are painfully obvious. We love his feed for its variety and quality, and you will too.
12. PAPERBOYO | UK
Rich, aka Paperboyo, sees the world differently.
To him, the normal every objects and landmarks around the worlds are props to apply to one of his paper cutouts, transforming well-known landmarks into totally new (and often hilarious) scenes.
That's why his Instagram feed is so damn original, and he constantly blows our mind with his talent for seeing.
He's recently published his book 'Around the world in cut-outs' too, a collection of his work around the globe - and it's epic!
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13. STEFAN HAWORTH | NEW ZEALAND
Stefan Haworth is a New Zealand legend whose travels are most often to exciting off the beaten track destinations, generally solo.
Using warm, golden hour tones, Stefan's images of New Zealand, in particular, leave us with severe nature froth. Also, he's been living in the most insta-worthy bell tent lately and drives an old Landy called 'Peanut', which is basically our dream.
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14. ANDREW KNAPP + MOMO | USA
Andrew Knapp is slowly travelling the world with his dog, a border collie named Momo. Their adventures together bring a smile to our face and remind us adventures are best shared.
Honestly, Mark can't go a day without scanning Andrew's feed for more Momo shots!
The photography is exceptional, too.
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15. MARISSA HAMPE | GERMANY
Marisa Hampe is a recent find of ours, despite being a large and incredibly successful photographer.
Her unique compositions and edits bring to life each destination she visits, while the vintage film look she uses takes us back to photography of yesteryear which we love.
discover more: Our travel photography camera gear guide
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16. CARMEN HUTER | NEW ZEALAND + AUSTRIA
Over the last year, we’ve watched Carmen’s photography evolve into some of the best damn content on the interwebs.
She nails composition and use of light to create simply breathtaking travel photography, and her use of tones in post processing is unique and breathtaking.
She’s also a leader in ethical and responsible travel, often sharing eco-conscious fashion, travel tips, and building awareness of the plight of our oceans.
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17. THE COMMON WANDERER | AUSTRALIA
It’s kinda self indulgent to feature ourselves on this list, but we’d be remiss to not promote ourselves and get some of your follows!
So here goes - go follow us @thecommonwanderer!
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THE BEST TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY GEAR
Below is the photography gear we used to get all of our shots around the world!
The Sony A7RII produces brilliant photos and video
The original photography beast which keeps going strong, the Canon 5D MKIII produces the best colours
The Canon 24-70mm is known as one of the best zoom lenses on the market; it's exceptionally sharp, small and lightweight, which makes it perfect for travel photography
The Canon 70-200mm f4 is our favourite lens, hands down. The image stabilisation works a treat, even on moving trains!
Check out the rest of camera gear here.
If you like our photography, be sure to follow us on Instagram, too.
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READ THESE ESSENTIAL POSTS
TRAVEL INSURANCE | Don’t leave home without travel insurance (seriously, don’t!). Click here to get the best deals with World Nomads, our trusted travel insurance provider
PHOTOGRAPHY | Love our photography? Wondering what gear we use to get all of our photos around the world? Click here to view our detailed photography gear guide, as well as our top travel photography tips!
RESPONSIBLE TRAVEL | Responsible travel is important. REALLY IMPORTANT. Learn our top responsible travel tips to help you, your family and friends travel more consciously around the globe
ECO FRIENDLY PACKING ESSENTIALS | Don’t leave home without our favourite eco-friendly travel essentials
Think we've missed someone? Share your favourite photographers with others in the comments below!
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