It took moving halfway across the country for Robert Fernandez to see the beauty in the urban environment.
The Los Angeles native never appreciated the beauty of his hometown city when he lived there, but the many faces of Chicago and a little help from his wife opened his eyes.
“My wife loves taking pictures, and she’s totally changed my perspective on a lot of things, especially on how to recognize beauty where I never did before,” says the Ukranian Village resident.
Fernandez, who goes by @robatchi on Instagram, certainly doesn’t struggle to find beauty now. He says he gets up early to ride his bike around the city, experimenting with photography before taking the train to work.
That’s where I first stumbled across his photos earlier this year. I was searching the hashtag #Chicago on Instagram, and his image of the Ashland Green Line stop at sunrise blew me away.
“That one, like a lot of stuff, was by accident,” he says. “I was about to get on the Subway and I caught a glimpse. I just snapped.”
If you’re looking for some great Chicago imagery, you should find these “accidents” (and a lot of great stadium shots as well).
Here are three more Chicago Instagrammers who can take you to different neighborhoods and give you a new look at the Windy City.
3 More Chicago Instagrammers You Should Follow
Peterson works almost entirely with black & white filters and edits, and his images are, in a word, mesmerizing. This one tree at Foster Beach on the north end of Chicago’s Lake Shore Drive is a scene he returns to often.
Most of us Instagram photogs have themes we return to again and again. If you live in Chicago, you probably have a skyscraper that you can’t NOT take a photo of, no matter how many are already in your albums. For Ryan Postel, Aqua grabs his eye in the best of ways.
So many of my favorite Instagrammers capture the city’s amazing architecture, and @ChicagoMatt does that. But this shot is my favorite. An old man, shoulders slumped by the weight of his bags, waiting for the train. Such a Chicago scene.
Me, I get mesmerized by the skyline and Lakeshore as much as everyone else, and I’m fond of the alleys and neighborhood scenes. But most of all, I love the city’s dive bars. If you can tell me what dive this is, I’ll buy you a beer. It’s not my favorite, but it’s up there.
Find me @MylesPulse on Twitter and Instagram. And if you know a great Chicago Instagrammer, plug their work in the comments below and we’ll check them out!
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