5 Instagrammers Worth Following, April 21st Edition

When putting these posts together at the end of each week, I am reliably amazed at just how many great photographers there are in the world. It is at once humbling and inspiring. From exotic locations decked out with what must be a full catalog's worth of top-end camera and lighting gear, to the unplanned but serendipitous scenes captured with a simple phone camera, there is seemingly a never ending source of automotive photos to munch through hours of our time spent in awed admiration.

Is it a waste of time to flick through this cornucopia of cars though? There is something to be said about how much, or how little, we appreciate the uncorked access to all of it in the modern age, but regardless of what is taken for granted or not, no, it's not a waste of time. Did you forget the URL at the top of this page? Of course we endorse this—but let me make a case for its value beyond the subject matter that we so obviously can't inhale enough of.

It's maybe a stretch, maybe a slight exaggeration, but isn't this the kind of thing that makes us strive? And I don't mean that seeing an expensive car should guide you towards lusting for the means to own it. Replace that notion with the one that says seeing the things we love presented to us as beautifully as possible is simply a reminder of why we are interested in all of this to begin with. It pushes us to build, maintain, or restore our cars as best we can, it inspires us to improve our own photographic output, and it provides the consistent motivation to seek out our own versions of the scenes and sensations depicted in the images like the ones below. Enough with the pseudo-self-help book nonsense though, here's what you're really here for:



Some photographers choose a certain look and stick with it, incubating the style that they later can't seem to branch away from. Aaron Chung doesn't seem like one of those people to me. Of course if your whole "feel" is technically adept and subjectively beautiful you're likely to be forgiven for sticking to it, but it's always nice to see people who have range. With shots on the street, on the track, in studio and professional settings, the only consistent thing about this collection is the fact that it's all well done work. Colors are faithful to life without making the photos bland, different approaches are appropriately chosen to fit the scenery and the car, and there's just a great variety in subject and style.



Daniel Zizka has a talent for isolation. I mean that in the sense that even while shooting in crowded city centers, the shots all manage to separate and idolize the car being captured. I have a feeling that Daniel is a patient person. And he isn't by any meansanother  photographer trying to make a name by traipsing Europe's cities and snapping off yet more shots of a McLaren P1 in front of Harrod's or any of that by now extremely banal stuff. No, this is a pro. It shows. I mean, he does a little of that, but the key is that it's done very well, and it isn't by any means the only things he shoots. Documenting wild collections of vehicles criss-crossing dreamscape mountain ranges surely balances things out.



Certain accounts can bring you deep into their prolific depths, and the well-stocked Instagram pages are some of our favorites, but there are also those that are a little more barren in the sense of sheer numbers, but not at all devoid of cool. Tomek Olszowski's Instagram presence falls into the latter category, and it in a way it is kind of a big tease, knowing that someone who can produce these kinds of shots must have a big portfolio that traces the path to the level of skill he's attained today. Oh well, we have to take what we can get sometimes. And what we get here is, at least in my opinion, a very unique aesthetic. These shots just ooze mood. I mean, how many mist-enveloped demonic Lagondas have you seen lately?



David Bush is one of these glossy, every image a magazine cover type of photographers. It all just looks fake. But there's nothing wrong with that, because this isn't war reporting; it's okay if we make things a little more bombastic. And what a job he does. The lighting looks like some kind of sci-fi novel's alien world with twin suns. It's the kind of heightened reality that turns cars into something seemingly more exalted than just a motor and wheels. That's what these photos do, they make you say really cliche things that attempt to match the drama found in the photographs.



Try evoking a sense of motion in a still photo without resorting to a panning shot. It's pretty tough. It's a good thing then that people like Loic Kernen are here to provide some inspiration. While there are some of your traditional rolling shots dotting this account—and those are great photos too, no doubt—but the really interesting ones are those shot with a higher shutter speed, yet still tell a story of movement and energy all the same. For instance, the shot above of the Ferrari 312 T3; that car could be on its qualifying lap, but you don't have tons of blur to tell you that it's moving. The other photo of the Espada at the marina proves that Loic can slow things down and capture truly still stills as well.



Have these stunning photos jostled awake the part of you that wants to live them out? The Petrolicious Marketplace can help with that. We can't make you a talent behind the lens, but we can certainly provide you with something to practice you shots on. And hey, even if you're not looking for a classic car at the moment, we don't slouch when it comes to the pictures here either.



If you've made it to the bottom of this post, you're probably already following our Instagram page. Though if you aren't, or haven't popped in for a visit lately, here's us doing you the solid of reminding you that we're always curating and sharing the best that the classic car world has to offer.