Dawn of October 3, 2015 ushered in a weekend of meeting new people during Instagram’s World Wide Instameet 12. The theme to encourage these worldwide encounters was #todayimet. We at Grryo went one step more and asked our followers to tag portraits of people they met, along with a short story about their new friends. We present to you those great portraits and stories in a two part collection from Sydney, Australia to Seattle, USA in our collection of #todayimet. Today I Met: USA here.

 

Annette  |  Sydney, Australia

Denise Kwong

It was a strikingly hot Sydney day, but what struck me most as I approached Cave Urban’s stunning 21 metre tall sculpture made of bamboo, was the huge mass of Sydneysiders that had turned up for Instagrams’ 12th Worldwide Instameet! I couldn’t believe my eyes.

Organised by the good people of @sydneyfolk, the day was mostly focused on practising portraiture, due to Instagrams’ weekend theme of #todayimet. It was an incredible afternoon filled with the perfect mix of meeting many wonderfully creative individuals, lots of messy coloured powder and most importantly people putting their hands up to pose for portraits!  I was lucky enough to take a few portraits and experiment with different portraiture styles, but I really love this one in particular of my friend De @twistdee against a lemon backdrop.

 

Ushi   |  Melbourne, Australia

Hussein

Today I @sombra_y_luz met the lovely Hussein @hussw during a walk around Melbourne University with the @igersmelbourne Originally from Somalia, home is now Oz. Great to finally meet so many of you.Hussein follows @takubeats and @paristoribio What a great community this is!

 

Poetra  |  Bandung, Indonesia

Bamby

Today I met a brilliant talent at #WWIM12JavaConnect. His name is Bamby, a great photographer from Bandung Coret. It’s not the first time I’ve seen him directly, but yesterday is the first time that I had a conversation with him. I learned so many lessons from him such as, how to take a great picture like he does . . . everyday. I think He’s a funny and kind person. I like how he keeps a low profile. I loved when people said, “Eh bamby, yang keren mulu fotonya!” He would reply, “Ah bisa aja, Yang kamu lebih keren!” (Eh Bamby, you take really cool pics all the time.  “Ah, nah, yours is even cooler!”). His response made me remember of a girl who posted a selfie, with a six grid and the same type of faces, then somebody says, “ih, Cantik banget kak!”(oh, how gorgeous sis!) and she answers it with “Ahh, kamu lebih cantik kok!” (Ahh, you’re way prettier!). Uh liars!

Yesterday was a great day. I made so many friends just like the event said, ‘Java Connect’. I am really connected.

 

FeiFeirz |  Bandung, Indonesia

Evan Imran Palubri

Today I met Evan Imran Palubri salah satu instagramer yang dateng jauh dari tegal buat gabung WWIM 12 Java Connect di Bandung ! Mas Evan ini karakternya unik, ramah pokoknya nyaman deh orangnya untuk diajak sharing. Mas Evan ini baru aktif instagram sekitar 1 tahun terakhir dimana banyak hal hal positif yang didapat karena instagram, salah satunya dapat pengalaman lebih dan relasi yang lebih luas. Tanpa disadari Instagram menfasilitasi penggunanya  untuk kenal satu dengan yang lainnya, dimana rata rata yang memang mempunya hobi atau passion yang sama ya contohnya Mas Evan ini, Berawal dari ikut gabung explore semarang lalu Mas Evan dapat banyak relasi, ilmu dan inspirasi. Sampai akhirnya Mas Evan melihat potensi di daerahnya (Tegal) yang kaya akan tempat pariwisata yang cukup menarik dari situ langsung Mas Evan tergerak untuk membuat @exploretegal.

English Translation:

Today I met Evan Imran Palubri, one of the instagrammers who came all the way from Tegal to join WWIM12 Java Connect in Bandung! Mas Evan has a unique character. He is friendly and definitely made me feel comfortable to share with him. He has only been active on Instagram in the past year where he has gained more experience and made broader connections. Without realizing it, Instagram facilitated his ability to meet others, where he found like minded people who shared the same hobby or passion. For example, Mas Evan, began by joining Explore Semarang where he gained a lot of connections, knowledge, and inspiration. He finally saw potential in his local area of Tegal which is rich in tourism and is a very interesting place. From that experience Mas Evan was moved to start @exploretegal.

 

Taru  |  Helsinki, Finland

Riki

This is Riki. One of the friendliest guys I  have ever met. He can instantly make a conversation with strangers: like me! Asking plenty of questions and making you feel important. Today he was part of our WWIM 12 Helsinki and today I met him. When I asked him who he followed his answer was @david_rivolier. 

 

Giuseppe  |  Venice, Italy

Girls of Venice

For WWIM12 Venice, I follow girls still smiling to life : they don’t need to be photographed from behind or as profile like any random fashion blogger, they can gently stand a camera with a smile, they are as we say in Italian “come i miei nonni” (like my grandparents) – “magnifiche” (magnificent). They come from a gilded era when Italians were putting labels on real and great products, not on stupid marketing tricks, and, yes, as we say in Venice le xè venexiane not Venetians.

 

Maddie |  Gothenburg, Sweden

Leonardo Stephán

Today I met Leonardo Stephán. This is what makes life so interesting to live, all the opportunities that lie ahead of us, meeting interesting people, the conversations awaiting and enriching us.

 

Marzia  |  Milan, Italy

Benedetto Demaio

Spiral in the Palace and also Benedetto Demaio. He’s one of those people who can make you laugh despite your actual mood and that’s a quality I, Marzia, really appreciate in friends. His Instagram stream is full of turquoise which happens to be one of my favorite colors. All these people I have met thanks to Instagram: five years of photos, five years of new friends.

 

Valeria |  Milan, Italy

Antonietta Portioli

She is the lovely Antonietta Portioli. I, Valeria, met her today while attending with @igersmilano the Art Exibition La Grande Madre (The Great Mother) organized by Fondazione Trussardi at the Royal Palace in Milan, Italy. Antonietta is an Italian architect and although owner of a powerful camera she loves shooting with an iPhone 4S as easier and always handy. She doesn’t care about the noise sometimes present as she thinks is part of that image. Furthermore she loves grain. Two of her preferred accounts are @tutto_occupato and @morozzi. Here is posing with the awesome work AMAZING GRACE by Nari Ward. Thank you deeply Antonietta for this great afternoon together.

 

Antonietta  |  Milan, Italy

Valeria Cammareri

Today I met the volcanic and very talented Valeria at the exhibition ‘La Grande Madre’ during the WWIM 12 Milan. Thank you Valeria for the nice time we spent together and for suggesting to use this mirror to try an uncommon portrait. Also thanks to @igersmilano team for the perfect organization.

 

Sara  |  Milan, Italy

Ellie Tessa

Today I met @el_tessa She’s from Australia, and she was sitting in the middle of Milan for a reason.

 

Fran  |  Valencia, Spain

Pablo Alekoh

Me gusta encontrarme con personas que viven la experiencia de Instagram de una forma sana y saludable. Gente que disfruta con la fotografía y que aún no ha sucumbido al yugo de las modas, las tendencias, el marketing y la deshumanización como bandera. Gente cuyo único y noble propósito es el de divertirse con esto y relacionarse con personas afines, desvirtualizándose mutuamente con estos instameets que de vez en cuando se organizan en distintas partes del mundo. Hubo un tiempo muy lejano en el que todo era así; estas quedadas son pequeños y raros oasis que nos recuerdan que esto antes no era el desierto en el que finalmente se convirtió. En la foto, Pablo @pabloalekoh. Tuve la suerte de conocerle ayer. Y amablemente se prestó para esta foto, haciéndome sentir como que nos conocíamos de siempre, a pesar de que nos seguimos desde hace muy poco. También conocí a @josenphoto, un tío muy versátil y con tantas ganas de explorar como yo. A Piluca @piluca_sun, una mujer a quien su corazón no le cabe en el pecho. A @tonicoy, alguien a quien llevaba mucho tiempo queriendo conocer personalmente. A @yocomu, con quien intercambié impresiones sobre en qué se han convertido las RRSS. A la gente de @photon_festival, que nos acercó en su charla al género de la fotografía documental, y que he admirado desde siempre. A @evefox y a @nereanp, a @bejealginet, a @mjoseos, @ladymsc72… ¿A quién sigo? #whoifollow A todos ellos. Porque como digo muchas veces, la foto es lo de menos. Porque galerías y fotos “cool” hay muchas. Gente sana, sencilla y buena, cada vez menos. Y por ello tienen todos mi más profunda admiración. Se me queda mucha gente atrás, pero ha sido un placer conocerles a todos. Gracias @igersvalencia, @mercadocentralvalencia, @monorxata, @cervezaturia, y a todos los responsables de que la mañana de ayer fuera estupenda.

English Translation:

I like to meet people on Instagram and the experience for me is lively and healthy. I like connecting with people who enjoy photography and have not succumbed to the hype of trends in fashion and marketing that dehumanize us. These world-wide instameets are perfect for those whose purpose is to have fun with their photography and interact with like-minded people. In this photo is @pabloalekoh. I was lucky to meet him yesterday, and he was kind enough to share this photo. Even though I had just met him, I felt like we had been friends for a long time. I also met @josenphoto, a very versatile guy and so eager to explore like me. Glad to have met @piluca_sun as well, a woman whose heart is too large to fit in her body. @tonicoy was someone who I had long wanted to meet personally. @yocomu, with whom we exchanged views on what has become the RRSS. @photon_festival approached us, and we discussed the genre of documentary photography. I’ve always admired his work. @evefox @nereanp @bejealginet @mjoseos, @ladymsc72 are #whoifollow

As I have said many times before, the picture is not important. There are plenty of “cool” photo galleries. The ones with honest, simple and fine galleries are few, and those are the ones who have my deepest admiration. There are more who I haven’t mentioned, but it was a pleasure to meet everyone.

Thanks @igersvalencia @mercadocentralvalencia @monorxata @cervezaturia and all those responsible for yesterday morning was great.

 

Elaine  |  Manchester, United Kingdom

Dane Pollard

Today I met Dane Pollard at the WWIM12 in Manchester, UK. I, Elaine, had a fantastic day and was fortunate to meet a great bunch of igers, including a very cute dog called Princess Roy. Thanks for organizing such a fab meet up Dane.

 

Find our collection of Today I Met: USA here.