Of all the social media accounts I've created and maintained over the years, Instagram was always by far my favorite. Back when the platform was only available in iOS, I specifically switched from Blackberry to iPhone because of the Instagram app. Taking photos has been a longtime hobby of mine and sharing them in such a streamlined way with fun edits and enhancements was very reminescent of hours spent in the dark room playing with exposure back in college. This class and particularly this project, helped remind me what made me so excited about Instagram in the first place. It wasn't the #hashtags or the idea of someone becoming "instafamous" it was to explore another level of taking photos.

Hilariously enough, I found that my personal account @caitlindjones has both diverted from my original purpose of creating the account while simultaneously following it if you scroll through the entire grid. The first 6 might not tell the full story. The entire grid between here and my first post back in October 2012, however, depicts a journey of a young adult experimenting with different art mediums, interests, experiences, and accomplishments -- a portrait of growth from days of waning insecurity with #selfieoftheday to bucketlist goals being surmounted #marathontraining. Did I think 4 years ago that my top 6 would be nail designs and a recent painting? Probably not. I am more curious now while reacquainting with the self-awareness that I will always be telling some kind of story whether it's on purpose or not. All corniness aside, this project has reminded me to take charge of the story I'm telling, have my choices of what I share be deliberate, and not be consumed by one interest at a time with an obsessing amount of hashtags.

Phases and My Dog - image 1 - student project

Along with this evolution was the idea to create an instagram account for my dog, Leopold. I adopted him about a year ago and after a few months of him dominating my instagram, I made the leap and got him his own account. Organically, a story began to grow and develop. Leo, my little wimp of a mix breed, loved to nap and burrow in pillows and blankets. Photos of him asleep, awake, almost asleep, waking up... all told part of the narrative that this dog likes to SLEEP and has quite a sense of humor when he does happen to be awake.

I'm actually really proud of the evolution and progress this account is taking. The whimsical nature of where it started and it's very adorable star has made the process extremely fun and rewarding. Sometimes, the most interesting stories come from the most ordinary of places and this definitely is a testiment to that. "Leo" posts 1 or 2 times a day and afternoon posts seem to gain more traction. I think as I build consistency with this account and align my posting with my viewers' schedules, this would be an account that has potential to grow towards sponsored and collaborative future posts.

Phases and My Dog - image 2 - student project

The posting something "new" in a different way; I did one for each account. For my personal account, I posted a photo of an acrylic on canvas I recently did that was entitled, Nails, because the mesh I painted through to create texture resembles rows and rows of nails that have been drove into it. So, something "old" that I've been currently posting about, in a different way. The techniques in my nail art as of late have taken the gradient and textured/graphic stamps route and I chose to reflect that in this painting, making it the perfect fit for this assignment.

Something "new" in Leo's account was a photo this morning caputred "mid-yawn." The lighting was perfect not just for photography but for indicating this was infact, morning. The movement and lines in the photo, towards the light coming in from the window in the right hand corner show how much futher he has to go to greet the day. On top of all that, it's just an adorable photo that would make any animal lover say "awwwww."

I cannot wait to continue using these new tools to bring my feeds to the next level in terms of the content quality. Newly inspired, and now employing the 10-minute rule to any photos I enhance, I am forging ahead to create visually and emotionally dynamic content to share with my audience.

Caitlin Jones

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