Revealing New Worlds Beneath the Sidewalk with @davidzinn

To see more of David’s sidewalk creatures come to life, follow @davidzinn on Instagram.

In David Zinn’s (@davidzinn) sidewalk chalk illustrations, alien creatures often enter our world through portals from their own. “I draw holes in impossible places because it suggests that our lives might not be as set and predictable as we think they are,” he explains. “The creatures who come through are representatives of benevolent improbability.”

A self-described “compulsive doodler”, David uses his chalk drawings as an excuse to spend time outside. “The bulk of my pieces have been the result of wandering around until I stumble across a place that asks for something,” he says. “The most successful drawings have been suggested by spots, stains and cracks in the concrete, like an open-ended game of connect-the-dots. I just add more lines and spots until the thing that wants to be drawn can be seen by people other than me.”

Giving a voice to the unspoken through drawing with @obed_

To see more of Obed’s artwork and photography, follow @obed_ on Instagram.

For Mexico portrait artist Obed Puerta (@obed_), his art is a chance to say things that sometimes go unsaid. “I’m trying to express the sadness people usually don’t talk about,” he explains. From a personal perspective, Obed’s work gives a voice to his inner thoughts and feelings, often personifying emotions and memories into portraits of people. “My work comes from my memory and from particular passages of my life. It also comes from my imagination.”

Obed was inspired at a young age to begin sketching by his brother. “My older brother is an architect, and when I was eight years old I would imitate the drawings in his architecture magazines, and practice a lot after school.”

Music inspires much of his work. “When I’m painting I’m listening to music,” he explains, also adding, “when I’m taking photographs I’m imagining a song.”

Flying the Friendly Skies with @taylortippett

For more photos from Taylor’s adventures in the air, follow @taylortippett on Instagram.

“One of my favorite things to ask myself before every flight is ‘How can I go out of my way to make someone feel loved today?’” For airborne Instagrammer Taylor Tippett (@taylortippet), the road to becoming a flight attendant was no easy task. “Flight attendant training was, in all honesty, the hardest thing I have ever done in my entire life,” she shares. But for Taylor, the intense schedules became a way to find discipline. “It taught me tons about being intentional with the time I had to get out and explore. I spent time meeting people, exploring Dallas, living in a hotel and eating a really embarrassing amount of pizza. I went from being a total Florida longboarding beach bum into a driven lady chasing her dreams.”

Now a full-fledged flight attendant, Taylor uses every flight as an opportunity to bring a little sunshine not only to the people she serves, but to her community on Instagram as well. In her #wordsfromthewindowseat series, she writes down phrases that have been inspiring her and tapes the note to a window. After sharing the photo, Taylor tucks the note into a seatback pocket as a surprise for someone on her flight.

By sharing these notes and photos from her journeys, Taylor aims to inspire others. “No passion, career, hope, calling or dream is too big to chase after,” she explains. “Dreams are supposed to make us crazy. They’re supposed to make us run wild and mess up our hair a little bit, maybe even be a bit weird and hang encouraging messages on an airplane. Whether it’s at 32,000 feet or with your feet on the ground—your story is important.”

Iceland By Air with Flight Instructor @robinfarago

For more photos and videos from Iceland’s skies, follow @robinfarago on Instagram

“Ísafjörður airport in Iceland is considered one of the most exciting and difficult landing approaches in the world,” says flight instructor Robin Farago (@robinfarago), who gave up a career in law to pursue his childhood dream of being a pilot and trains students at the Keilir Aviation Academy (@keilir) in Iceland. “You are flying into a very tight fjord on a runway heading directly into a mountain, but it’s really spectacular.”

Robin first fell in love with flying when he had the chance to see the inside of a cockpit as a child. “I remember meeting the captain on Scandinavian airlines and they had candy and you could see the buttons and the amazing views. That was when I decided to become a pilot without knowing it.”

Now Robin’s day to day depends on the weather, taking to the skies with students if it’s clear, or working on lectures and administration if he weather is bad. Flight training in the Iceland’s windy and icy conditions can be challenging, but Robin is rewarded by the breathtaking scenery he sees everyday, from the northern lights in winter to summer’s midnight sun. He took a recent trip to Holuhraun, an active volcano close to the Vatnajökull glacier. “To see the erupting volcano on a close, but safe distance was truly amazing, and now I realize why Iceland is called the country of fire and ice.”

Veterans Day with Medal of Honor recipient @chiksdigscars

To see more of Kyle’s life after war, follow @chiksdigscars, and to see more veterans’ stories, browse the hashtag #EverydayUSAVets

“I understand that what we have in this country is precious, and people sacrificed, bled, and died for that,” says Kyle Carpenter (@chiksdigscars), the youngest living recipient of the Medal of Honor. As a 20-year-old US Marine deployed to Afghanistan, Kyle used his own body to shield a fellow Marine from a grenade blast. He barely survived, and spent the next three years recovering from catastrophic injuries.

On Instagram, he shares his life of resilience, with glimpses of marathon running, skydiving, and cliff jumping, and he offers a message to his followers:

“You can get hurt or have a life-changing event and still work hard, be positive, enjoy life and most of all, come out better than you ever expected or thought you could.”

Now retired from the military, Kyle is pursuing a degree in International Studies at the University of South Carolina.

“I truly feel like I am living the American dream,” he says.

A Crimson Sea of Remembrance Marks the Centenary of WW1

For more photos and videos from “Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red,” explore the Tower of London location page and browse the #towerpoppies hashtag.

A sea of ceramic flowers fills the moat of the Tower of London (@historicroyalpalaces) to mark the centenary of Britain’s involvement in the First World War. “Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red” by artist Paul Cummins and stage designer Tom Piper features 888,246 crimson poppies: one poppy for each British or Colonial serviceman who died during the conflict. “The installation is transient,” explains Paul, “I found this poignant and reflective of human life, like those who lost their lives during World War I.”

Each poppy in the art installation has been sold to the public, with £1m each donated to six service charities. Installed over a period of four months by 19,000 volunteers, the final poppy will be planted by a cadet on Armistice Day, November 11. Five million people are expected to have visited during this period, and on Tuesday at 11:00 AM GMT, many people across the world will remember armed forces with a two-minute silence. The installation will be dismantled by 8,000 volunteers starting on November 12, and those who purchased the poppies are being encourage to share photos of their new home on the #MyTowerPoppy hashtag.

Weekend Hashtag Project: #WHPstayfit

Weekend Hashtag Project is a series featuring designated themes and hashtags chosen by Instagram’s Community Team. For a chance to be featured on the Instagram blog, follow @instagram and look for a post announcing the weekend’s project every Friday.

This weekend’s prompt was #WHPstayfit, which asked participants to capture the sports and activities you participate in to stay fit through creative photos and videos. Every Monday we feature some of our favorite submissions from the project, but be sure to check out the rest here.

Soul Searching with @maldemar

To see more of Mauricio’s on the road soul searching, follow @maldemar.

Mexico architect and designer Mauricio de la Garza (@maldemar) is on a journey that has already taken him far from home to places as far-flung as India and Alaska. His trusted travel companion is the camera his father gave him. “Two years ago, a family member passed away, teaching me how vulnerable and fragile our lives are,” he says. “I haven’t been able to stop traveling since. I am searching for answers, searching for life, and finding love in every corner.”

Mauricio hopes to express what he calls “anywhereness” through his photographs. “The more I travel and the more people I meet, I have come to understand that we are all very much the same. We share the same feelings and purposes in life.”

As he prepares to move from his hometown in San Pedro Garza Garcia to a new home in Mexico City, Mauricio feels particularly inspired when on airplanes. “Looking out through my window seat, losing my thoughts in the clouds, I find myself at peace. I imagine landing at night in Mexico City, full of dreams and possibilities.”

The Week on Instagram | 156

News

• Huffington Post: Gay Serial, The Prospectives, Uses Instagram to Tell the Story of Gay Men in a Brand-New Way
• AdWeek: Brand of the Day: LeBron James Was Flo for Halloween, as Progressive Makes Them BFFs
• Time: #LightBoxFF: Using Instagram to Help Homeless Veterans

Get Involved

• Weekend Hashtag Project: ##WHPstayfit. View photos from the last project, #WHPshadowplay.

Around the Community

• Creating Collage Art with @qta3
• Capturing Everyday Superheroes with @_everson
• Capturing Creativity from a New Generation of Artists