It's little wonder that Instagram, a leading iPhone application for stylizing and sharing photos on the web, is proving so popular among street style photographers, some of whom have amassed followings in the thousands.
What is unusual is that before Instagram, many of these well-followed photographers had done little to no street style photography in their portfolios.
"I started using Instagram about two weeks after it launched in the App Store and just fiddled around with pictures of my family and friends," says Anthony Danielle, who publishes images (right) of stylish New Yorkers to some 18,000 followers under the pseudonym takinyerphoto. "I'd see other people doing street work and thought, 'I could do that,' and I just started taking pictures of people on the street."
The app, coupled with the iPhone's portability and capable camera, has encouraged Danielle to take up a hobby he had never before considered. Even the darkest and least remarkable photos are transformed into art with Instagram's and Camera+'s filters, he says.
Although both Danielle and Kakareko are fans of Instagram's filters, both cite Instagram's community as the key to their success -- and their addiction.
Instagram's community is "unlike any other I've ever encountered ... [because] mostly everyone is willing to help and share constructive opinions about your pictures," says Danielle, who credits much of his development to the community, strangers he now calls friends.
"Instagram is appealing because it's fun to have a social network based around images," she says, noting that other photographers on the service inspire her as much as comments from her followers.
(Although no one at Mashable self-identifies as a street style photographer, we can certainly sympathize with their addictions. We're constantly browsing and commenting on others' photos, and some of our snaps even sneak their way into posts on occasion.)
If you're an Instagram user and want to add a little more street style to your newsfeed, check out a gallery of some of our favorite photographers below. And please, if we missed someone you admire, let us know in the comments section or submit your own by adding it into the widget below.
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