Express & Star

Revealed: The Instagrammers capturing the Black Country

From golden sunsets to black and white canals – here is the Black Country captured in the 21st century.

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@simonleaphotography with a vibrant sunset over Lightwoods house in Smethwick

These stunning images have been snapped by budding photographers and uploaded to Instagram.

The social media site offers a great platform for photography and people have been busy showcasing the Black Country in all its glory on the internet.

All of these photographs have been collected by ‘Instagram Black Country’ a collective account which operates on the site.

Users upload their photographs using the hashtag #igersblackcountry so they can be spotted by the group - which will then publish the best photograph from each day.

These arty snaps have been taken from a range of locations and offer interesting perspectives of different parts of the Black Country.

Some pictures are of vibrant sunsets over cornfields in Kingswinford while others focus on historic canals in Smethwick.

Every-day buildings have also been turned into pieces of artwork through the lens - like a blue-coloured high-rise block in West Bromwich where its rectangular features are emphasised.

There is a growing trend of budding snappers in the region which has been spurned on by Instagramers Black Country.

The group, also known as igersblackcountry, was founded 18 months ago.

It is run by seven administrators and has published more than 1,500 photographs since its launch.

Its follower count is always increasing which has resulted in its administration team expanding from three people to seven.

John Willis, aged 34 from Dudley, is one of the new administrators.

He said: “Photography is great because it is open to everyone of all backgrounds and abilities. We want our community on Instagramers Black Country to be as inclusive as possible.

“The great thing about photography is that it doesn’t matter how good your equipment is. What is important is the subject which you are focusing on. I took a picture the other day on my iPhone and it was featured on BBC Midlands Today.”

Instagramers Black Country is part of a new wave of photography pages which have spread across country and around the world.

A lot of group names tend to start with ‘igers’ followed by the place name afterwards. In the West Midlands, the biggest page is ‘igersbirmingham’ which has more than 18,000 followers. The Black Country group has more than 1,450 followers. There is also a Worcestershire Instagram account which has been recently set up, says John.

Sunrise over Forge Mill Lake at Sandwell Valley captured by Andy Tee

He said each group of those three Midlands-based groups has its own territories and the administrators don’t like infringing on one another’s patches out of courtesy.

However, they have all agreed to ‘share’ Clent Hills which is on the border of all three areas.

Instagramers Black Country regularly hold ‘meet-ups’ where budding photographers descend on interesting places and the group is always on the look-out for new members.

So far, some of the locations they have visited include the Black Country Living Museum and later this month are planning to meet at Leasowes Park in Halesowen.

In December they are planning to visit Wolverhampton. On this visit John says he wants the group to focus on Wolverhampton’s historic architecture rather than focusing on the ‘urban decay’.

To see Instagramers Black Country’s photographs, visit igersblackcountry on Instagram or search for @IGBlackCountry