Last week I hosted the very first Artful City Walks workshop as part of Gather – an art and design pop-up in Vancouver. It was such a blast! The class sold out but we made room for extra peeps so they could join the artful party. For this workshop, part of the focus was Instagram and how you can use it to enhance your blog, business and overall online presence.

We started by getting to know each other and speaking a bit about why we use the app. Later on – following the same motto from the City Walks “discover your city with a new set of eyes” – we embarked in a journey through the streets and alleys of Gastown; one of the oldest neighborhoods in Vancouver.

We found art, we found the old and the decayed and workshop-ees got to learn tricks of the trade – from different apps that boost your mobile shots (collage, cropping, editing, etc) to ideas on how to use your content and when to post it.

I was amazed to find out that lots of people use mobile photography and they’re pretty passionate about it – like I mentioned earlier, it’s not about how cool the app is or the level of skill you have, it’s about connecting with others and looking at things with a different perspective. Some people didn’t even have an Instagram account, but they tagged along and snapped amazing photos with their beautiful DSLRs.

And of course not everything was work work work, we also got to enjoy a few snacks – fresh honey lemonade, home made bread and preserves –  courtesy of Nelson the Seagull – one of my favorite spots in Gastown! During this time I passed along a few more tips to really squeeze the juice out of this mobile community – creative ideas, collaborations, promotions, stats, the works!

Lastly, thanks to our rad sponsors CanvasPop and StickyGram –  City Walkers received a discount for a canvas print, a few sets of Stickygrams AND two lucky ducks got a FREE print from CanvasPop. Are they cool or what?

I am still super excited that the whole workshop turned out so good! And it’s not stopping there – I am now planning to create new City Walks with different twists! Also, expect a few different guest City Walkers from around the globe. If you want to share the beauty in your city with us, tag your photos on Instagram with #ACWALKS  or send me an email to hello(at)theartfuldesperado.com to get a full feature.

To all City Walkers: thank you for joining! To everyone else: don’t forget to discover your city with a new set of eyes ;)