“The more run down, the more beautiful it is,” says Philly Instagramer Austin, aka “austinXC04”. Austin has been photographing Philly through the eye of his iPhone since 2010. Ever since a picture of his cat landed him on the Popular page on Instagram and his account was flooded with followers, Austin decided to use this platform as a way to document his city. 

Austin’s interest in photography stemmed from his high school years. The photographs hanging on the wall and the photography books his Dad kept around the house left a lingering impression on Austin, and once he graduated high school, with an old Canon film camera in hand, Austin was learning to photograph what he saw.

He later went on to study photography at the University of the Arts right here in Philadelphia. He started his Instagram as a Sophomore in college and by the time he was a Junior he was reaching thousands of people. 

It all started in December 2010 when Austin created his Instagram account, austinXC04. At first he was posting just to post, but once his account started gaining more recognition he decided it was time to start focusing in on his content and publishing photos of more quality. 

In addition to using Instagram, Austin also uses VSCO, AfterLight, SnapSeed, Pic Effects, and Camera Plus to create his images. A blend between the applications, depending on the style of photo he wants to acheive, gives Austin a cohesive collection of photographs that highlights the grittiest, most beautiful, and understated places of Philadelphia.

Austin is also a part of a group called igers_philly who meet up and explore the city together. He says the people of that group have been a great influence when it comes to getting new ideas of what to shoot and where.  Now the people he follows on Instagram give him daily inspiration for his photography and new ideas of where to go in Philadelphia.

You can follow Austin on Instagram at austinXC04 and also on Twitter as AustinXC04.