Seven of our favourite Instagrammers to follow in Brussels

Are you #sprouttobebrussels? Plenty of Instagrammers think you should #visitbrussels and they love the city enough to post hundreds of pictures of it.

Here are seven of our favourite Brussels photographers on Instagram, who tell us who they are, what exactly makes them so interested in Brussels and what kind of equipment helped them achieve the stunning results.

@ellesbxl (Meredith and Josefien Geldof)

Meredith and Josefien are Belgian sisters, originally from West Flanders. They share an account but also the work – Meredith mostly takes pictures while Josefien creates fitting stories and takes care of communication. “We like to photograph Brussels because it is a cool city with a lot of hidden aspects that are not very well known in Belgium” they say. Beside the usual sights like Mont des Arts or Grand Place their favourite places are Bois de la Cambre, Sobieski Park, Parvis de Saint-Gilles and Pierre Paulus Park. To capture them, they use Nikon and GoPro and also their Samsung phones.

@aris.setya (Aris Setya)

Aris moved to Brussels from Indonesia and learnt French at the EPFC. The city quickly became his new home. “Everything here is interesting to me,” he says. “I like the architecture, the buildings, the museums, all the little streets.”

His favourite places are Mont des Arts, Place du Jeu de Balle and Grand Place but you can also meet him in other corners of Belgium- using his Sony Alfa A7R III or his Huawei smartphone to capture not just the sights but also portraits or food.

@bruxelles_par_eric_ostermann (Eric Ostermann)

Eric was born in Ixelles but that does not make the city any less interesting to him. “I discover something new every day,” he says. “I like to do reflection photography, after rain, and also light and shadow photography during a sunny day.”

Photography has been his hobby for around 15 years and he uses a Canon 5dMKIII and a Canon R. His tips include the Saint-Hubert Royal Galleries, the Bortier Gallery and the streets around Place Sainte-Catherine and around Place Saint-Géry.

@bruxellesvuedusol (Lillo Mendola)

To go against the flow of pictures taken from the sky or rooftops – that is the goal of Lillo’s personal project Bruxelles Vue Du Sol. The photographer and content creator was born and raised in Brussels, which eventually made him look at the city from a different point of view. “The audience is invited to (re)discover the best known spots in Brussels as well as its hidden gems,” he says.

“I love the variety of places and atmosphere one can find here. My favourite places would be the Marolles, the Cinquantenaire and Bois de la Cambre.” For this project, Lillo is now using a Fuji X-T2 camera.

@dirkdebacker (Dirk De Backer)

Dirk only moved to Brussels two years ago from Mechelen, still he probably knows it better than most – he has a degree in photography and drives a bus for the Stib. “I like the diversity of the city, the ugliness and at the same time the beauty,” he says.

“The only thing I dislike is that there are cars parked everywhere, always. It’s ruining a lot of possibly great shots.” Instead of cars you can therefore find trams and trains in his pictures. To take these, Dirk uses a Huawei P30 Pro smartphone and a Fuji X-T2 camera.

@tblaton (Tom Blaton)

For Tom, photography is a sport. “I could probably be a photographer for a living,” he says. “But I like lazy photography, the one that occurs in your daily life.” Born in Congo to a Belgian father and a Congolese mother, he moved to Brussels when he was nine.

“I love that it’s a city of contrasts. It’s a capital and a village. It’s beautiful and dirty. It's chaos and still structured. Also the fact that the city isn't flat and has a lot of hills gives it more depth.” Right now he uses a Nikon D3500 and loves to hang out in Sainte Catherine neighbourhood. Another favourite place of his is a skate park at Gare de la Chapelle.

@andreaanoni (Andrea Anoni)

Looking at Andrea’s Instagram you can immediately see his background is in architecture. “I’m in love with some of the interiors inBrussels,” the Italian says. “I adore the entrance hall of the Palais de Justice or the Pannenhuis metro station – that’s one of my first and definitely most significant discoveries.”

Lately, Andrea has been focusing on museums in Brussels and he also likes going up on the rooftops. Calling himself a Canon addict, he mostly uses a DSLR Canon 6D.