The history of Igers Coventry & Warwickshire
How did instagramers communities begin?
The Worldwide Instagramers community was formed in January 2011 by Phil Gonzalez, who is also one of the Community Leaders for Igers Madrid. There are over 500 local instagrammers (igers) groups throughout the world.
How can you find your local igers group?
You can often find them by doing a search for the city or county. So, if you live in Coventry or Warwickshire, search on Instagram for igers and the city or county name. If you search for Igers Coventry or Igers Warwickshire, you should find @igerscoventry and @igerswarwickshire.
Other local igers groups include: @igersbirminghamuk, @igersblackcountry, @igersderbyshire and @igersworcestershire.
If you would like to create an instagramers group or find out more about our global communities, please visit the igers community website.
Who founded the Igers Coventry & Warwickshire (Igers C&W) community?
Igers C&W was founded by Jamie and Mark after a little encouragement from Igers UK and Igers London .
They started posting images on our Instagram page on the 9 May 2014, and the first Igers C&W instameet was held on 6 July 2014.
Shortly after the creation of the official Instagramers logo, Mark moved away from the area. Then, Jamie managed the community on his own for about a year.
Official Igers Coventry logo created in June 2014
Our Official Igers logo:
Our community is called Instagramers Coventry & Warwickshire.
Originally, this title was too long for the official instagramers trademarked logo. So, Jamie and Mark agreed to shorten it to Instagramers Coventry.
In 2019, a member from our creative igers community kindly edited our logo and finally added Warwickshire. So, now our logo is Instagramers Coventry & Warwickshire.
Our first Instameet on 6 July, 2014
What is an Instameet?
An instameet is an opportunity to meet other creatives from our community, to share and learn from each other, or explore somewhere or something new together to take photos or capture videos. People share their creative imagery and videos online using our hashtags.
It might sound a little daunting meeting up with a group of strangers, but people often find that they meet people that they already know from following them online, or seeing their images featured on our account. We often see moments where people’s faces light up with recognition as they share their usernames.
You will find that a variety of people with different levels, skills and interests attend our instameets. They are great for bringing creative people together, who might not meet otherwise.
Everyone is welcome to attend. You just need to keep an eye out for our announcements on our social media channels and our events page, because sometimes there are only a limited number of tickets available.
Community Leaders in chronological order:
Jamie @jamie_panot
Community Founder & Leader, May 2014 - January 2018
Jamie strongly believed that the instagram community was about having fun, exploring, connecting, and supporting others. You’ll find these values are reflected in our current Community aims.
Jamie organised regular instameets to explore Coventry and Warwickshire. He supported local organisations, collaborated with other igers communities, and often attended instameets hosted by other igers groups within the Midlands area. Jamie also connected with other igers groups throughout the UK and Europe. He loves to travel, so he also attended instameets with @igerslondon, @IgersGdansk, and @IgersKiev
Igers London visit Igers Gdansk, Sept 2014
Shakespeare’s New Place Instameet, 2016
What was Jamie’s favourite moment?
Jamie said that the 1000th instagram post was his favourite, because it commemorated the accumulation of 4000 followers, and because this image of Chesterton Windmill in Leamington Spa was also the first image that was posted on the Instagram account in May 2014.
1000th post and celebration of 4000 followers!
“Today we celebrate a milestone of achieving over 4000 followers, and this our 1000th post is a repost of the first-ever photo we posted! @igerscoventry was set up in May 2014 by @jamie_panot and @baker_perkins after encouragement from @igersUK and @igers London.
The community has grown in size and these days it is run by the team of Jamie, Regan and Trev. We welcome contributions from everyone. So, why not get involved by coming along to our instameets, and tagging your photos with #igerscoventry or #igerswarwickshire”
Abi @abigail.desu
Community Leader, March 2015 - March 2016
“What I like about Igers Coventry is that it’s open to everyone, whatever their experience level, whether they have a basic camera phone, or higher-end equipment, whether they want to learn about photography or just get out and socialise. I’d lived in Coventry for more than 30 years and through Igers I learned there was so much about the city that I’d yet to discover.”
Recording Coventry Instameet, 31 January 2015
Abigail attended her first Instameet at 5am on 31 January 2015, which was in collaboration with BBC Coventry and Warwickshire.
“Jamie had organised a 5 am instameet to coordinate with the BBC After Dark special and we were all guests on Phil Upton’s radio show. I think Jamie asked me to help out a few months after that. Then, I was involved for a couple of years”
What was Abigail’s favourite moment?
Brandon Marsh Nature Reserve, Murmuration Instameet, November 2016 by @abigail.desu
“I think for me, the meets weren’t really about my photos, but about all the things I saw while out and about. Things I didn’t see in my bubble of a journey from home to work every day”
Regan @duskyblueskies
Community Leader, September 2016 - November 2020
Coventry History Walk Instameet, November 2015
“It’s been great fun being involved with igers. Hard work at times, but I learnt a lot about photography, local culture & history, community, managing social media accounts and creating online content. ”
What was Regan’s favourite moment?
“Gosh, tough question. I think maybe our first instameet with Warwick Castle. It was one of our biggest events, we had old and new igers in attendance. One of the things I have always loved about igers is the opportunity to meet people with a shared passion and sense of adventure. Just look at all of those smiley faces in the group photo”
Trev @tv_trev
Community Leader, May 2017 - Present
Charelcote Park, Heritage Open Days Instameet, September 2017
Darren @darrensmithimages
Community Leader, February 2018 - June 2019
“It was a pleasure to be part of the Igers Coventry and Warwickshire team. I got to know some awesome creative people. A high point was when Igers Coventry reached 5000 followers, and it has continued to grow as a community.”
Shop Front Festival Instameet, March 2018
What was Darren’s favourite moment?
Hazel O’Connor, Godiva Festival 2018 taken by Darren @darrensmithimages
“Capturing the stars performing for the crowds at the 20th Anniversary of the Godiva Festival, thanks to a very generous Press Pass which was courtesy of the Coventry 2021 Team. Seeing how it all works backstage was a pleasure. An experience that I will place in my personal highlights of my time with the Igers Coventry & and Coventry 2021.”
Danny @dannyholdenphoto
Community Leader, February 2018 - March 2019
“It’s been lovely to have been a part of Igers Coventry and had the opportunity to showcase so many great images from the Igers Coventry and Warwickshire community. I’ll leave you here with a very small selection of images that really caught my eye during my time as an admin.”
494 Likes, 24 Comments - Igers Coventry & Warwickshire (@igerscoventry) on Instagram: "This is Danny @_dannyholden signing off from duty at the end of the week, and also stepping down..."
Nick @_photographybynick
Community Leader, October 2018 - October 2019
Kingswood Junction Instameet, 2018
“The Igers community offers a fantastic opportunity for local people with a shared interest of photography, at any level, to meet and take advantage of some unique opportunities for photos. I’d encourage people to get involved.”
What was Nick’s favourite moment?
Cows at Kingswood Junction by Nick @_photographybynick
“My favourite meet was a simple stroll along the canal from Kingswood Junction, where I took this image of a herd of cows cooling off on an extremely hot afternoon. It was a good day to cool ourselves down in a nearby pub.”
Richard @rythie
Community Leader, June 2019 - Present
Picnic in the Park with Coventry Bloggers, June 2019
Richard @rjmtavel
Community Leader April 2019 - September 2019
“Igers instameets and events are a fantastic opportunity to meet other local photographers while gaining access to some amazing places and events in our region.”
Kenilworth Wardens Instameet, August 2019
In the six months that Richard was a Community leader, he planned and organised two very successful instameets. One of those was the 1950’s architecture walk around the Coventry City Centre in collaboration the Coventry Society. The other one was this sports photography themed instameet at Kenilworth Wardens Cricket Club.
What was Richard’s favourite moment?
Richard said he enjoyed learning more about the City Centre and the 1950’s Architecture during the photo walk with the Coventry Society. This is his favourite image from that instameet in 2019.
Coventry City Arcade taken by Richard @rjmtravel
Aaron @aaronjlaw
Community Leader June 2019 - Present
The Wasteland Instameet, September 2018
Rebecca @beckybooski
Community Leader December 2019 - Present
Crooked Dances, The RSC June 2019