Tuesday, June 30, 2015

An IBM engineer quit to become an Instagram star — These 29 photos prove it was a good idea

EUGENE KIM

Jun. 28, 2015, 1:16 PM
319,660

Twitter/ @eelcoroosEelco Roos quit his IBM engineering job, and is now one of the most popular Instagram photographers in the world.

Eelco Roos was an IT specialist at IBM Amsterdam for more than 10 years.

But his biggest passion was always photography, and after he saw his Instagram followers grow past 100,000, he quit his IBM job.

Now Roos is one of the most popular Instagram photographers,with more than 433,000 followers. Some of the world’s biggest brands, including Samsung and Sony, reach out to him to collaborate.

Roos tells Business Insider his Instagram fame is “a dream come true.”

Here's his story, and some of his most beautiful work.

View As: One Page Slides

Roos worked at IBM Amsterdam for over 10 years.

Instagram @croyable

"Working in IT was never my dream job. Photography has always been a big passion of mine, a creative outlet so to speak," he tells us.

Instagram @croyable

When he first downloaded Instagram's app, he didn't pay much attention to it. "It was hard to believe that a mobile device would be able to take good photos," he says.

Instagram @croyable

Then one day, while waiting for a train, he was bored and started taking some photos with Instagram. He was immediately hooked.

Instagram @croyable

He wanted to show others how great it was that you could take beautiful smartphone photos with just some basic photography skills.

Instagram @croyable

So he started sharing photos he took during his commute.

Instagram @croyable

Because most of the early Instagram users were Americans, a lot of the photos were from New York or San Francisco.

Instagram @croyable

He was in Amsterdam, so his photos stood out from the rest, he says.

Instagram @croyable

Especially the landscape photos he took while traveling.

Instagram @croyable

He quickly attracted a huge following.

Instagram @croyable

Instagram noticed his popularity, and put him on their Suggest User List, which grew his followers even more.

Instagram @croyable

Once he hit 100,000 followers, companies and brands started reaching out to him. They wanted to work with him in creating online campaigns.

Instagram @croyable

Like Samsung, who worked with him for its NX1 camera's campaign.

Instagram @croyable

This one's taken with Samsung's Galaxy Camera.

Instagram @croyable

He works with non-tech brands too, like Ducati for this one.

Instagram @croyable

He traveled all the way to Scotland to take this photo for Johnnie Walker.

Instagram @croyable

He's traveled to other countries like France, Ireland, and Switzerland to help promote events and cities.

Instagram @croyable

As he grew in popularity and influence as an Instagram photographer, Roos couldn't keep up with his full-time job at IBM.

Instagram @croyable

He was running out of vacation days pretty quick. On top of that, his IBM office was about to go through layoffs.

Instagram @croyable

Eventually, he decided to quit his IBM job to fully commit to photography. “I haven’t regretted the decision yet,” he says.

Instagram @croyable

Now he's a full-time photographer, focused on travel and lifestyle photos.

Instagram @croyable

He also does workshops and consulting work in his home country, the Netherlands.

Instagram @croyable

He teaches people how to take better smartphone photos, and how brands could better use Instagram for their marketing campaigns.

Instagram @croyable

He's also done some work with Rijksmuseum, the Netherlands' biggest national museum.

Instagram @croyable

One day, the museum let him and 19 other Instagrammers into the museum while it was closed take photos they couldn't take when there was a big crowd.

Instagram @croyable

Like this one.

Instagram @croyable

Roos is now pretty popular in the Netherlands, receiving national press coverage too.

Instagram @croyable

Roos says his main source of income is Instagram campaigns with brands and tourism agencies.

Instagram @croyable

"It's a dream come true," he tells us.

Instagram @croyable

Archive - E

Tuesday, June 30, 2015

An IBM engineer quit to become an Instagram star — These 29 photos prove it was a good idea

View As: One Page Slides

Roos worked at IBM Amsterdam for over 10 years.

"Working in IT was never my dream job. Photography has always been a big passion of mine, a creative outlet so to speak," he tells us.

When he first downloaded Instagram's app, he didn't pay much attention to it. "It was hard to believe that a mobile device would be able to take good photos," he says.

Then one day, while waiting for a train, he was bored and started taking some photos with Instagram. He was immediately hooked.

He wanted to show others how great it was that you could take beautiful smartphone photos with just some basic photography skills.

So he started sharing photos he took during his commute.

Because most of the early Instagram users were Americans, a lot of the photos were from New York or San Francisco.

He was in Amsterdam, so his photos stood out from the rest, he says.

Especially the landscape photos he took while traveling.

He quickly attracted a huge following.

Instagram noticed his popularity, and put him on their Suggest User List, which grew his followers even more.

Once he hit 100,000 followers, companies and brands started reaching out to him. They wanted to work with him in creating online campaigns.

Like Samsung, who worked with him for its NX1 camera's campaign.

This one's taken with Samsung's Galaxy Camera.

He works with non-tech brands too, like Ducati for this one.

He traveled all the way to Scotland to take this photo for Johnnie Walker.

He's traveled to other countries like France, Ireland, and Switzerland to help promote events and cities.

As he grew in popularity and influence as an Instagram photographer, Roos couldn't keep up with his full-time job at IBM.

He was running out of vacation days pretty quick. On top of that, his IBM office was about to go through layoffs.

Eventually, he decided to quit his IBM job to fully commit to photography. “I haven’t regretted the decision yet,” he says.

Now he's a full-time photographer, focused on travel and lifestyle photos.

He also does workshops and consulting work in his home country, the Netherlands.

He teaches people how to take better smartphone photos, and how brands could better use Instagram for their marketing campaigns.

He's also done some work with Rijksmuseum, the Netherlands' biggest national museum.

One day, the museum let him and 19 other Instagrammers into the museum while it was closed take photos they couldn't take when there was a big crowd.

Like this one.

Roos is now pretty popular in the Netherlands, receiving national press coverage too.

Roos says his main source of income is Instagram campaigns with brands and tourism agencies.

"It's a dream come true," he tells us.

AND NEXT: These beautiful Instagram photos by New York's Chief Digital Officer will make you want to move to NYC

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