Philly Instagrammer @heyrizzo’s top 5 favorite photos

John Rizzo owned a camera for years, but it was Instagram that got him hooked on photography.

After Rizzo, 29, joined the social network as @heyrizzo a year and a half ago, something happened that you might not expect with a platform focused more on images than words: he made a lot of friends.

Rizzo began meeting up with other Instagrammers to take photos around the city (“Oh, you’re posting photos near Rittenhouse? We’re here too, come meet us,” his Instagram friends would say), and he eventually became “addicted” to capturing scenes in Philadelphia.

Rizzo, who lives in Ambler, Pa. and used to work in hotel management, now has more than 4,500 followers on Instagram and regularly gets hundreds of likes on his photos. He’s part of a class of popular Philadelphian Instagrammers. While he doesn’t use his iPhone to shoot, his gear is decidedly lower maintenance than that of other photogs: a 18 megapixel Sony Cybershot that fits into the palm of his hand.

Rizzo’s photography has taken him to hidden spots around the city, like the abandoned railroad tunnel under the Benjamin Franklin Parkway (“It’s the perfect studio,” he said) and the graffiti-covered Pier 18 in Port Richmond (“It’s a magical place.”).

He also organizes photo walks, group tours of Philly neighborhoods that draw anywhere from ten to 30 Instagrammers interested in exploring and photographing the city. Naturally, the walks are only advertised on Instagram.

Rizzo, currently unemployed, now aspires to be a photojournalist.

Below (and one above), his five favorite photos that he’s taken.

A photo of Rizzo’s Instagram friend @alloutz in an abandoned railroad tunnel under the Parkway.

Rizzo lit steel wool on fire to create the above effect.

Rizzo took this photo on the El platform at 46th and Market Streets.