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Capturing the beauty of sakura season with Instagram

So many of us today have an impulse to memorialize little moments of beauty with a photograph, and since “the best camera is the one you have with you,” these moments are often captured on a phone. The popularity of Instagram continues to indicate that people:

1. like having the power to edit photos in the palm of their hand
2. find joy in customizing a unique moment to capture a mood.

By the number of Instagram users at TGS, I’d say this is true for our community as well.

TGSsakura mosaic

The TGS Instagram feed aims to show little moments of beauty and connection “behind the scenes” of our traveling high school. The highlights of travel often involve more than just selfies next to national landmarks; they can be funny moments captured between strangers-turned-friends, humorous signs on a tram, and especially moments of seasonal beauty — like cherry blossoms on the riverside in Hiroshima.

Upon returning from Spring Break, we noticed a sizable increase in the number of visitors to our host city. The arrival of the sakura blossoms remind their admirers of the reality of and freedom in impermanence, as well as the beauty of nature.

Sierra Anderson on InstagramTo celebrate this beloved season, we encouraged our friends and followers on Instagram to post their favorite images of the sakura blossoms alongside the hashtag #TGSsakura. While enjoying this hashtag feed is enough of a delight, we also asked a guest judge to deem one of these insta-photos the most engaging of this seasonal beauty.

Our guest judge for this insta-contest was Sierra Anderson. Sierra is a commercial fisher and the founder/producer of Fox Cape Productions. She’s an avid traveler and passionate documentarian of the great outdoors, where she spends most of her waking hours amidst snow, mountains, valleys and oceans. Sierra and her family are also the subjects of “Hook, Line, and Sisters,” a reality TV show about commercial fishing in Alaska that is currently being aired in Australia by Nat Geo People.

The runner-up for #TGSsakura

#TGSsakura by Melissa M.

My runner-up is the photo by @melissamedcar with the two people holding the umbrellas. I love how she incorporated people in the shot. I like that it tells a little story.

And the winner of #TGSsakura is…

#TGSsakura by Mark S.

I think the one that draws my eye in the most is by @marksurnin. It has great use of framing and depth of field. I love the colors and lighting!

Thank you to all our participants in the beautiful mosaic above. Follow THINK Global School and Sierra Anderson on Instagram to discover more captured moments of nature, beauty, and travel.

Ready to embark on the educational journey of a lifetime?

A passion for travel. A strong academic record. And the desire to improve the world as you experience it. If this sounds like you, you just might be our ideal candidate! Start your application with a five-minute inquiry form - you never know where you might end up.

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Ready to embark on the educational journey of a lifetime?

A passion for travel. A strong academic record. And the desire to improve the world as you experience it. If this sounds like you, you just might be our ideal candidate! Start your application with a five-minute inquiry form - you never know where you might end up.

It all starts here.

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