It all started with our love for New Jersey.
In 2015, NJspots Founder Virginia Buechel (@buewho) wanted to start sharing the beautiful places around her home state of New Jersey — but had nowhere to do it. The urge to start an Instagram account dedicated to the Garden State was spurred by her envy of the sprawling landscapes of the Southwest, the majestic Rocky Mountains, and the tranquil Pacific coastline. She knew New Jersey had amazing spots like these to explore too, but there hadn’t seemed to be an outlet for it.
We started out with a hashtag and an Instagram account, and using #NJspots to bash stereotypes associated with New Jersey allows everyone to share the amazing spots they have captured here… from the mountains to the beaches, and everything in between. As the Instagram “trend” seemed to grow in the photography community throughout New Jersey, so did our following. And as the numbers grew, Virginia realized there was a need for more people here to see what was out there.
“A tiny little hashtag idea boomed into local popularity, and just like that, NJspots was becoming more than just a repost Instagram account. Over the last couple years, we have grown into a tiny empire that provides local guides, meetups, curated workshops, and local maps of places others can explore and photograph throughout New Jersey.”
– Virginia Buechel, Founder of NJspots
The #NJspots hashtag started to become a source of inspiration for people to find a variety of new places to explore and adventure throughout New Jersey. Our team, patrons, and community members from Sussex to Cape May County help grow the inspiration of the digital community to continue to explore New Jersey virtually and in person.
NJspots hosts several meetups throughout the year that brings on average 20-40 people out to various places throughout the state, photograph together, connect for future projects, and appreciate all that New Jersey has to offer.
As our community continues to grow, our writing and editorial team has grown with it. Offering in-depth guides, local interest maps, behind-the-scenes Instagram takeovers, and more, NJspots is a community that is built on those that continue to share their photos and experiences from the top of Mount Tammany to the beaches of Asbury Park. We also pride ourselves in finding new spots to explore that you may have never seen before, even if you’ve spent your whole life in the Garden State.
NJspots is a community for Instagram users and photographers in New Jersey, so it’s extremely important for us to continue to have close connections with our followers, local photographers, and local businesses.
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