Margot Raggett Photography

I'm not sure how many of you reading this are already on Instagram or not but it is by far the fastest-growing social network and if you aren't yet, you may well be considering joining up in 2015. To that end I have compiled my own personal recommendations on the wildlife photographers' Instagram accounts that you should be following for inspiration, pleasure and fun in 2015. Oh and it goes without saying that while you're at it, I'd appreciate a follow to my own account as well ;) Read on for my list.

I joined Instagram last March firstly from curiosity and then later more seriously as a way to promote my wildlife photography and the career I’m starting to build in this arena. Initially I followed friends and ex-work colleagues and the odd wildlife photographer friend who was experimenting in a similar way but over time I've refined my feed less to pictures of what someone had for breakfast and more to my passion, which is wildlife photography. Every day I am now able to see inspiring fresh examples of some of my favourite wildlife photographers' work, straight to my device. Over that past year I’ve also seen a dramatic change in the pace of Instagram both in terms of the number of participants and also of the quality of work that can be found there - it has really taken off and I think 2015 is the year it'll come into its own.

To my astonishment, I’ve discovered wildlife photography idols of mine who have barely hundreds of followers. And then again I’ve found fakers and fraudsters with thousands of likes for their accounts and also for undeclared computer-faked images. And I’ve also seen accounts swollen with fake followers being taken down a peg recently when Instagram deleted a bunch of inactive accounts.

But amidst it all I've found accounts that I love to follow and many, as I said earlier, are some of the world's top wildlife photographers with barely a handful of followers. It is a criminal shame that due to their own lack of time and marketing nouse others haven't found them yet, so I'm including my favourites in this list with the hope others will discover and start to enjoy them too. Sadly Instagram doesn't make recommendations in this way.

Please note that I’m not including here the collaborative sites of the likes of @animals etc. For those who don't know, accounts like this curate their own feeds by sharing the works of others and a share from one of them can really boost an account's following (indeed I regularly benefit from such shares). There are some great ones out there which allow you to discover the best of the best but I was naively surprised recently when one such site offered to share my pictures for $45 a pop, as in I pay them for the privilege. Surely if that's all it takes, the quality of some such sites are about to take a nose dive? (I said no by the way, talk about lack of editorial integrity).

But in among all that I’ve discovered some interesting and inspiring accounts that I now look forward to seeing each day. So here they are, some true greats and some unknowns and I share them in no particular order. If you follow the list you'll be on your way to a beautiful feed to look forward to each day! If you click on the picture you'll be taken straight to their page and I've included their own bio below each.

Please feel free to share this list on social media, particularly if you're mentioned!

Jonathan & Angie Scott Wildlife Photography Photo Workshops Hosting Safaris around the world Wildlife Conservation Authors of Wildlife books Wildlife Documentaries http://www.jonathanangelascott.com

Greg Du Toit Greg du Toit ‘Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2013’ is an African based wildlife photographer who recently published a coffee-table book titled Awe. http://www.gregdutoit.com

The photography of Michel Zoghzoghi. www.mz-images.com

Richard Peters Wildlife photographer from the UK, who's won an award or two along the way. fb.com/richardpetersphotography http://richardpeters.co.uk

Will Burrard-Lucas Wildlife photographer, creator of BeetleCam & founder of Camtraptions. Behind the scenes look at my projects plus lots of awesome animals! http://www.burrard-lucas.com

Beverly Joubert Award-winning wildlife photographer. Dereck and I make documentaries on big cats and work to conserve them. Find more images on www.natgeocreative.com http://www.beverlyjoubert.com

Jasper Doest As a professional photographer Jasper Doest brings nature, anywhere in the world, closer. Close to him, close to others. http://www.jasperdoest.com

David Lloyd Photographer of wildlife from NZ living in London with an eye for both black & white and colour. New book available now. http://davidlloyd.net

Lionel Egger Travel, Nature & Photography. http://www.lionelegger.com

Alison Buttigieg Passionate about wildlife photography & travel. Follow me on Facebook too http://www.facebook.com/AlisonButtigiegPhotography http://www.alisonbuttigieg.com

Austin Thomas A wildlife and nature photographer based in the UK. @AustinTphoto on Twitter and Austin Thomas Photography on Facebook http://www.austin-thomas.co.uk

Photojournalist. Contributing photographer for National Geographic Magazine. TV whore sometimes. http://www.charliehamiltonjames.co.uk

Daryl Dell Specialist Guide working for AndBeyond, living in Phinda Private Game Reserve, South Africa.

Photography is my passion and profession. Professional photographer since 1985, author of several award winning photo books. http://www.lahall.com

"In 2001 , Africa became the new chapter in my life". http://www.peterdelaney.co.za

Founder of C4 photo safaris, photographer of nature, builder of photo hides, adventurer, creative, author, run, swim, surf, wine. http://www.shemimages.com

Wildlife photographer and photo guide. http://www.norwaywildlife.com

So there you go. This list is by no means exhaustive and I've left out many other wonderful photographers that I follow (including a few who only just joined so have little to show just yet in their account), so please do go to my account and look at my 'following' list to check out and possibly follow the rest. And if there are others you think should have been included in the list, please mention in the comments and I'll be sure to check them out!