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A Trip to Salvation Mountain

Browse more photos on the Salvation Mountain location page.

If you ever visit Niland, California, a desert town of just over 1,000 people in the southeasternmost corner of the state, you’re sure to find Salvation Mountain. The giant, bright relgious tribute is made of over 100,000 gallons of paint and stands 50 feet tall by 150 feet in breadth. Artist Leonard Knight started building the mountain in the 1980s and lived there for 30 years, passing days adding to and caring for his life’s work.

Since Knight, now 82, entered into a long-term care facility in late 2011, concern has been raised for the future of the site. Without constant upkeep, the harsh environment can quickly erode the fragile mountain made of clay and paint. Learn more about the fight to save Salvation Mountain here.

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@ZachDriftwood’s #Petheadz

Some say pets look like their owners, but one Canadian photographer has taken it to a new and creative extreme. In his series, #petheadz, Zachary Rose (@zachdriftwood) takes DSLR portraits of people’s pets and mashes them up with portraits of their owners by cleverly holding the camera in the foreground.

The series started as an exercise in creativity with his two roommates but quickly caught on. To date, Zach has taken 18 #petheadz portraits of people all over Toronto. (His mom even posed for a photo with her German shepherd.) The project is still on-going with a lengthy wait-list, and Zach is excited to continue meeting people—and pets—around the city as he keeps shooting.

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This Weekend’s Hashtag Project: #WHPdearphotograph

Weekend Hashtag Project is a series featuring designated themes & hashtags chosen by Instagram’s Community Team. For a chance to be featured on the Instagram blog, follow @instagram and look for a photo announcing the weekend’s project every Friday.

This week we’ve been inspired by Dear Photograph (@dearphotograph) and, as a result, we’re asking you to take an old film photograph or vintage postcard, hold it up against the original setting and then take a picture of it for #WHPdearphotograph. Some tips to get you started: tap to focus on the photograph in the foreground before taking the picture, share a story or memory about the old film photograph or antique postcard in your caption and, most importantly, be patient! It may take some time to line up the photo—try moving your hand closer or further away from the object you’re shooting.

PROJECT RULES: Please only add the hashtag #WHPdearphotograph to photos taken over this weekend and only submit your own photographs to the project. Any image taken then tagged over the weekend is eligible to be featured right here Monday morning!