Five photographers pick the breathtaking backdrops sure to win Instagram.

The ubiquity of images from Tulum, Ibiza and Palm Springs has rendered us nearly numb to their beauty – yet another thing we can thank Instagram for – so we at MR PORTER sought out some of our favourite photographers’ recommendations for the most breathtaking alternative locations around the world. Some have picked home, some have gone far-flung and there are cities, countryside, coasts, canyons and highlands in the mix. Here, five photographers explain their photographic and personal attraction to their chosen places.

Ms Kristin-Lee Moolman

Johannesburg-based Ms Kristin-Lee Moolman’s work has appeared in Dazed & Confused, Vogue, L’Officiel Hommes Germany and has been exhibited in the Art/Afrique le Nouvel Atelier show at Paris’ Louis Vuitton Foundation.

“This was taken in the Congo. The first time I went there was in 2015 when I was commissioned by the rapper Baloji to shoot his artwork and the video. I’ve been three times now and there’s just something magic about it. The light is really incredible – I think because there’s so much moisture in the air. Everyone’s really beautiful and the landscapes are so rich in minerals. Inside Kinshasa, the tropical plants are straining against this intense city. This photo is very descriptive of the Congo. That river is in a valley maybe four hours outside Kinshasa. That solid concrete block was the perfect representation of man’s intrusion into nature. There’s a little community down there, grilling corn and making bread and all the kids swim. In the more rural areas, there’s a sense of freedom and joy and those kids embody that.”

Messrs Max von Gumppenberg and Patrick Bienert

Messrs Max Von Gumppenberg and Patrick Bienert have been working together since 2007 and have gone on to shoot for T Magazine, Another Man, Dazed & Confused, Pop, Purple and Vogue Italia.

“This was taken in a suburb of Tangier in Morocco. It’s in the north and feels slightly secluded from the rest of the country. Tangier is separated from Spain by only 20 miles by the Strait of Gibraltar; Africa almost touches Europe there. Time feels different, the vibe is beautiful and you can spend days sitting in coffee places. The Berber culture is very interesting, the people are nice, it’s warm in the winter and not far from Europe. In the beginning, we travelled there out of personal interest, since the city has a fascinating history: it’s known for the wild parties of the Beat writers William S Burroughs and Paul Bowles, The Rolling Stones recorded Continental Drift in the old town and it had the reputation as a safe house for international spying activities. We’ve worked on different editorial projects in Tangier. In the last five years and after coming back several times, we’ve made many friends in the city.”

Mr Tom Craig

Mr Tom Craig has shot for Vogue, i-D, Louis Vuitton, Vanity Fair and is a regular contributor to MR PORTER and NET‑A‑PORTER.

“The Scottish Highlands have always been special to me. It’s a place where my father and his father spent a lot of time, often standing in a river or up a hill and sometimes citing Scottish verse with the rain in their faces. Once I started going with my friends, we had our own experiences, time to talk, time to be in the most beautiful surroundings, fly fishing for your supper, endless meditative walks and an incredible appreciation of buttery white toast with peaty tea and a whisky when you got home. This was taken in the hills above Loch Maree in the Scottish Highlands. Every September, I went to the same house with my friend, the author AA Gill, and other friends. Sadly he died last year, so looking back at these images becomes even more poignant for me. We always stayed at the same house that was only accessible by boat. In many ways, we went to get away from it all. We spent our days stalking deer or fishing for trout and salmon and the evenings eating game and telling stories. I never went there to specifically take pictures, but I always had a camera. The light is never the same for long: what can look like a dreich and dreary day can magically transform into something very special and vice versa. The people you meet in the Highlands can seem distant at first, but once you are lying on the side of a giant wet hill, legs burning, lungs bleeding and telling stories, then everything changes and it’s all about the chat and the craic, until you have to go up another steep hill that is!”

Ms Stefanie Moshammer

Austrian photographer Ms Stefanie Moshammer has been published in i-D, ZEIT Magazin, M Le Magazine du Monde, Purple and Dazed & Confused.

“This was taken in the northern Mojave Desert, in Death Valley. I did a road trip with two friends through California, Nevada and Arizona in 2017. The images taken on this trip were used for the series I Can Be Her, which has its origin in 2014 and has now been re-edited for an upcoming exhibition in July at C/O Berlin and a book publication. It’s special to me because of the dimension of distance and time, and form, colour, sound and smell transform with each step and the deeper you hike. I’m a human being before I’m a photographer, the personal always melts in my work.”

Mr Kent Andreasen

Mr Kent Andreasen comes from Cape Town and travels the world shooting for The Guardian, GQ, The New Yorker, Wallpaper* and many more.

“Cape Town is my home. It’s the reason I work in the field I do. I hear a lot of stories of people wanting to finish school and leave their homes. I did that, but unlike a lot of people, I always wanted to return. It’s a beautiful place to live, but there is more to it than that. I can’t really explain it. I feel like because of the travelling I do, it’s a good place to return to, assess next moves and curate the work I’ve made while away. I’ve lived here my entire life and I still find imagery that excites me. It’s quite a strange place if you really take a step back and think about it. This was taken when I was on my way to surf and I saw that there was a massive building fire on the famous 12 Apostles Mountain range. In summer, when the hard, southeast wind blows, the Cape is prone to fires breaking out. This day was no different. As the smoke started blowing down the face of the mountain and engulfing the surface of the Atlantic Ocean, it blocked out the sun and caused this amazing rose-coloured reflection on the sea.”