Instagram users have uploaded over 150 million photos

Instagram's 4-person team has announced that the service's users have posted over 150 million photos. Consider that the free, social photo-sharing service now receives about 1.3 million photos per day -- that's 15 shots per second -- and you realize one thing: people really like sharing photos. Make that process easy and convenient, as Instagram has with its iPhone app, and you've got yourself a winner.

Kevin Systrom, one of the company's founders, described the diversity he's seen from users: "There are Instagram photos from major events like the World Series and the Grammys, and some Instagram photos have even made the national news. Artists and celebrities have begun to give fans a unique look into their lives."

The app is simple and fun. Once you've created a free account, just launch Instagram as you would Apple's own Camera app and start shooting. You can then apply one of several artistic filters or some tilt-shift blur; then share your shot with other Instagram users as well as your Twitter, Flickr and Facebook friends.

While you can't view a user's entire Instagram feed in your browser (although you can see individual images), there are plenty of options for interacting with your images without the iPhone app. For example, you can tweak Google+ for instant sharing. Several Mac apps are available, including Carousel (US$4.99, our feature here) and Instadesk ($1.99, our feature here). Finally, take the analog theme to the max with Instaprint, a wireless, location-based printer for Instagram. Imagine...paper pictures!

Congratulations to Kevin and the entire Instagram team on your ongoing success. Below you'll see the official 150 millionth photo to be uploaded by Instagram user janefot.