Tacky Tourist Photos

SUBMITTED BY: Bobbi Kraham  LOCATION: Jama (Manabi Province), Ecuador (2016) On first glance, this roadside sculpture in Jama, Ecuador, appears to be King Kong, based on its damsel-in-distress design. A staircase inside the ape lets travelers climb up to the head and look out his mouth or squeeze inside his clenched hand. However, upon further [...]

SUBMITTED BY: Ben Cole    LOCATION: Los Angeles, California (2015) The “Levitated Mass” sculpture by Michael Heizer is a photo-op magnet at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Most goofballs pose with two arms pretending to hold up the floating boulder. But Ben wanted to put his own unique spin on the place. Get [...]

SUBMITTED BY: Jadelyn & Greig Nakamura  LOCATION: Arches National Park, Utah (2014) Pretending to hold a famous landmark, such as the Liberty Bell or the Leaning Tower of Pisa, is one of the toughest photo-ops to pull off. Everything needs to be perfect. The camera angle, the palm arc, the wind conditions, everything. The slightest [...]

SUBMITTED BY: Steve Silberberg   LOCATION: Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming(2014) It’s every guy’s fantasy to grow a pair of antlers and bang heads with anyone who threatens his backpacking dominance. We’ve never seen either of these guys lock antlers before, but we’re betting on the guy on the right. The guy without the pair of purple [...]

SUBMITTED BY: Kurtis and Kaden Garnick   LOCATION: Niagara Falls – Ontario, Canada (2013) Show a girl a rainbow and her imagination will start generating unicorns and Care Bears. Show a boy a rainbow, and he’ll try to squeeze the life out of it or karate chop it in half.   (Check out other refracted light [...]

SUBMITTED BY: Stacey Dunn Reid   LOCATION: Orlando, Florida (2012) We all know from the movie “Jurassic Park” that the T-Rex is a ruthless and heartless beast that will crush you to bits with little or no warning. Nowhere is safe. You could even be eaten while you are on the toilet. With that actor’s [...]

SUBMITTED BY: Ari G.   LOCATION: Seaside Heights, New Jersey (2012) When Curly Fries, Fried Pickles or Salt Water Taffy won’t do… there’s a snack for every kind of customer strolling the Jersey boardwalks. (Ari G. is a New Hampshire fifth grader who recently won the Sphinx Rodeo).

SUBMITTED BY: Marty Karlon   LOCATION: Cape Cod, Massachusetts (2010) Sharing a first name with a concrete bear is no guarantee he won’t attack you. (Marty Karlon is a seasoned journalist and communication professional with a soft spot for community theater and a low tolerance for cookie-cutter press releases).

SUBMITTED BY: Ben Cole    LOCATION: Kauai, Hawaii (2012) So please remind us: What exactly is so romantic about waterfalls? As baseball purists, you know what makes us want to vomit, Ben?  The fashion faux pas of wearing a Boston Red Sox hat with a Colorado Rockies jersey! (Ben Cole is a Colorado sixth grader [...]

SUBMITTED BY: Ben Cole   LOCATION: Los Angeles, California (2012) Since 1984, UCLA athletes have won more gold medals at the Olympic Games than all but four countries. And this Bruins mascot has bitten more tourists than all other bear statues in America combined. We made up that last statistic, but the Olympics thing is [...]

SUBMITTED BY: Christy Day   LOCATION: Ross Sea, Antarctica (2005) The world of travelers can be divided into two distinct groups: Those who can’t get to the South Pole fast enough for some old-school frostbite and those who say ‘No way, I’d rather spend my $10K at Disney!” Traveling by Russian icebreaker, for which she occasionally [...]

SUBMITTED BY: Jay Hinspeter    LOCATION: Townsville, Queensland, Australia (2010) Very considerate of this parent not to stick his kids on the hook! This classic scene from the Great Barrier Reef Aquarium is just the latest example of Tacky Tourist Photos’ stellar fishing coverage around the globe.  If you’re a marine biology fan, check out [...]

SUBMITTED BY: Jerry Monkman  LOCATION: Acadia National Park, Maine (2011) It’s so true: Families who push boulders off cliffs together, stay together. This Road Runner-Wile E. Coyote photo-op is on the Bubble Rock hiking trail near Jordan Pond. (Nature photographer Jerry Monkman is the author of “The AMC Guide to Outdoor Digital Photography.”)  

SUBMITTED BY: Debra Furlong, Mike and Christine     LOCATION: Sedona, Arizona (2011) Dance for me, puppet! In the mystical New Age paradise of Sedona, Arizona, where crystals and “positive energy” is sold at every gas station, there’s a small prancing tribe of gnomes who will perform on command.

SUBMITTED BY: Noelle Boc   LOCATION: Charlestown, Mass. (2011) When you kiss a fish, it is better with your eyes closed? Rumor has it that smooching with this Fish Sentinel, the official guard of City Square Park near Boston Harbor, will make you grow fins. (Noelle Boc is a hip children’s librarian and movie reviewer [...]