Just another naked day in Times Square....

SUBMITTED BY: Erik Paulsen   LOCATION: Times Square, New York City (2012)

When posing for a Tacky Tourist Photo, it is usually customary to embrace the quirky statue or mascot as if you are best friends.

Yet, there is something rather skeevy about getting intimate with a Naked Cowboy you just met.

Enter the brilliance of Erik, who pensively looks to the heavens, so immersed in thought that he almost doesn’t even notice the scantily-clad gent in front of the Marriott.  There’s now a proven method to pose with people when getting too close would be embarrassing or downright unhygienic.

On a side note, TTP has been at the forefront of insightful Naked Cowboy coverage rivaling the New York Post, the NY Daily News and Gawker. We’ve faithfully covered the Naked Cowboy for President campaign, the legal battle with the Naked Cowgirl and her common bond with Lady Gaga.

We’re depending on Erik to covertly capture the next chapter.

(Erik Paulsen, not to be confused with the Minnesota Congressman, is a sports video editor and photojournalist who has covered the Stanley Cup and the Tour de France. He also is a militant vegan.)

Baseball Hall of Famer Luis Aparicio gets a little frisky outside U.S. Cellular Field, a.k.a. "The Cell," a.k.a. New Comiskey Park, before a White Sox game.

SUBMITTED BY: Diane Garnick LOCATION: Chicago, Illinois (2010)

Luis Aparicio’s Hall of Fame plaque mentions his 1956 Rookie of the Year Award, his nine Gold Gloves at shortstop, his nine stolen base crowns and his career fielding records for double plays and assists.

But it says nothing about his love for the ladies.  By the way, Diane’s shirt reads: “Real women don’t date Yankees fans.”

(Diane Garnick, the “Princess of Perseverance,”  is a Sox-loving — Bosox and Chisox — investment strategist and author of the upcoming career advice book “I’m Smarter Than My Boss. Now What?” You can follow her travel hijinks on her Facebook page).

Check out these other fun TTP poses at famous sports statues:

Bobby Orr: NHL hockey legends falling from the sky!
Kirby Puckett: Roly Poly Bronzed Enthusiasm.
Tiger Woods: Before he got caught.
Shaq O’Neal: The Human Statue.
Red Auerbach: A new definition of the basketball pick.

According to ancient Vietnamese custom, it is considered good luck to have at least two goofy American tourists in your wedding party.

SUBMITTED BY: Barrie and Ilya Mirman   LOCATION: Vietnam (2011)

If you think this picture is a cute affirmation of warm U.S.-Vietnam relations, wait till you see the honeymoon photos!

"I will NOT let your people go!"

SUBMITTED BY: Darren G.   LOCATION: Boston, Massachusetts  (2010)

You’d also go ballistic if all your buddies were entombed in gold and you got stuck with the LEGO funeral.

(ALSO SEE: “Top of the Pyramid: Egyptian Cheerleading Tryouts!“)

Animal Magnetism: There must be something appealing about Larry King if EIGHT women wanted to marry him.

SUBMITTED BY: Alice S.     LOCATION: Washington DC (2010)

Wow. We’re speechless.

Get ready for Season One of “News Junkies Gone Wild!”

We haven’t seen wax museum behavior this crass since the “waxual harassment” of Jessica Simpson.

The Titanic movie made more than $600 million. Couldn't James Cameron have pitched in with a real movie prop here?

SUBMITTED BY: Monica Brady-Myerov   LOCATION: California

Channeling the spirit of Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet in public takes a lot of guts, especially if there is an anxious line of 12-year-olds behind you!

(Monica Brady-Myerov is a senior reporter at Boston’s NPR affiliate, WBUR. She recently interviewed the Tacky Tourist Photos curators on the syndicated “Here & Now” show. The segment airs Monday, Aug. 23 — click here for times and stations near you.)

Yukking it up at Boeing Headquarters

SUBMITTED BY: Hector Alejandro Farias    LOCATION: Seattle, WA (2010)

In the shadows of crazed JetBlue flight attendant Steven Slater, here’s evidence that poor judgment at airports is now a national epidemic.

When was the last time you saw a marathon runner smile?

SUBMITTED BY: Brian Henderson  LOCATION: Boston, Massachusetts (2010)

In the proud tradition of Boston Marathon legend Rosie Ruiz, who took the subway to the finish line, Brian shows what running 26 miles would look like if you didn’t actually have to do the running.

When was the last time you saw a happy runner?

(Photojournalist Brian Henderson, a frequent contributor to Tacky Tourist Photos, also likes to pretend he’s Godzilla).

Getting chummy with Evel Knievel: Typical stiff pose at the Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum

Take a look at Tacky Tourist Photos co-founder and curator Darren Garnick in the picture above. Sure, he’s one of the world’s most knowledgeable authorities on kitschy travel snapshots. But even he can occasionally forget the basics. There’s nothing particularly bad about this photo, but there’s nothing especially creative about it either.

The best Tacky Tourist moments happen when the model immerses himself or herself into the scene — or to borrow a tired phrase from American Idol, when the TTP model “makes it their own.”

Now take a look at artist Chandra Leming ‘s contribution:

Chandra takes a wild spin

Chandra is comfortable with who she is and her confidence shows. Would Evel be upset if one of his fans acted recklessly with one of his bikes? Perhaps. He was known to have a slight temper in his day. But Chandra doesn’t care. She’s badass.

More badass than Evel.

Even if Garnick dyed his hair pink and got a tattoo and nose ring, he still couldn’t pull this scene off.

To go back to American Idol-speak, it’s all about picture (song) choice and knowing who you are.

Aside from the models’ acting talent, there is also a stark difference in the framing here. Leming’s photographer went for the retro 1970s logo as a backdrop, which would look fantastic on a lunchbox. Garnick’s photog went for the pretty blue background, not a horrible choice, but also not the best one available.

Bottom Line: It takes two to tango. Make sure that your Tacky Tourist Model and Tacky Tourist Photographer communicate with each other and push each other to do their best work.

(Have a Tacky Tourist Photography tip?  Send it in and make the world’s photo albums far more fascinating!)

Italian pigeons play the role of tourist props as submissively as their British cousins.

SUBMITTED BY: Douglas Mack    LOCATION: Venice, Italy (2009)

The pigeons in New York and Boston are virtually flying rats, perhaps the filthiest birds in the urban biosphere. So what makes their brethren any more appealing in London’s Trafalgar Square or Venice’s Piazza San Marco?

Why would anyone want to channel their inner St. Francis of Assissi at the risk of being showered with milky white pigeon poop?

According to travel writer Doug Mack, who is now boldly touring the continent using his parents’ tattered 1963 copy of “Frommer’s Europe on Five Dollars a Day,” the Pigeons of the Piazza are just as mandatory as the gondolas and canals for cliched Venice tourist poses.

“The pigeons are only too happy to pose for the camera,” he says. “All I had to do was stand still for a few seconds and put my arms out a bit, and they fluttered up.”

Adds Mack: “It also turned out to be a great way to meet people — as such silly tourist scenes often are. I held my camera out to a woman who happened to be standing nearby, and she took my photo; then the birds flew to her and I returned the favor.”

Allegedly, it is good luck to have pigeons defecate on you. Mack seems quite happy staying dry.

(Doug Mack is a travel writer currently on an ambitious quest to sneer at poet Robert Frost and take the Road Most Traveled through touristy Europe. Read about his latest adventures at his “Europe on Five Bad Ideas a Day” blog.)