Tacky Tourist Photos

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 [...]

SUBMITTED BY: Kathie Fife   LOCATION: Hillsborough, NH (2011) Remember when educators carried rulers and would crack your wrists for chewing gum or misspelling a word? Well, in addition to shining the silverware of President Franklin Pierce, the Hillsborough Historical Society loves to romanticize mean old school teachers. (Kathie Fife is a nature photographer and greeting [...]

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.

We’ve previously showcased some great improvisational acting on the Great Wall of China, such as TTP star correspondent Brian Henderson’s “Where Can I Find a Decent Chinese Restaurant?” pose.  But YouTube dance star Nonstop really kicks things up a notch!      

If the hushed chatter in the hallowed halls of Tewksbury Public Library is any indication, it looks like “Tacky Tourist Photos Live” is a bona fide smash sensation! If you happen to live within 300 miles of the Greater Tewksbury area, load your family up in the station wagon for a photography exhibition that will [...]

Sorry to go all regional on you, but if you happen to live in New England (or are vacationing there), come on out and meet the Tacky Tourist founders, curators, and administrative staff! TEWKSBURY TACKY TOURIST PHOTOS NIGHT 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 7 Tewksbury Public Library 300 Chandler Street Tewksbury, MA 01876 978-640-4490 Join founding [...]

SUBMITTED BY: Tacky Tourist Photos   LOCATION: Las Vegas, Nevada (2011) If a guy posed with the new Fergie wax museum statue like this, he might be chastised as sophomoric, crass, or perhaps even a little bit sexist. But when you are touching your fake self, it is amazing what you can get away with!

SUBMITTED BY: Leigh Hanlon   LOCATION: Chicago, Illinois (2011) Will the keywords “Marilyn Monroe” and “topless” send Tacky Tourist Photos’ web traffic through the stratosphere? Maybe if this were still the year 1962. (Photographer Leigh Hanlon, aka “The Chicago Cowboy,” blogs at ChicagoScope.com. Curious about this half-finished statue? Check out our Cheeky Controversy post about [...]

SUBMITTED BY: Ben and Sarah Cole   LOCATION: Glenwood Caverns, Colorado (2011) At the Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park and Historic Fairy Caves, all is not magical.  The best part of this classic Tacky Tourist Photo? — it’s the acting, of course! Great job, Ben!  Looks like you could be the next James Franco. (Ben and [...]

SUBMITTED BY: Peggy Dillon and Adrienne Lopes   LOCATION: Ellis Island, New York (2010) A brilliant exercise in historical product placement, Mattel and Ellis Island have teamed up to let you explore your ethnic heritage through cocktail dresses and itsy bitsy pairs of shoes. “Wouldn’t Barbie have had a pink boat, complete with a hair [...]

SUBMITTED BY: Darren Garnick   LOCATION: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (2010) Everyone knows how to retrace the historical steps of Sylvester Stallone. The Philadelphia Museum of Art is a lot more accessible to tourists than the snowbanks of Siberia — if you have your heart set on recreating Rocky IV. But did you know that you can run [...]

SUBMITTED BY: Dana Prey   LOCATION: Cairo, Egypt (2009) Wanna recreate the sensation of getting sensual with the Sphinx?  Go kiss a bucket of sand! (Dana Prey is a bacon-loving Southern belle living in New England, who documents her competitive cycling addiction on her “Wall of Pain.”) CURATOR’S PICK — Do you LOVE photographing ancient [...]

SUBMITTED BY: Tamar M.  LOCATION: Yellowstone National Park, Montana (2009) If Yellowstone Park were South Park, here’s what the tourism poster model would look like. More proof that deep within each and every one of us is the spirit of an 11-year-old boy! (You can recreate this pose in the privacy of your own home [...]

Thanks to NPR’s “Here and Now” program for today’s shoutout to Tacky Tourist Photos by replaying its 2010 interview with co-founders Ilya Mirman and Darren Garnick (fellow visionary Peter Koziell was with us in spirit). Amongst the FASCINATING tidbits you’ll learn are: * Strategies for invading South American countries with pretty college co-eds. * How [...]

SUBMITTED BY: Brian Henderson   LOCATION: Houston, Texas (2011) The shiny mascot of Goode’s Armadillo Palace — a local BBQ and music joint — looks sweet and innocent by day. But after nightfall, it turns evil. Be forewarned! (Brian Henderson is a photojournalist with an appetite as huge as the Golden Gate Bridge.)