Comments on: What is the most photographed thing ever?

Question: What is the most photographed thing ever?

djacobs — Fri, 11 Feb 2005 18:32:11 -0800

The Gates could be "the most photographed thing ever." Could be! To date, what is the most photographed thing ever? A landmark like the Taj Mahal or the Grand Canyon? A sporting event? New Year's Eve in Times Square? Something totally different?

By: SPrintF

SPrintF — Fri, 11 Feb 2005 18:51:46 -0800

My guess: the Moon, simply because it's available everywhere.

By: SPrintF

SPrintF — Fri, 11 Feb 2005 18:54:25 -0800

Or the Sun, for the same reason.

By: smackfu

smackfu — Fri, 11 Feb 2005 19:12:15 -0800

Leaning Tower of Pisa? Pretty much the only reason to go to Pisa is to take at least two photos of it (one of the tower, one with you holding it up).

By: bshort

bshort — Fri, 11 Feb 2005 19:22:42 -0800

The Statue of Liberty?

The Eiffel Tower?

By: bitpart

bitpart — Fri, 11 Feb 2005 19:23:02 -0800

The Paris Four Seasons Hotel says that "Mont Saint Michel is the most photographed monument in the world."

I'm sure that the Eiffel Tower is pretty high up on that list.

By: Civil_Disobedient

Civil_Disobedient — Fri, 11 Feb 2005 20:01:31 -0800

the most photographed thing ever

Are you counting motion pictures as a series of individual photographs? That could seriously affect the answer.

By: catachresoid

catachresoid — Fri, 11 Feb 2005 20:33:54 -0800

So I take it classes of objects, like "atoms" and "people" are off-limits? Would "the sky" count as a single entity whereas "the ground" would not be?

The sun is probably less popular then the moon simply based on photographic difficulties. Though perhaps sunsets and sunrises are enough of a draw to counteract those problems.

In terms of man-made structures, I too feel that the Eiffel Tower is high up there.

By: Dr. Wu

Dr. Wu — Fri, 11 Feb 2005 20:48:48 -0800

I do not think it is possible to answer this question, but it's fun to guess.
If you count "NFL games" as a single entity, that might be the winner. The moon is a good guess. Supposedly, Mt. Fuji is the most-photographed natural monument, for whatever that's worth.

Do the insides of lens caps count?

By: Mean Mr. Bucket

Mean Mr. Bucket — Fri, 11 Feb 2005 21:01:36 -0800

I think kottke was hyperbolizing.

By: clockzero

clockzero — Fri, 11 Feb 2005 22:03:35 -0800

well...people, right? Esp. certain parts?

By: dhartung

dhartung — Fri, 11 Feb 2005 22:54:31 -0800

Clearly, it won't be the Bean, because the Chicago Park District has deemed Anish Kapoor's Cloud Gate sculpture a copyrighted public space, and is somewhat unpredictably enforcing a vague no-photography policy. Flickr, take note.

By: luriete

luriete — Fri, 11 Feb 2005 23:21:00 -0800

Yeah, it's definitely naked women.

By: BigCalm

BigCalm — Sat, 12 Feb 2005 01:14:11 -0800

Mt. Fuji.

By: b1tr0t

b1tr0t — Sat, 12 Feb 2005 02:39:17 -0800

The tip of the photographer's finger.

An 18% Gray Card

I doubt The Gates have a chance of being the most photographed thing ever. They will only be up for a week, and most non-New-Yorkers think you get mugged automatically if you enter central park.

The Statue of Liberty is actually hard to photograph without pro-grade. The rear of Lady Liberty faces New Jersey, and New York City is too far away for a 50mm lens to be useful. If you try a telephoto lens, you will see just how much humidity and air polution there is in the NY harbor. If you try to take a picture from a boat, you need fast film or lots of light to keep camera shake down. If you try to photograph her from Liberty Island, you will need something like a 15mm lens.

By: rschroed

rschroed — Sat, 12 Feb 2005 08:17:25 -0800

disneyland

By: Moireach

Moireach — Sat, 12 Feb 2005 08:44:16 -0800

The Most Photographed Barn in America.

By: Rash

Rash — Sat, 12 Feb 2005 08:59:48 -0800

I have heard this claim made of the Golden Gate Bridge.

By: Duck_Lips

Duck_Lips — Sat, 12 Feb 2005 09:33:47 -0800

I actually have heard this claim made of the statue of John Harvard on the Harvard campus by a straight-faced Harvardian giving a tour. Turns out it is the most photographed statue in Boston (embedded qt vid)

By: mischief

mischief — Sat, 12 Feb 2005 12:06:19 -0800

Do the individual frames of a movie count?

By: Kirth Gerson

Kirth Gerson — Sat, 12 Feb 2005 18:43:23 -0800

The sea?

By: felix

felix — Sat, 12 Feb 2005 20:28:06 -0800

I'd have to go with lens glass being the most photographed thing ever.

As far as unique things go, you'd have to go with a monument or natural wonder, in a place where people take lots of photographs. I'd go with Mt. Fuji.

By: Goofyy

Goofyy — Sun, 13 Feb 2005 23:53:44 -0800

Surely Old Faithful geyser is up there, given how many folks from everywhere visit Yellowstone.

By: esch

esch — Mon, 14 Feb 2005 07:27:34 -0800

Cats. And no one will tell anyone else that they hate the photos.

By: crayfish

crayfish — Mon, 14 Feb 2005 17:22:14 -0800

> The sea?

I'd go with that. The Pacific Ocean. Think of all the snapshots taken of people with a seascape behind them.

By: NickDouglas

NickDouglas — Mon, 14 Feb 2005 17:50:04 -0800

Let's count films as one photo each. Roundup so far:

- The sun (mostly sunsets/rises)
- The moon
- Manmade object: Eiffel Tower
- Class of object: people, sky, ground, ocean (my money's on the sky)

Let me suggest:
- natural object: Niagara Falls
- city: NYC (high tourist ratio, high camera-owner ratio)
- household object: no idea
- person: guy in the Mickey Mouse costume; a US president (probably Clinton until Bush finishes his second term)

By: kika

kika — Mon, 14 Feb 2005 18:01:40 -0800

As usual, people are very US-centric here. There are more people and places on this globe, and people of other countries have way more time to travel than the vacation-starved americans. Japanese tend to take a lot of photographs so maybe Mount Fuji is not such a bad contender.

By: mkn

mkn — Mon, 14 Feb 2005 19:51:39 -0800

Cats.

Also, boobs. At least, that's the impression I get from certain sites.

By: giles

giles — Mon, 14 Feb 2005 20:47:13 -0800

The setting sun must be it. Mount Fuji could be a candidate also, since the Japanese seem to take so many photographs.

If an event could be a 'thing', then I have another suggestion - weddings. Also birthday parties must be somewhere in the list, or parties in general.

By: jonson

jonson — Mon, 14 Feb 2005 21:21:14 -0800

I believe it's me. I'm the most photographed thing ever. Or are we counting photos taken by people that aren't my mom?

By: NickDouglas

NickDouglas — Tue, 15 Feb 2005 07:54:10 -0800

Kika: Niagara Falls is full of Japanese tourists. But you're right, Mt. Fuji could beat it out.

I believe it's me. I'm the most photographed thing ever. Or are we counting photos taken by people that aren't jonson's mom?

By: paperpete

paperpete — Tue, 15 Feb 2005 14:31:59 -0800

I just immediately thought "the human face?" but then you get into arguments about framing. ;o)

By: bamassippi

bamassippi — Wed, 16 Feb 2005 20:34:34 -0800

I know that the White House is the most photographed building.. seriously, it's a fact... so they say.

By: ?!

?! — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 21:03:24 -0800

dhartung: The Bean controversy was a matter of interpretation. The public was never banned from taking pictures of Da Bean.

And to stay on topic... I'd have to say "a smile."