Note: This site is currently "Under construction". I'm migrating to a new version of my site building software. Lots of things are in a state of disrepair as a result (for example, footnote links aren't working). It's all part of the process of building in public. Most things should still be readable though.

Introducing The Vanity Tag Project

From 1990 to 2000, I was never without a camera. Either my Hasselblad 500 CM, Nikon F3 or Konica point and shoot was always with me. Most of the time, I had two of them.

When I left college in 2000 for a real job, my habit of always carrying a camera slowly faded. A few years ago, I was disappointed to realize I rarely had one with me ^1^^. I needed a project to help me take up my old habit. I settled on photographing vanity tags.

Vanity tags may seem an odd subject choice, but the purpose of the project is not to create striking images. It's to get me to carry a camera. The nature of vanity tags work for this because:

  1. They are plentiful enough that I usually see one or two a day on average.

  2. They aren't so many that I'd see several every single day.

  3. They can be anywhere there's a car and therefore anywhere I'm likely to be.

With that combination, in order to do the project well, I must always be ready to shoot. Hence, I always need a camera on me. The balancing factor is that there aren't so many of them that I'd get worn out or bored shooting every one I see.

To kick things off, here's the Florida tag "PCTR IT"

Seems appropriate.

Note

Even though cell phone cameras have become great for the size, they don't register in my mind as a camera. I realize that's irrational. Just look at Caryn's blog. She's a Photo Official for the PGA TOUR and shoots most of her personal stuff with her iPhone. And it's killer.