Book of Daze: Photobomb Attacks Day

The irrepressible human desire to notice somebody taking a picture and immediately want to ruin it is what we celebrate on Photobomb Attacks Day. The earliest known photobomb dates to circa 1853, when Welsh photographer Mary Dillwyn photographed two women identified as Sally and Mrs. Reed. A third young woman, unidentified, can be seen peeking mischievously from the upper-left corner, establishing a tradition that would eventually make family reunions nearly impossible.

The modern photobomb record belongs to Dennis Wroblewski, 63, a retired municipal purchasing clerk from Racine, Wisconsin, who claims 1,742 verified photobombs. Wroblewski works mostly at weddings, graduations and outdoor birthday parties. He considers funerals “poor form.”

Photobomb Attacks Day participants are encouraged to begin modestly. Stand behind a group posing for a photograph and look concerned about something immediately behind the photographer. Advanced practitioners may point.

Props are permitted in photobomb attacks, including masks, novelty glasses, fake noses, and large hats, provided they do not obscure the legitimate subjects. Inflatable ducks remain controversial. Streaking and mooning are discouraged if they violate local laws, building regulations, or the terms of one’s probation.

Photobombers should work in pairs whenever possible. One person performs the photobomb while the other verifies it, thereby preventing fraudulent claims.

Among the finest documented efforts of photobombing are a man carrying a floor lamp through seventeen consecutive wedding photographs, a woman appearing behind six different families at the Grand Canyon, and an unidentified gentleman who spent an entire afternoon slowly entering every engagement photograph taken in Boston Public Garden.

The highest achievement remains getting into a stranger’s Christmas card. Wroblewski has done that four times.

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