There’s something about a photo. The way it takes all of our surroundings, cuts out four of our five senses and distills an image into a 2D representation of a moment, which, for some reason or another, we sought to keep forever. There’s a certain appeal to our humanity, when that glossy ink is on paper, when images are rendered across our litany of screens, and when that recognition of near perfect representation makes its way across our firing synapses.

Photos invoke emotion: love, fear, indignation, sorrow, joy and those in between feelings that leave us crying at our greatest accomplishments in life. A singular piece of imagery can inspire myriads of branching art works, or practical adaptations and spur our minds on to replication of what we see in print. Not untrue to the saying “monkey see…monkey do”.

Photography has seen an upward trend as so many take their cameras in hand and seek to capture moments of art. I am no different from this mass mob pointing lenses and picking up the light reflection of anything that catches my fancy. I decided to take a look back at crazy photo fads, both old and new, to get a feel for the creative, lighter side of photography.

1. Phone booth cramming

A late 1950s fad that consisted of cramming as many people as possible into a small enclosed space, the idea of “cramming” for photos sparked inspiration for tons of photographers.

2. Planking

I’m sure most of us remember when this fad took over the Internet. It was even featured on an episode of "The Office" in 2011.

3. Dog shaming

These cute and adorable puppies seem like they can do no wrong. Well... until they do something wrong, and their owners make sure they feel remorse for their actions.

4. Leisure diving

Sit back, relax and jump on in.

5. Cat breading

I really don’t understand this one, but like most fads I suppose they really make no sense.

6. Quidditching (Pottering)

From the minute I saw the Harry Potter movies I wanted this to be real. Seems like other people felt the same need to fly atop broomsticks, or pretend at least.

7. Owling

Perched loftily over the streets of Gotham, a hay bale or whatever else your heart desires. The trend of owling really picked up some steam in 2011.

8. Cat beard

Cat got your tongue?

The power of a photo to communicate an idea, a story or even just some crazy fad is astounding. Coupled with the Internet, it creates a powerhouse of information and unities all in a way I can’t really describe.