A Boston College professor has become the unofficial "father of the selfie" after leading a creative project in which he has taken a photo of himself daily for the last 30 years.
Karl Baden, 64, launched the project on Feb. 23, 1987, according to The Associated Press. He uses the same 35mm camera, tripod, backdrop and lighting for each photo, and tries to maintain the same expression. Baden said taking the photo has become part of his daily ritual.
Baden said the project touches on the notions of mortality, obsession, incremental change and perfection, according to The Associated Press.
"As much as I try to make every picture the same, I fail every day," Baden said. "There's always something that's a little different, aside from the aging process."
The photo project is now approaching 11,000 photos and has been featured in gallery exhibits.
While Baden has taken care to maintain his appearance over the years, he underwent chemotherapy in 2001 to treat prostate cancer, which altered his appearance temporarily.
Even while battling cancer, he managed to take his daily selfie. Baden admitted that over the 30-year span, there was one day where he forgot to take a photo: Oct. 15, 1991. He didn't have a good excuse, calling it a "dumb moment of forgetfulness."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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