The Tutu Project: Bob Carey's Pink Tutu Photos for His Wife Linda

A man in a pink tutu stands on a snowy street, on a rocky shore, in front of the Lincoln Memorial. He is commercial photographer Bob Carey, and every picture in The Tutu Project began as a way to make his wife Linda laugh while she was being treated for breast cancer.

Bob and Linda Carey's story

Shortly after the Careys moved to the East Coast of the United States, Linda was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2003. She beat it, but the cancer returned in 2006. During her treatment Bob, a commercial photographer and self-described amateur ballerina, kept up a running series of self-portraits wearing a pink tutu, set against landscapes and landmarks.

The couple describe the project as a light-hearted response to fear and confusion. The pictures gave Linda, and the people around her at treatment, something to smile about. They first went viral in 2012, and by early 2013 the tutu had turned up everywhere from Martha's Vineyard to the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

The Tutu Project and the Carey Foundation

In 2012 the Careys turned the photographs into a cause. They created the Carey Foundation, a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and launched The Tutu Project with Ballerina, a book of Bob's images for anyone touched by breast cancer. Net proceeds from book and product sales go to the foundation.

The money pays for the practical things that weigh on families during treatment: rides to chemotherapy, childcare, food, mortgage payments, wigs, lymphedema sleeves and counselling. The foundation describes itself as a grassroots, hands-on organisation, and more than a decade on it is still active, now with fundraisers such as its Dare2Tutu campaign. You can find out how to help on The Tutu Project's website.

Why the photographs work

The formula is simple and endlessly repeatable. The setting changes, from snow and city stone to open sky and sea, while the pink tutu stays the same. That single splash of colour ties the series together, and the more serious or grand the backdrop, the funnier the picture. Each new location becomes another chance for the same unlikely figure to appear and make someone smile.

The Tutu Project on film

Deutsche Telekom later told the Careys' story in a short film, which The Tutu Project shares on its YouTube channel.

Video: The Tutu Project's Story Told in Germany by Deutsche Telekom (Long Version), published by The Tutu Project.

For another story of courage, read about Sean Swarner’s Climbing Story and CancerClimber. You might also like a practical offer of help during a snowy journey and photography built around personal relationships.

Related reading

• Sean Swarner: Mountaineering, CancerClimber and a Personal Story of Hope
• A Snowy Garden Surprise for Mason and Melodie Williams
• Roadside Kindness in a Russian Video Compilation
• Travel on a Tight Budget: A Complete Guide to Costs, Work and Accommodation

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