In case you missed it, some people are not happy that President Obama took a selfie with Prime Minister David Cameron and Danish prime minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt during Nelson Mandela's memorial service. Roberto Schmidt, the AFP photographer who captured the controversial moment, wrote in a blog post that the photo had been misinterpreted and taken out of context.
He explained that the memorial was like a "carnival atmosphere, not at all morbid," and that the ceremony was already two hours into what was scheduled to last for four hours. He described the scene as relaxed and admitted that "photos can lie," as Michelle Obama looks upset with the President but moments earlier she was "joking with those around her."
Schmidt also wrote in the blog post that he took the photos to show the human side of politicians and that he didn't see a problem with selfie given the vibe of the event with tens of thousands of people around them celebrating Mandela's life. In talking to the New Republic, Schmidt was annoyed that people cared more about the photo than they did about the event: "Why do people care about a selfie? This is a sad reflection of our society... I saw so many good images from that memorial. And the picture that’s getting played is the president in a selfie. That’s kind of a bummer."
[via NewRepublic]
