Dec. 11 (UPI) -- A picture is worth a thousand words, goes the adage. It certainly seemed true for one particular wire photo from Nelson Mandela's memorial service on Tuesday, in which Barack Obama snaps a selfie with British Prime Minister David Cameron and Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning Schmidt. Michelle Obama, meanwhile, does not look pleased.
That time Obama took a selfie with two fellow world leaders at Mandela's memorial service http://t.co/vkjJSNTYBi pic.twitter.com/iIDibdrP8F
— HuffPost Politics (@HuffPostPol) December 11, 2013But Agence France-Presse photographer Roberto Schmidt says everyone got it wrong. He took to the AFP's photo blog to tell the truth behind "selfie-gate" on Wednesday, saying that the media took his picture out of context.
"I captured the scene reflexively. All around me in the stadium, South Africans were dancing, singing and laughing to honour their departed leader. It was more like a carnival atmosphere, not at all morbid," Schmidt wrote. "The atmosphere was totally relaxed – I didn’t see anything shocking in my viewfinder, president of the US or not. We are in Africa."
"I later read on social media that Michelle Obama seemed to be rather peeved on seeing the Danish prime minister take the picture," he added. "But photos can lie. In reality, just a few seconds earlier the first lady was herself joking with those around her, Cameron and Schmidt included. Her stern look was captured by chance."
I took these photos totally spontaneously, without thinking about what impact they might have. At the time, I thought the world leaders were simply acting like human beings, like me and you. I doubt anyone could have remained totally stony faced for the duration of the ceremony, while tens of thousands of people were celebrating in the stadium. For me, the behaviour of these leaders in snapping a selfie seems perfectly natural. I see nothing to complain about, and probably would have done the same in their place.
Schmidt also expressed disappointment that such a "seemingly trivial" image would stand out above the rest of his and his fellow photographers' work during the event, in which so many South Africans celebrated the life of their most beloved countryman.
