Barack Obama, David Cameron und eine unbekannte blonde Frau, die sich als die dänische Ministerpräsidenten Helle Thorning Schmidt entpuppt, haben bei vierstündigen Trauerfeuer für Nelson Mandela ein Selfie von sich gemacht. Der AFP-Fotojournalist Roberto Schmidt hat die Geschichte hinter dem Foto erzählt. Er schreibt unter anderem:
„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. The AFP team worked hard to display the reaction that South African people had for the passing of someone they consider as a father. We moved about 500 pictures, trying to portray their true feelings, and this seemingly trivial image seems to have eclipsed much of this collective work.“
P.S.: Michelle Obama war gar nicht angepisst, auch wenn sie auf dem Bild so guckt. Mehr dazu ebenfalls im Text von Schmidt.
P.P.S.: Die Fotorechte liegen selbstverständlich bei AFP Photo / Roberto Schmidt.