Black Macaque Selfie

Photographer David Slater, whose camera was appropriated by a troupe of macaques on a photo expedition in Indonesia in 2011 ended up with this gem of a selfie taken by a macaque. Whether it can properly be called a selfie is debatable due to the lack of intentionality, but it certainly looks to have all the features of one, complete with a very culturally recognisable selfie pose, great focus and (not-pictured) hundreds of out-of-focus, unpublishable photos.

Not unlike this macaque, many humans involved in selfie culture are less-than-well-versed in the technology that makes such a selfie possible. Camera technology has developed to cater to the mass market, and consequently, user-friendliness has come to be something most consumers expect from the devices, whether these are separate portable cameras or more commonly these days, those attached to mobile devices. Most consumers of camera technology and the selfie culture are unlikely to stop and think of the mechanications underlying the lens and the act of taking a selfie, but are nonetheless able to participate in it, and reproduce it. Taking selfies has become so simple, even a monkey could do it.