Image via Complex Original
It's impossible to escape the cultural phenomenon that is the selfie. The word is now even in The Oxford Dictionary. In fact, "selfie" was their Word of the Year in 2013. We even have The Selfie Olympics, which are dedicated to generating the best photo. What’s the secret to having a selfie go viral? Location? Situation? Strangeness? Criminal activity? Whatever it may be, once the content gains momentum on the Internet, it’s out there forever in cyberspace for all to see and judge. We take a look at 20 Viral Selfies You Probably Missed.
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David Barlow
Photographer: David Barlow
Date: Feb. 2014
A man, known only as Christian, took a selfie while taking part in the Houston Bull Run this year. Photographer David Barlow captured the epic selfie for The Houston Press during the event. Christian is alive and well and was not injured by the bull. He also was able to make a video during the running of the bulls that went viral on YouTube.
Jake Fletcher
Photographer: Jake Fletcher
Date: Aug. 2013
This photo of teenager Jake Fletcher went viral after he tweeted it with the caption, “taking the selfie to radioactive levels." The teen received backlash from various blogs for the photo's insensitivity.
Paul Martinka
Photographer: Paul Martinka
Date: Dec. 2013
The New York Post caught an unidentified woman taking a selfie in front of a suicidal man who was being rescued from the Brooklyn Bridge. Even though the woman declined to give any information about herself, The Post took it upon themselves to publicly shame her on the front page. The photo went viral, and the woman to this day remains anonymous.
Peter Cavanagh
Photographer: Peter Cavanagh
Date: Sept. 2013
Peter Cavanagh, 26, was part of a mob who generated £30,000 (about $50,000) every month from the distribution of heroin and cocaine. The photo of him kissing banknotes went viral after police found the photos on Cavanagh's mobile device. He is now serving a three-year sentence.
Royal Danish Air Force
Photographer: Unknown
Date: Feb. 2014
Royal Danish Air Force released this photo of an F16 pilot while an AIM-9 Sidewinder Missile takes off and sets the right wing on fire. The Aviationist, one of the largest aviation and military blogs, reported that this may be the first selfie of its kind that includes both a F16 pilot and a AIM-9 Sidewinder Missile.
Kyle Thompson
Photographer: Kyle Thompson
Date: Dec. 2011
Kyle Thompson, 21, creates surreal worlds in abandoned houses and forests, using items like fire and flour. The Chicago-based photographer, who suffers from anxiety, began taking photos at 19. The result has allowed him to be featured in magazines such as Beautiful Decay, INSIGHT, and more. The whimsical photographs first went viral through Thompson's Flickr account.
Kayleigh, Emily, and Torrie Hill
Photographer: Kayleigh Hill
Date: July 2013
Kayleigh, Emily, and Torrie Hill ran onto the field during ULCA and Mississippi's College World Series showdown. The teens documented themselves running onto the field during the 6th inning on both Twitter and Vine, security guards included. Two of the girls were detained, and the other got off with no charges because she was a minor. The girls and their friends even began a #freeteamhill movement on Twitter.
Tim Abmann
Photographer: Tim Abmann
Date: Nov. 2013
German photographer Tim Abmann documented his entire trip to Costa Rica by taking 1,000 selfies. The trip spanned 23 days and 22 locations, starting and ending in Manhattan. The photo series was turned into a film titled New York City to Costa Rica, which can be found on Vimeo.
Unknown
Photographer: Unknown
Date: Dec. 2013
These unidentified Swedish teens were sent to juvenile detention after photos of them preparing for a robbery were found by the police. The teens robbed a Max hamburger restaurant in Halmstad, Sweden and got away with $370 before police found the pre-crime selfie. Only one of the teenagers, who is 17, is old enough to be tried.
Karl Baden
Photographer: Karl Baden
Date: 1970
Karl Baden, a Boston College photography professor, has taken a selfie every day for 24 years. Baden takes his own photographs and creates alternate personas based off of his selfies. His on-going project, "Every Day," began in the 1970s and has only missed one day, when Baden was running late to teach in 1991. Baden's purpose is to examine the role of aging and mortality in our lives, every day and collectively.
Tariqka Sheffey
Photographer: Tariqka Sheffey
Date: Feb. 2014
Private first class Tariqka Sheffey was in serious trouble after posting a selfie of herself avoiding saluting the flag. A member of the 59th Quartermaster Company at Fort Carson, Colo. is now under investigation and possible removal for insubordination.
Malik Whiter
Photographer: Malik Whiter
Date: Oct. 2013
Florida teen Malik Whiter took a photo of himself grinning while his pregnant teacher suffered labor contractions during class. The photo was first posted on Twitter and received over 20,000 retweets and was turned into a meme, with Whiter appearing in operating rooms, at JFK's funeral, at Pearl Harbor, and more.
Bryan Wood
Photographer: Bryan Wood
Date: Feb. 2014
One of the most popular selfies to come out of Sochi Winter Olympics is of a woman attempting to take a picture with her point-and-shoot camera at the Russia V.S. Slovenia Olympic Hockey game. The accidental selfie was not only caught on live television, but tweeted by Bryan Wood from Fairborn, Ohio. It went viral after it began to get favorited and retweeted by people all over the world.
Chaz Rorick
Photographer: Chaz Rorick
Date: Nov. 2013
Chaz Rorick, a 16-year old from Rochester, N.Y., completed a photo series that features him dressed up as each of the American presidents. He began the project in November after realizing his band uniform resembled the outfit President Truman wore in a photograph. Rorick completed the series in 44 days, using costumes and props he made himself.
Danielle Bruckman
Photographer: Danielle Bruckman
Date: Jan. 2013
Danielle Bruckman lost her iPhone last New Year's Eve. When she realized that photos taken by the phone's new owner were syncing up to her iCloud, she began replicating the man's selfies and documenting them through a Tumblr page aptly titled My Cloud Pal. Bruckman now has over 250 photos.
Rosinés Chávez
Photographer: Rosinés Chávez
Date: Jan. 2012
Rosinés Chávez, daughter to the President of Venezuela, triggered controversy when this photo of her holding a wad of American dollars went viral. Her father, Socialist leader Hugo Chávez, has controlled the trading of foreign currency, causing issues for Venezuelans traveling for leisure or business.
Kai Jordan & James Deornberg
Photographer: Kai Jordan and James Doernberg
Date: July 2013
Kai Jordan and James Doernberg, a college couple, took nine hours to take selfies at all 118 subway stations in Manhattan. On July 10, 2013, the couple planned their route on a map and successfully completed their mission, taking only two breaks.
Kelly Nash
Photographer: Kelly Nash
Date: April 2013
Kelly Nash, a Tampa Bay sports reporter, took this photo during batting practice at the Astro-Red Sox game in Fenway Park. Nash was unaware that the baseball was whizzing at her and suffered no injuries.
Laura Williams
Photographer: Laura Williams
Date: April 2010
18-year-old Laura Williams creates conceptual photography that is influenced by her surroundings. Her "Invisible" series began when she was looking for props and found a mirror at her aunt's house. The photos quickly went viral on Flickr.
Lindsay Bottos
Photographer: Lindsay Bottos
Date: Jan. 2014
Artist Lindsey Bottos started to receive negative comments on the selfies she posted to Tumblr. In a series titled "Anonymous," Bottos imposed screencapped comments over these selfies. The feminist art project quickly went viral. This is the first series of works that Botte has created about her online life and the harassment she has received for her selfies.