Photobombing
Photobombing is the act of accidentally or purposely putting oneself into the view of a photograph, often in order to play a practical joke on the photographer or the subjects.[1] Photobombing has received significant coverage since 2009.[2] In discussing a "stingray photobomb" picture that went viral, Andrea DenHoed suggests that the photobomb label "implies a narrative of surreptitious sabotage,"[2] although in the sense of unintended and/or initially unnoticed people in the background of spoiled photographs, photobombs have existed for much of the history of photography.
Photobombing has been known to get global exposure, mainly due to the bandwidth and ease of dissemination afforded by the Internet, and the abundance of snapshots by smartphone cameras and other hand-held devices. A number of websites include sections on them, or are entirely devoted to photobombs.
In 2014, "photobomb" was named Word of the Year by Collins English Dictionary.[3]
A related term is videobombing, which applies the concept to video footage instead of a still photograph.
Examples in the media
- Bill Clinton photobombed Kelly Clarkson during her performance of "My Country 'Tis of Thee" at Obama's second inauguration in 2013.[4] A few weeks later Clarkson herself photobombed Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi at the 2013 Grammy Awards.[5]
- Aaron Rodgers, quarterback for the Green Bay Packers in the NFL, is well known for photobombing the captain's picture before every game (if he has not been elected a captain himself).[6]
- Queen Elizabeth II photobombed two Australian athletes at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland.[7] The resulting image was displayed for a question in that year's edition of The Big Fat Quiz of the Year.
- A putative "first photobomb", taken by Mary Dillwyn circa 1853, was discussed in a Wikimedia Foundation blog in 2015.[8]
References
- ↑ "Definition of photobomb". Oxford English Dictionary. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
- 1 2 DenHoed, Andrea (9 October 2012). "A Few Words About the Stingray Photobomb". The New Yorker. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
- ↑ After receiving Royal seal of approval photobomb beats twerk, Tinder, bakeoff and normcore to be named Word of the Year
- ↑ Bill Clinton photobomb with Kelly Clarkson at inauguration goes viral at the Wayback Machine (archived January 23, 2013)
- ↑ "MTV Buzzworthy: Kelly Clarkson Pulled Off The Best Photobomb EVER At The Grammys!! (PHOTO)". Buzzworthy. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
- ↑ Zach Kruse. "The Best of Aaron Rodgers' Photobombs". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
- ↑ "PHOTO: Queen Elizabeth pulls off epic photobomb". Metro New York. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
- ↑ Ed Erhart (18 September 2015). "The first smile and photobomb ever photographed".
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Photobombing. |
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Look up photobombing in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |