It must have been pretty darn tricky to snap a selfie back in the time of the Old West.
After all, it wasn't a matter of simply holding the small rectangle in the palm of your hand so much as slowly setting up your daguerreotype field view camera, complete with its various plates and accordion-type body and wooden box and the sheet the photographer threw over his head, the better to see.
But you can selfie to your history-loving heart's content, or just have someone snap an old-school, you-pose-they-take-it photograph, among the items and images of the Old West on Sunday, Oct. 11. That's #WesternSelfie Day at the Autry National Center in Griffith Park, a time for cameras and cowboys to come together in a vintage symphony of snapshots made to be shared and/or framed.
You don't need to arrive in chaps and a 10-gallon topper, but you should be prepared to A) pay museum admission (that's all that's required to participate) and B) have a camera handy. Staffers shall be on hand to find the most winning, yippee-ki-yay backdrops for your straight-from-the-1800s photo.
Further, pro shutterbug Jennifer Manley will be on hand to give tips and guidance on getting that perfect pose/framing/end result.
And you won't just find appealing, corral-cool backdrops for your pic; there shall be costumes to choose from, just in case your kerchief and overall dungarees are in the wash.
As the lad on the horse in the photo above shows, you don't need to go just the selfie route on #WesternSelfie Day. After all, selfies weren't a thing in the Old West, due, we're sure, to the cumbersome cameras of the time and the newness of the technology.
The Scene
Want to find new things to do in Los Angeles? The Scene's lifestyle stories have you covered. Here's your go-to source on where the fun is across SoCal and for the weekend.
Or maybe we just haven't yet discovered the ye olde selfie craze of the 1800s? Photo trends were popular then, too, as now. So bring your sternest-of-eye cowpoke look or your trick rider stance and find your photo setting at the Old-West-iest place in all of Southern California territory.
