Titanic talent Fr Browne who put ‘selfies’ in the frame

Celebrities’ penchant for the ‘selfie’ may leave many of us with a sinking feeling but it seems a man-of-the-cloth stole a march on them all and was the first to put himself in the frame more than a century ago.

Famed Titanic snapper Fr Frank Browne really was cutting-edge in photography terms, framing his own version of a ‘selfie’ while sitting in a barber’s chair.

The black-and-white image is now being displayed at an exhibition in the North.

Titanic Belfast is hosting the free public exhibition until March 31. It features the work of Fr Browne, one of the founding fathers of modern photojournalism.

He was best known for his shots onboard the Titanic.

Luckily for him, he was the beneficiary of a divine intervention when his superior ordered him to disembark the ill-fated cruise liner in the then-named Queenstown — now Cobh.

It was the final stop for passengers before its tragic sinking.

Pictures by Fr Browne along with Cork Examiner photographer Thomas Barker, taken in Cork Harbour on board the Titanic, are the last-known existing images of life on board the liner.

Cork native Fr Browne went on to capture pictures from around the world and contributed to the Kodak Magazine.

Included in the free exhibition of his works at Titanic Belfast is a picture of Fr Browne snapping himself in a mirror as he sat in the barber’s — an early example of the selfie.