Yet by the turn of the century, when anyone could take a snapshot with their lightweight Kodak, the seemingly secure position of the photograph among art collectibles was again changing.

ECONOMIST: Snapping up the past

In honor of this quirky American tradition, CNN iReport invited people to take a snapshot of their own shadows for a one-day photo challenge and then share their personal weather predictions.

CNN: Shadows aren't just for groundhogs

In honor of this quirky American tradition, CNN iReport is asking people to take a snapshot of their own shadows for a one-day photo challenge and share their own winter weather predictions.

CNN: Shadows aren't just for groundhogs

If it senses that you've fixed your gaze on a specific location for more than a few seconds, a nose-bridge mounted HD camera will take a 50 x 50 pixel snapshot and compare it to its image database -- much like Google Goggles.

ENGADGET: 'Talking Places' is the Google Glass of tour guides, we go hands-on (video)

They are not painters in the conventional sense for they do not aim to take paint to a blank canvas, ask you to see the perfect version of an imperfect thing, offer you a snapshot of something beautiful.

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