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.

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The participant then had to decide whether to take an immediate pay-off or entrust a certain amount of money to the person in the snapshot who, in turn, could decide to either, cooperate and help both players make more money, or take the cash and run.

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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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