03/12/08

From Bridgeport to Beverly

If you're Irish like me—and a South Sider to boot—you know that St. Patrick's Day isn't just a day. Basically, the entire month of March is St. Paddy's Day. The festivities generally kick off with the South Side Irish Parade, which was held this past Sunday.

To get you in the spirit of celebration, we present a collection of photos from South Side Irish Parades...

Posted at 03:09 PM in Not Yo Mama's Kodachrome | Permalink | Comments (0)

03/05/08

Photo Contest: Sears Tower Love

Reports from yesterday about the retrial of the men accused of plotting to bomb the Sears Tower has got us thinking about the building we often take for granted. Towering above all the rest (that is, until Donald Trump completes the phallic homage to himself), the Sears Tower anchors our skyline and appears in more photos than we're able to count.

This abstract view of the mammoth structure, taken by Flickr's inetmer, is one of our favorites. What's your favorite shot of the Sears Tower? Send them our way with...

Posted at 12:03 PM in Show Off—Photo Contest | Permalink | Comments (1)

03/04/08

We're 'Mentally Tired,' Too, Brett

Voters in four states are heading to the polls for "Junior Super Tuesday," city workers are scrambling to fix a giant sinkhole in Little Village, and lawyers are picking jurors for the trial of Tony Rezko. But all we can think about is Brett Favre.

The Bears-Packers rivalry aside, we will miss the Green Bay quarterback, who told ESPN that he was retiring after 17 seasons because he was "mentally tired." That makes today bittersweet and a tad curious—a class act leaves the sport, and now Rex Grossman is...

Posted at 03:57 PM in Not Yo Mama's Kodachrome | Permalink | Comments (0)

02/29/08

Happy Birthday, Leap Year Babies

We're not sure why, but Leap Year intrigues us so.

Well, mostly it's the fact that all of the babies born today won't get to celebrate their actual birthdays again until 2012. We at Snap wonder if there are any parents out there who deny their children birthday gifts and parties on this technicality. That's what we'd do if we had children, leaving them to seek consolation from...

Posted at 10:04 AM in Not Yo Mama's Kodachrome | Permalink | Comments (0)

02/27/08

Shoot Like a Pro: How to Get Great Shots of Kids

The cover story in our March issue is a guide to the best stuff for kids, parents, and moms-to-be. We provide a field guide to birds and critters to take along with you on your next hike, advice from Chicago's reigning baby-sleep specialist, and even a taste test of birthday cakes from the city's top-tier bakeries.

With all of these new adventures to capture in photographs, your usual blurry, dark, red-eye-filled photos just won't do. Photographer Katrina Wittkamp shares some tips on how take fabulous pictures of kids...

Posted at 03:09 PM in Shoot Like a Pro | Permalink | Comments (7)

02/20/08

Ominous News

Snap is officially scared. According to Chicago Tribune's Theater Loop blog, American Girl Place will be closing its basement theater show in September "to find new entertaining experiences for our guests" that won't include live performers.

This can only mean one thing: puppet shows...

Posted at 10:58 AM in Not Yo Mama's Kodachrome | Permalink | Comments (2)

02/14/08

Hallmark Holiday

Brittney's pick: Valentine's Day can be too mushy sometimes. I love this shot by Flickr user Ankylosaur. The single heart and stark black-and-white trees are at once heartwarmingly cute and desolately chilling. They perfectly encapsulate the moods of both lovebirds and the lovelorn on this day.

Esther's pick: I can't imagine anyone would ever buy such a demonic-looking stuffed animal for his/her loved one. Myself? Chocolates in a heart-shaped suede box from a buddy who probably would have bought the scary bear below had he seen it first...

Posted at 02:06 PM in Not Yo Mama's Kodachrome | Permalink | Comments (2)

02/11/08

Guess the Item

We're taking you all the way back to elementary school this morning.

Remember those Scholastic book order forms from which you'd procure the latest copies of The Hardy Boys and The Baby-Sitters Club? Remember the feature on the back of the form where you had to look at a detail photo and guess the item? Try this one.

"Surely it's a juicy, delicious, giant nectarine reminiscent of a lazy summer afternoon," you think to yourself. Well, you'd be wrong...

Posted at 11:27 AM in Not Yo Mama's Kodachrome | Permalink | Comments (4)

02/08/08

Our Girl's All Growns Up

... and speaking at an Apple store near you!

Photo Editor Brittney Blair will host a photography discussion on Monday, February 11th at 7 p.m., as part of the Apple store Aperture Pro-Workshop series. She will discuss best ways to break into photography, how to catch a photo editor's attention, and steps to landing your dream assignment...

Posted at 02:09 PM in Behind the Scenes | Permalink | Comments (3)

02/05/08

Happy Super Tuesday

One of the more genius uses of Flickr we've encountered: a presidential candidate sets up an account and, over the course of the year, steadily posts almost 15,000 photos shot at various events by thousands of users across the country. That candidate? Barack Obama. The wide range of photos includes your run-of-the-mill crowd shots, insightful behind-the-scenes peeks into campaign life, and quite a few downright artsy photographic dedications. We had hoped to find the same from the other candidates—but no dice...

Posted at 10:59 AM in Not Yo Mama's Kodachrome | Permalink | Comments (0)