This week’s top photo comes from Visual Journalist Anthony Vazquez. Follow him on Instagram.
What makes this photo great?
Snakes are one of those animals that either make your skin crawl or barely register on your radar. Personally, I always enjoy watching experts present their research with enthusiasm. This particular specimen dated back to the 1920s or 1930s, and it was great to see the three researchers light up with excitement as they showed off the snake’s impressive length. An excitement that many others may not share if given the choice to handle a snake.
How did you get the shot?
This particular image wasn’t difficult to get. But, it was a lesson in getting in the right shooting position early. I got as close as I could in preparation for whatever might happen and, to my surprise. they unfurled the snake to show its full length. There weren’t that many of us in attendance, so it made it much easier to get close and shoot with a wide focal length.
Technical details:
- Equipment: Canon EOS R5 with a RF24-70mm F2.8 L IS USM lens
- Focal length: 24mm
- Aperature: f/2.8
- Exposure: 1/400 second
- ISO: 1250
12 more great photos from the Sun-Times
Yenitza Marquina, 28, chats with a Sun-Times reporter outside her Waukegan home after finding out that her 50-year-old father had been detained by federal immigration agents, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025.
Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
A woman crosses the street with a little girl outside John Hamline elementary school, after Secret Service agents attempted to enter the school, in the Back of the Yards neighborhood, Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. Initially it was reported by Chicago Public Schools officials that the Secret Service agents were ICE agents.
Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times
Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd) joins a group photo of ensemble members lying in front at the Lookingglass Theatre Company at 163 E Pearson St in Magnificent Mile, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025.
Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
Gov. J.B. Pritzker and his wife Illinois’ First Lady M.K. Pritzker take a photo with Actor David Schwimmer at the ribbon cutting of the Lookingglass Theatre Company at 163 E Pearson St in Magnificent Mile, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025.
Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
Octavia Byars-Page takes care of her son Tremaine Byars Jr. at her home in Calumet City, Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. For years, Octavia Byars’ dreams of owning a home were stalled by something seemingly unrelated to housing: unpaid medical bills. The single mother from Calumet City found her credit score dragged down by thousands of dollars in medical debt from treating her son.
Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
A neighbor watches as Chicago police officials investigate in the 1400 block of West 90th Street, where an 80-year-old man was shot to death in the Washington Heights neighborhood on the South Side, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025.
Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
Fannie Mae Fields, 78, hugs her 51-year-old son, James Stroud Jr., in the family’s South Side home, one day after her 80-year-old partner James Stroud was shot to death in Washington Heights, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025.
Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
Yolanda Adolphus, mother of Chelsea Adolphus, cries as she is comforted by her husband Paul Adolphus at a press conference to announce a lawsuit against Vista Medical Center East in the loop, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. 28-year-old Chelsea Adolphus, died from hypothermia after being found on the roof of Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan. Chelsea was discovered seven hours after leaving her room, wearing only a hospital gown.
Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
Former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot presents the final report on allegations of financial mismanagement by Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard and others inside the Dolton government, at the Dolton Park District Field House located at 14700 Evers St, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025 in Dolton, Ill. The findings will be turned over to the village’s board of trustees.
Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times