Fresh Snowflake Photography and a Happy New Year!

Posted on 30. Dec, 2010 by Paul Burwell in Everything, Snowflake

There have only been a couple of days this winter when we’ve had the conditions necessary for great snowflake photography.  Not only does it need to be snowing, but the temperatures typically need to be between -10 and -15 degrees Celsius (14 to 5 degrees Fahrenheit).  We’ve had a fair amount of snow thus far this winter, but unfortunately for me, only a couple of those days have been great for snowflake photography.

In the spirit of wishing everyone a fantastic and prosperous 2011, I thought I’d take the time to share a few of my favourite snowflakes from my recent photography sessions.  To capture these images, I stand out in the snow in my big black parka and let the snowflakes accumulate on the sleeves.  Then I or my wife carefully removes interesting looking flakes with a small paint brush and we transfer them into the snowflake photography studio.  Many snowflakes don’t survive this transfer process as they are extremely delicate and then there’s the wind that is always looking to reclaim the snowflakes.

Once the snowflakes are safely into the studio, they are placed onto glass and set over top of a colourful background.  Add some lights (and the lights is where you get the definition in the snowflake) and suddenly you’ve got a piece of nature’s art recorded onto your camera’s memory card.

I like to think of these snowflakes as “Jewels from the heavens” and I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I do.

(You can click on the images to see larger versions)

Snowflake - Stellar Dendrite

Snowflake - Stellar Dendrite

Snowflake - Sectored Plate

Snowflake - Sectored Plate

Snowflake - Sectored Plate

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Tags: 2010, 2011, burwell, crystal, extreme, happy new year, macro, paul burwell, snow, snowflake, winter