Snowflakes

Only when I started looking for six-sided snowflakes, I started realizing we don’t get that many snowfalls with the classic snowflake shape we have in our heads when we think about snowflakes. The shape that’s used during the holiday decorations. This year I had two opportunities, one in December and one less than two weeks ago. Even though I was able to get some good results, my attempt to improve in snowflake photography is slow due to a lack of opportunities. But, the results were more than good enough that I’m already looking forward to the next opportunity.

Under different weather conditions, you get different shapes of snowflakes. With names like needle clusters, capped columns, simple prisms, and femlike stellar dendrities to name a few. In the picture, the main (about 4 to 5 mm in size) snowflake is a stellar dendritie, and the smaller (about 1mm in size) slightly out of focus, is close to what is called a simple star. Since you have to hand-hold the camera and use a macro lens, the depth of focus area is very small. For this image, I had to take over 15 images and then combine them to get one sharp focused snowflake. Even then, there are several unfocused areas on the big snowflake and half of the small snowflake is out of focus. This is where, like anything in life, to get better at something, there must be a lot of practice. 

Snowflake

Strange times, a virus reminding us how small our world is. How we are all connected to not only the person front of us, but also to those across the country and around the world. Hopefully by working together, in the not too distance we will be back to where we were a few months ago.

These are two six sided snowflakes started as a pollen or a dust particle, joining with cold water droplets. As they were making their way to the ground, more and more water vapour freezes onto the original crystal. Forming the six arms of a familiar snowflake. The two snowflakes joined together along their falling path, growing bigger and bigger. Due to the warmer temperatures as they got near the ground, they started melting before landing on a surface for me to take their picture. Soon after, the two joined snowflakes become a droplet of liquid. Becoming once again one of the most important substances on earth, water. Stay well, stay safe.

Snowflake

Last winter I found an another way to enjoy snow, snowflake photography.  Most snowflakes are 1.3cm or less in size, come in many different shapes. I’m focused on the six sided snowflakes, the ones we think of during winter and even more during the holiday season. Bigger they are, easier to take their picture, but when I took this image, most were about 5mm or smaller. It was late morning and I was near the town of Banff, the temperature was just under minus 10 degrees Celsius and graupel was falling. Graupel is snow that looks like small white grain of sand. So I decided to head toward Lake Louise, part way there I stopped at a pull off. It was a few degrees colder, even better, gave me more time to locate and take a picture of the snowflakes before they had a chance to change. There I was next to my car, letting the snow fall on a glove liner. When I saw an interesting snowflake I would try to locate it with a hand held camera and micro lens combination. It’s a different but equally beautiful world. I had to make very small movements, I only had a millimetre or two of depth focus to work with. With this snowflake I took several pictures and still was not able to get everything in focus. Looking forward to many hours of practice, to improve my technique and as well my composition. But for now, here’s my first picture of a snowflake to share with you, a stellar dendrite.