The Art of Snowflake Photography

Discover the techniques and equipment used to capture the unique beauty of snowflakes in Vermont.

2 min read

These snowflakes were photographed just outside my Vermont home. I had to adapt my set up to accept a very wide range of sizes of snowflakes as well as being able to function in weather down to -10 Fahrenheit. After having photographed many hundreds of snowflakes I am constantly amazed at the delicate fine details which each unique crystal forms. The ice will form a hexagonal structure because of the arrangement of oxygen and hydrogen atoms of water. If the air is very humid the crystals will develop long branches and will clump together to form large "puffs" of snow. In very cold and drier air the crystals will remain small and compact.

When I first began photographing snowflakes (Images 1-24) I used a Canon F1 camera mounted on a Zeiss microscope. My lighting was from a circular fluorescent tube to cut down on the heat and provide 360 degrees of illumination. Since switching over to a digital camera (Images 24-62) I now use a Canon Xsi camera on a bellows with a reverse-mounted 50mm macro lens. The lighting is now from an electronic flash connected by fiber optics to a ring light. The focus plane is set up similar to darkfield illumination to reveal a snowflake that has a black background and white edges. If I move the plane just slightly off-center I can show more of a three-dimensional look to the snowflake.
Each snowflake image is modified digitally to remove the background around the edges of the flake to show a more uniform black. In 2015 I captured 38 new snowflake designs and began to add a dark blue background as well as offering the original black and white version of each.
All digital archival prints are then framed under glass with a light blue beveled mat and a glossy black metal frame. I have signed each mat and added the snowflake number on the bottom edge. The frame back contains the above description about snowflakes and is also fitted with a hanging wire. The outside dimensions of each frame is 6x6 inches.