Just in time for the holidays, photographer Alexey Kljatov has graced the world with photographs revealing the exquisite beauty of snowflakes when seen in extreme close-up. The Russian photographer didn’t even have to venture off of his own balcony to take the shots.
Kljatov used a few different techniques to capture the photos of the snowflakes in the best possible way. He says that one technique that he used often was to allow the snowflake to fall onto a glass surface that was lighted from below by a flashlight. He also allowed some to fall onto a dark fabric and photographed the snowflakes under natural light.
How He Captured the Shots
Kljatov created an add-on for his camera that allowed him to photograph the snowflakes in such detail without distortion. He also poised the camera in such a way that the best shots would be taken. Kljatov details the exact methods that he used for the snowflake photographs on his website. You can also view many of the photographs on his flickr page
The photographs allow us to see in amazing detail the differences between snowflakes. While you may have heard that no two snowflakes are alike, you may be astounded at just how different they can look. The photographs show variations from the classic round snowflakes with points on all sides to an unrecognizable cylinder that more resembles water that has been frozen in a can than a snowflake. The size and shape of a snowflake depend upon many factors, especially atmospheric temperature