[CharLac]

Centennial Ridges, but close enough.

A thread custom made for me, I guess it own't get many Aussies contributing though.

Oops....thanks for the correction! Nice pictures Norm

[Doundounba]

Wow. Double WOW.

Thank you so much! (Your phrasing made me think of "Bond. James Bond." )

I started shooting flakes as a way to practice my technique for shooting tiny insects during the winter, but they are growing on me as subjects. Here are a couple of more recent flake shots (also reposted from other threads).

[CharLac]

Thank you so much! (Your phrasing made me think of "Bond. James Bond." )

I started shooting flakes as a way to practice my technique for shooting tiny insects during the winter, but they are growing on me as subjects. Here are a couple of more recent flake shots (also reposted from other threads).

How do you "capture" a single snow flake?

[paulh]

Hey, I recognise that place!

Hey Charlie - yes, who could forget the iconic, majestic boathouses of Lake Grapevine . Here's one more iPhone ice shot:

[Dartmoor Dave]

Two snowy ones from a couple of weeks ago. Launceston Castle first:



And at Staple Tor:

[aaacb]

Mt Osceola summit in NH

[Doundounba]

How do you "capture" a single snow flake?

There are a few options. Obviously, you need a pretty good magnification macro setup. Shooting APS-C, for the type of shot I like (and given my fairly low tolerance for cropping), I usually need at least 2:1 magnification, and it's rare that I'm not shooting closer to 3:1 or even above. A few times per winter, you'll get really large flakes which might work for lower resolution setups, but that's rare. (Note that this is not necessarily when the biggest "flakes"/snow clumps are falling from the sky. The really large snow clumps that look like wool are usually kind of like balls made up of many individual snowflakes.)

Anyway, then, some people use a glass plate to collect flakes on (where they will sit perfectly parallel to the glass) as well as a specially constructed rig to perfectly line up the glass plate and the camera - see this recent photo thread by fwwidall.

For myself, as mentioned above I want to use my snowflake photography as a way to hone my skill for the summer time, trying to chase jumping spiders and tiny damselflies around. This, for me, means shooting everything handheld. So the technique I use most often is something I call "collecting flakes". What I do is go out when it's snowing gently and it's not too windy, and put out a couple of fluffy tuques on the back stairs (after they've been outside long enough to get cold, obviously). Snow then starts falling on the tuques. I wait just a little, to have some choice of what to shoot, but not too long - I don't want the tuques to be covered in snow, as I need a subject. I then take the tuques under cover and see what I've collected. The fluffy nature of the tuques means that the flakes will "adhere" to the filaments of a tuque in varied and interesting ways. Sometimes it's a single flake, but sometimes it's little clumps.

I shoot those flakes that seem most interesting using my own handheld technique for focus stacking, which I've described elsewhere on the forum. I've also recently explained why my flakes come out white whereas in other's photos they are often more translucent. The background color and texture of my shots comes from the tuque used. My wife has a particular tuque that gives this dark red color and for some reason it's the one that seems to produce the most keepers. And that distinctive color helps give (many of) my flake shots a distinctive style, IMHO. One thing that's tough is judging what will be interesting to photograph with bare eyes. A flake that seems interesting sometimes turns out not to be so, and some that don't seem all that great really come alive when photographed, so to speak.

Anyway, once done with a collected batch, I shake the tuques off and start anew! Note that time is of the essence in flake photography. Even when it's very cold, flakes do sublimate and will deteriorate/shrink after landing. I can see this when I take multiple stacks of a given flake. I usually repeat the collect/shoot cycle until my fingers start really hurting from the cold - I wear gloves, but not being very active while shooting, my fingers always seem to wind up half frozen. Then it's off to review the shots - usually way too many, they add up quick at 8.3fps! - and start focus stacking and post-processing the most interesting ones...

(More reposts below. I will hold off for a while now...)

[CharLac]

There are a few options. Obviously, you need a pretty good magnification macro setup. Shooting APS-C, for the type of shot I like (and given my fairly low tolerance for cropping), I usually need at least 2:1 magnification, and it's rare that I'm not shooting closer to 3:1 or even above. A few times per winter, you'll get really large flakes which might work for lower resolution setups, but that's rare. (Note that this is not necessarily when the biggest "flakes"/snow clumps are falling from the sky. The really large snow clumps that look like wool are usually kind of like balls made up of many individual snowflakes.)

Anyway, then, some people use a glass plate to collect flakes on (where they will sit perfectly parallel to the glass) as well as a specially constructed rig to perfectly line up the glass plate and the camera - see this recent photo thread by fwwidall.

For myself, as mentioned above I want to use my snowflake photography as a way to hone my skill for the summer time, trying to chase jumping spiders and tiny damselflies around. This, for me, means shooting everything handheld. So the technique I use most often is something I call "collecting flakes". What I do is go out when it's snowing gently and it's not too windy, and put out a couple of fluffy tuques on the back stairs (after they've been outside long enough to get cold, obviously). Snow then starts falling on the tuques. I wait just a little, to have some choice of what to shoot, but not too long - I don't want the tuques to be covered in snow, as I need a subject. I then take the tuques under cover and see what I've collected. The fluffy nature of the tuques means that the flakes will "adhere" to the filaments of a tuque in varied and interesting ways. Sometimes it's a single flake, but sometimes it's little clumps.

I shoot those flakes that seem most interesting using my own handheld technique for focus stacking, which I've described elsewhere on the forum. I've also recently explained why my flakes come out white whereas in other's photos they are often more translucent. The background color and texture of my shots comes from the tuque used. My wife has a particular tuque that gives this dark red color and for some reason it's the one that seems to produce the most keepers. And that distinctive color helps give (many of) my flake shots a distinctive style, IMHO. One thing that's tough is judging what will be interesting to photograph with bare eyes. A flake that seems interesting sometimes turns out not to be so, and some that don't seem all that great really come alive when photographed, so to speak.

Anyway, once done with a collected batch, I shake the tuques off and start anew! Note that time is of the essence in flake photography. Even when it's very cold, flakes do sublimate and will deteriorate/shrink after landing. I can see this when I take multiple stacks of a given flake. I usually repeat the collect/shoot cycle until my fingers start really hurting from the cold - I wear gloves, but not being very active while shooting, my fingers always seem to wind up half frozen. Then it's off to review the shots - usually way too many, they add up quick at 8.3fps! - and start focus stacking and post-processing the most interesting ones...

(More reposts below. I will hold off for a while now...)

Thanks so much for revealing your secrets! It was the tuque thing I was curious about.

[robgski]

Interesting idea. If anyone is interested, there is an enduring thread for bad weather and good pictures

[CharLac]

Not nearly as delicate and exquisite as Doundounba's flakes, but there's quantity here After a blizzard in Ontario

[jpzk]

X_posted from: The Phone Club! - Page 56 - PentaxForums.com

[ramseybuckeye]

[savoche]

Not sure how I missed this thread.... But here are some shots from a couple of years ago.

[CharLac]

Not sure how I missed this thread.... But here are some shots from a couple of years ago.

Spectacular! Rime ice is so beautiful on a blue sky sunny day.

[timb64]

A few from our recent ski trip