Digital (snowflake) Bentley ?

[steve_levine]

Before I over think this. How would one go about this? I have the close up

parts of the problem figured out. Digital SLR with a 50 mm and a K ring

extension tube. It's the lighting I'm not sure about either. I was thinking

ring flash with manual exposure. Also I would likely pre-chill a black piece of

card board for a background. Has anyone tried this?

 

 

 

Poor Wilson Bentley in the 19th century. He spent years of trial and error

with primitve, extremely slow emulsions and a microsope bolted to his view

camera. But his amazing results are still admired and studied today. He is

worth a GOOGLE search if you haven't seen his work. In his day he was thought

to be a "kook".

[van_bemmelen]

Could you describe what you want to take a picture of and how you want the image to turn

out?

[steve_levine]

Wilson "Snowflake" Bentley pioneered ice crystal (snow flakes) photography in the late 1800's.

[daniel_smith6]

Get the cardboard cold. Have a cold room ready for when you bring the snowflakes in, with camera, lens and lights already set up. A Canon 65mm macro is the ticket for this type of work as it is optimized for magnification up to 5x lifesize.

[mark_williamson6]

I found a site a long time ago that covered this: http://www.its.caltech.edu/~atomic/snowcrystals/

 

Specifically, this page: http://www.its.caltech.edu/~atomic/snowcrystals/photo2/photo2.htm

 

The guy even makes his own snowflakes.

 

I kind of wish it snowed here so I could try it.

[steve_levine]

What I was thinking of was shooting outside , not indoors. I just need a really cold black surface that won't melt my subjects. I was also thinking of an umbrella to shield it once I have several subjects on the background. A blast of ringlight, and I should be good to go.

[dan_smith26]

If you are going to shoot outside you might look at a dome type tent or a hunting blind/tent to go into so you won't have wind as a problem. Trying to shoot macro in the breeze is sure to make your hair white much more quickly. There are a lot of fast erecting tents and hunting blinds on the market and they sure make it easier to keep the camera gear setup while you wait for snowflakes to land on your easel.

[tommyinca]

One small portable setup suitable for out door is (nikon) PN11-> BR2(A)-> 28mm/2.8/ais-> ->BR6. You can then attach that to the lighting and copy/focus equipment you will need for the ~3.5:1 magnification.

[nancy s.]

You will get your chance to try this tomorrow and the next day from the sounds of things. Get the back ground in the freezer tonight. If you get up b4 light tomorrow you will have the snow and be able to control the lighting.