Alexey Kljatov is a photographer with a difference – he takes incredibly breathtaking shots of snowflakes with equipment that he developed at home, eliminating the need for cameras and lenses worth thousands of dollars.
It’s hard to believe that Moscow-based Kljatov is an amateur. Take a look at these close-up snowflake photographs and you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. The amount of precision and clarity he has achieved with just a home-made rig is amazing.
Kljatov used parts from old cameras and attached them to wooden boards using a bunch of screws and some tape. Doesn’t sound like much, but this set-up is really working wonders for him. The close-up views of the snowflakes are enchanting.
It is said that no two snowflakes are alike, and Kljatov’s photographs prove just that. They’re so intricate, they look like miniature pieces of glass, cut by a high-precision laser beam. At no point do the snowflakes look like they could melt away within seconds.
On his blog, Kljatov talks in detail about his technique for snowflake shooting. “I capture snowflakes on the open balcony of my house, mostly on glass surface, lit by LED flashlight from the other side of the glass, and sometimes in natural light, using dark woolen fabrics as background,” he writes.
If you’re a photography enthusiast, you should go check out his blog; Kljatov has put up a lot of useful information. He’s even published pictures of his assembled construction, and recommended other snowflake photographers to check it out.
Did you know that in 1885, the first attempt was made to find identical snowflakes by photographing them under a microscope? The search was over a century later, when in 1998, two identical snowflakes of the hollow column type were discovered at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in the U.S.
I’ve never seen snow but when I do get the chance, I know Kljatov’s photographs will help me appreciate the experience a whole lot more.
Photos: Flickr/Alexey Kljatov
via Twisted Sifter
