Snowflake Photography

[HeldInTheMoment]

Anyone have any good suggestions on how to get great snowflake shots? I have a D500 with a Tamron 90mm Macro paired with a Macro Ring Light. I am having trouble more so isolating the Snowflake as I focus and prepare for the shot. I don't want to touch it or melt it while preparing, but I also need it isolated and flat.

Ideas?

 

[jcdeboever]

Never done it but my first thought is a tripod with a focus rail, 1:1 macro lens, and a teleconverter (s) to maximize magnification ratio.

 

[HeldInTheMoment]

Never done it but my first thought is a tripod with a focus rail, 1:1 macro lens, and a teleconverter (s) to maximize magnification ratio.

I have all that, the real issue is the Snowflakes them self. Getting them to lay flat, isolated, and then move them to my setup without it melting is KILLING me...haha

 

[jcdeboever]

Never done it but my first thought is a tripod with a focus rail, 1:1 macro lens, and a teleconverter (s) to maximize magnification ratio.

I have all that, the real issue is the Snowflakes them self. Getting them to lay flat, isolated, and then move them to my setup without it melting is KILLING me...haha

Oh, hmmm. I've got nothing...

 

[HeldInTheMoment]

I tried using a black wooden board, cooled it in the freezer, brought it outside to collect Snowflakes. First started shooting outside, but that got hard with the wind. So then I got setup inside and the flake lasts about 1 minute, more than enough time. But after collecting the Snowflakes on the board, moving them to isolate it or late flat kills the flake. I also tried it with a cooled black shirt, same result.

Maybe if I cool an exacto knife to move the flakes? Looking for some experience and ideas to help save me the frustration lol

 

[HeldInTheMoment]

I am in VT so we are getting a Coastal Storm with 12-20" of snow in the mountains, great opportunity, if I can get a dang flake to cooperate!

 

[jcdeboever]

I am in VT so we are getting a Coastal Storm with 12-20" of snow in the mountains, great opportunity, if I can get a dang flake to cooperate!

Now you got me thinking about doing it.... thanks, I need another project like I need a hole in head... Lol
I found this, maybe helpful in terms of setup.

Snowflake macro photography

 

[KmH]

Use a mitten:
How to Photograph Snowflakes with a DSLR

 

[HeldInTheMoment]

Thanks! I got a large piece of acrylic glass I used for a Studio Mermaid Shoot (water effect, see attached) that I could use to give the better contrast and maybe get them to lay flat when they land. I would just have to hand-hold the shot, D500 10 FPS spray and pray haha

 

[smoke665]

Just a thought, but instead of a black wooden board (poor conductor) Try using a piece of thick steel or aluminum plate, and paint it black. If you put that in the freezer overnight, it should radiate enough cold to help preserve the snowflake longer. Be sure and handle the plate with gloves.

 

[astroNikon]

having problems with it melting?

Grocery stores have dried ice. Buy some and (DON'T TOUCH IT without gloves) unfortunately it usually comes in large chunks. But with the board at an angle put the dried ice up a little bit so the cold flows down the board. This should give the snowflake a longer life. And if you want to add fog just add a couple drops of water on it. And as mentioned a flat piece of metal is better for this (it would stay cold too with a small chunk of dried ice on it but have to make sure it doesn't condense water on it).

Could also do it outside with a longer macro lens.
move the snowflake sheltered from the wind (like a garage or shed)

 

[SquarePeg36 6]

Someone posted some cool snowflake shots last year. Was it @crimbfighter ? or maybe @goodguy ? I can't recall exactly. Try searching the forum for the thread and then asking them to describe their set-up.

 

[smoke665]

For some reason, the use of a black light, came to mind. Did a google search and found this article which you might find interesting. The idea here is the snowflake is preserved so that it can be photographed later. Though the author is using a microscope, to get the spectacular results, you might be able to incorporate the method of preservation.

Photography: Stalking the snowflake with a camera

 

[astroNikon]

yeah, microscopes.
nikon (and others) make microscope stands such as a Nikon SMZ (if I recall correctly) which you can attach a camera too (using telescope type connectors). I looked into this once for small object, close up detail photography (such as for coins) but just opted for a cheaper bellows system. But considering snowflakes are much smaller than coins I can see a distinct magnification advantage.

 

[crimbfighter]

Someone posted some cool snowflake shots last year. Was it @crimbfighter ? or maybe @goodguy ? I can't recall exactly. Try searching the forum for the thread and then asking them to describe their set-up.

I've posted a few such as these:


And just recently, this one:


To start, I you are going to need to go where the snow flakes are. As much as it sucks, I sit right out in the cold. Your gear can handle it, and as long as you dress for it, you probably can, too. Even if you hurry hurry hurry, the moment the flakes encounter warm air, they will start to melt and you're going to lose a lot of detail.

A couple thoughts for your setup. I would recommend setting it up outside, but under an overhang or something similar. You will get much better results shooting through a transparent material. I would suggest glass, no more than 1/8 inch thick and maybe 11x14 or similar because the thermal properties of glass will help retain the cold temps better than your acrylic will. It may be easiest to get a piece of pre-made picture frame glass. Put it outside or in the freezer to acclimate. Suspend the glass horizontally so the flakes don't fall off. Place an off camera flash underneath the glass and diffuse it. If you want to add some drama, use something like multi-colored tissue paper to diffuse the flash. Set your camera up on a tripod above the glass, prefocused near the minimum focusing distance, not quite at the minimum focusing distance so you still have a little bit of room to fine tune. Place a piece of paper on the glass that contains something, text or an image, on it. Adjust your tripod so the image or text on the paper is in focus. That should set you up nicely.

Next, catch your snow flakes on the glass. Easier said than done, but I've had luck with catching them as they fall. That also tended to have the best luck for capturing individual flakes. Sometimes the weather was also just not conducive for it, creating large clumps of flakes. The colder the weather the better because the flakes tend not to clump. I've also picked up handfulls of snow and tossed it up, just don't compact the snow at all when you pick it up. Once you have some flakes, use a magnifying glass to find one that meets your criteria, such as laying flat, or just looking cool. Lay the glass back on the setup and place a toothpick on the glass pointing to the flake you wanted to capture. This will help tremendously in finding that flake again in the viewfinder. Move the glass to find your toothpick and follow it to the flake and center in the frame. Use Liveview and zoom in. Fine tune your focus and fire away. You may need to adjust your exposure setting to find the right balance, but that should be a good starting place for you. Also try focus bracketing to make sure you got the best image possible.