Kenneth Libbrecht - The Art of the Snowflake: A Photographic Album

A Photographic Album Kenneth Libbrecht First published in 2007 by Voyageur Press, an imprint of MBI Publishing Company, 400 First Avenue North, Suite 300, Minneapolis, MN 55401 USA Copyright 2007, 2010 by Kenneth Libbrecht
Hardcover edition published in 2007. Digital edition 2010. All rights reserved. With the exception of quoting brief passages for the purposes of review, no part of this publication may be reproduced without prior written permission from the Publisher. The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. All recommendations are made without any guarantee on the part of the author or Publisher, who also disclaim any liability incurred in connection with the use of this data or specific details.

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ISBN-13: 978-0-7603-2997-9 (hardbound w/ jacket)
ISBN-10: 0-7603-2997-4 (hardbound w/ jacket)
1. cm.
ISBN-13: 978-0-7603-2997-9 (hardbound w/ jacket)
ISBN-10: 0-7603-2997-4 (hardbound w/ jacket)
1.

Nature photography. 2. Snowflakes--Pictorial works. I. Title.
TR721L53 2007
779.3--dc22
2007020331 On the front cover: The four cover snowflakes were all photographed one cold January day in northern Ontario, when the clouds delivered a multitude of large, well-formed stellar crystals. Under the microscope, I found that snowflakes were miracles of beauty; and it seemed a shame that this beauty should not be seen and appreciated by others.

Every crystal was a masterpiece of design, and no one design was ever repeated. When a snowflake melted, that design was forever lost. Just that much beauty was gone, without leaving any record behind. Wilson Bentley (18651931)

Snowflakes are remarkable examples of natures art. They are born within the grey winter clouds, where the simple act of freezing turns formless water vapor into spectacular crystalline ice sculptures. How amazing it is that these elaborate, symmetrical, and sometimes stunningly beautiful structures appear quite literally out of thin air! For many years I have been studying the physics of how crystals form and patterns emerge during their growth. Snowflakes are one focus of this research, as their formation is a particularly fascinating case study of how complex structures can arise spontaneously, even from very simple precursors.

Understanding the molecular processes that shape snowflakes is scientifically interesting in its own right, and it helps address more general questions about how complexity arises in nature. Much of my work is done in the lab, creating tiny ice crystals under controlled conditions and measuring their growth. I use precision microscopy in these experiments, and over time I have developed some new techniques for capturing images of snow crystals that show their structure with unprecedented detail. I soon realized that this type of microscopy could provide better views of natural snow crystals as well. As my interest in photographing snowflakes increased, I faced the problem that my home in Southern California is not exactly known for its snowy winters. So I built a special-purpose microscope that fits in a suitcase, and I began making photographic expeditions to the frozen north.

This unusual hobby soon had me hooked. To date, Ive taken more than 7,000 pictures of all types of snow crystals. Equipped with my portable photo-microscope, Ive journeyed to central Alaska, Vermont, the mountains of California, the Michigan Upper Peninsula, and throughout northern Ontario, all in search of photogenic snowflakes. Each location has its own unique climate and thus its own variety of crystals to offer. Photographing snowflakes is always enjoyable because there are so many different types, with no two exactly alike. Each new snowfall is another world to explore, and I still often find novel specimens.

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