I’ve been photographing a lot of snowflakes this winter. Most of the snowfalls we have had have resulted in a handful of good shots. On February 18th, the snowfall resulted in these. The largest of these snowflakes is about 2-3 mm across, but most are about 1 mm or less across. The intricate patterns shown on the surface of some of these fascinate me. The colors you see are natural. I can only guess that the nucleus of these flakes is some type of chemical, or tiny particulate that infuses the water that forms the snowflake with a chemical that creates the colors or refracts the colors in these amazing ways. I have stared at snowflakes for my whole life but have never until this winter seen these types of patterns. As I said, these formations are incredibly tiny. I have seen these patterns in larger flakes, but normally confined to a central flat portion of the flake. Because they are so small, it is impossible to truly see what these flakes look like until seen through the viewfinder of my camera. Even then it is hard to tell on the small screen. I really isn’t until I open them on the computer that I get to see what I have. There is some editing involved with preparing these images. I do not change the snowflakes, but I do take the time to remove ice particles from the background and smooth out the background. All these snowflakes were photographed on the tinted rear door window of my truck. I have tried various surfaces this winter but the window of my truck has turned out to be the best surface for getting clear images of these flakes.
