This guide provides the known basics and will be updated as developments and innovations happen so check back often. You are also invited to join our Snowflake Group on Facebook where you can interact with fellow SS3 users, post your triumphs, share your new techniques, and seek help with your difficulties.
STEP 1 : If you received an LBS lens with your studio, please visit the LBS Online User Guide for instructions on attaching it to your camera. Do this before assembling your studio.
STEP 2 : Watch this video to assemble and calibrate your studio. If you have questions, send me an email at macrolenz1@gmail.com or else tag me (David Runyan) in a post or comment in our Facebook group.
STEP 3 : Watch this video on using SS3. Once snow starts flying, I will make a video in an actual snow storm but for the time being, this will do fine. Again, if you have questions, email or tag me in the Facebook group.
The process involves catching snowflakes on velvet and then transferring them to a slide for the portrait. This video demonstrates how easy that process is.
Here are some post scripts to the earlier videos.
As new information becomes available, it will be added to this guide. Meanwhile, take your knowledge and equipment out to the shelter and shoot snowflakes! Hope to see you in our Facebook Group.
Snowflake Photography Written Procedure
Preparation
Attempting
the pleasure of snowflake photography requires a certain measure of
preparation. Trying to get things in order and functional while snow
is falling will produce poor results. So before we take up this
matter of how to shoot snowflake macros, let's develop an
understanding of what must be done ahead of time. Try to have all of
the following action items in place and tested by early November as
snow can begin flying shortly thereafter.
1
- The first item on the list is selection of a shelter for your
photography. This may be a garage, porch, shed, barn or any other
structure which is unheated and will provide protection from wind and
blowing snow. I know people who shoot snowflakes in tents and even
in the backs of their minivans and SUVs, but an enclosed structure is
best and electrical outlets would be nice.
2
- Next, find a suitable work table. The size of the table should
be 36 inches square or larger as this will give you room for your
camera and its macro focusing distance and also room for a few other
necessary items such as lighting, microscope slides, backgrounds and
so on. Also find a chair which is height matched to the table for
your personal comfort while capturing your FrigidFotos.
3 - Test your systems. Attach the microscope slide
with the faux flake to your studio and shoot it both in daylight and at night with your lighting systems
to make sure that the camera, platform, focus tuning and lighting are
capable of providing good photographic results. Practice makes
perfect they say, so do these dry runs and you'll be better prepared
when real flakes are falling.
4 – One of the most important aspects of preparation is the
attitude of the photographer. This hobby requires patience and
persistence. The snowflake photographer is no stranger to
disappointment. There will be times when a storm lasting 3 hours
produces photogenic flakes for a mere 15 minutes, or not at all.
There will be other times when photogenic flakes abound for hours on
end. The weather can be a bonanza or a bust. Be ready for both as
both will come. If you persevere, you will eventually be rewarded.
5 – Lastly, pay attention to your clothing needs. All the usual
items are required: winter coat, hat, scarf, boots, snow pants.
Notice how I left gloves off the list. That's because I want to pay
special attention to the issue of keeping your hands warm. When you
are transferring snowflakes from the velvet to the microscope slides
and while you're operating the camera, it is not possible to wear
gloves, so your gloves will be on and off repeatedly. Without help
from a product such as the ZippoHand Warmer, you will soon find your fingers too cold
to continue. With the combination of the hand warmer and the gloves,
you should be able to ride out storms of several hours and not miss a
shot.
Procedure
Most
snowflakes are relatively flat so their shape is well suited to macro
photography. They also lend themselves nicely to being transferred
to microscope slides since they sublimate and tend to cling to the
wooden splints used in the transfer process. Sublimation is likewise
the means whereby they cling to a vertically mounted microscope
slide. In every way, snowflakes are highly cooperative macro
subjects. You won't have much difficulty with your flakes.
1
– Wait for 28! Snowflake photography, in order to be
successful, must be done when the temperature is 28 F (-2C) and
colder. Attempting to shoot snowflakes at higher temps will result
in a watery mess. It's a bit disheartening to find a gorgeous flake
on the velvet which becomes a blob of water on the microscope slide .
. . so . . . WAIT FOR 28!
2
– Acclimate You Gear! Bring all of your equipment (except the
camera) into your unheated shelter and allow it to acclimate to the
ambient temperature and humidity for at least an hour prior to the
storm. My equipment is left on the porch from the beginning of
November until the end of March so it remains ready at a moment's
notice to serve me in my quest of snagging beautiful snowflake
images.
A
Word of Caution From
this point forward, you will be in close proximity to snowflakes so
it is advisable to mention that you should develop a habit of not
breathing in the direction of snowflakes as this will accelerate
evaporation and melting. Also, when handling the microscope slides,
hold them by the edges and not the surfaces to prevent warmth from
your fingers being transferred to the slide which will also
accelerate evaporation and melting.
3
– Harvest Snowflakes! The snowflake catch plate is comprised
of a piece of black velvet stretched across an embroidery hoop 6”
diameter minimum. You collect a harvest of flakes by exposing the
velvet to the falling snow. The trick is to expose the velvet only
long enough for about 50 flakes to be collected. You want a small
spattering of flakes and not a dense, overlapping harvest as that
will make isolating an individual flake much more difficult. In light
snow, your velvet might be exposed for 30 seconds whereas in heavy
snow, only 3 seconds.
Inspect
the Harvest! Once you've harvested 25-50 flakes, bring the
velvet back into your shelter and inspect it for flakes which are
beautiful, unique and photogenic. Some people use a hand magnifier
or eye loupe to help them identify photogenic flakes. My technique
is to simply flash the velvet at different angles to a light source
and when I notice a sparkle, I inspect it more closely. This
technique of looking for sparkles has served me well and helps me
quickly identify snowflakes of beauty.
Transfer
the Subject Flake! This is where the magic happens. You use a
pointed wooden toothpick to transfer a subject flake from the velvet
to a microscope slide. If unwanted flakes are overlapping your
subject flake, simply move them out of the way with the toothpick.
Once clear, simply slide the tip of the toothpick underneath the
flake and slowly lift straight up. As you do this, you'll notice
that the flake will cling to the toothpick. Next, with the flake
facing away from the microscope slide, place the tip of the toothpick
onto the slide and give it a slow twist and the snowflake will fall
onto and cling to the microscope slide. It's a little bit of magic
in the process which will likely make you smile the first few times
you do it as you realize how easy it is and how well it works.
Pose
the Flake! Position and rotate your microscope slide so that the
flake is in the center of the photo and with a rotational orientation
you find pleasing.
Adjust
Your Light! Lighting is the trickiest part of snowflake
photography. Snowflakes are clear crystals so in order to adequately
have their facets and features appear in the photograph, it is
usually necessary for light to strike them at an angle, creating
specular lighting at facet margins and edges. I use LED flashlights
which produce a fair amount of light but very little heat. No matter
which light source you use, you will need to make sure it's at a
distance which prevents heat from causing the melting of flakes. So,
look into your camera's monitor and make changes to your light source
intensity and angle until you find the adjustment which presents the
snowflake in a most beautiful way.
Snap
the Portrait! Set your desired zoom level, rough set your focus,
set the timer for 10 seconds, press half way to focus, press the rest
of the way to shoot and while the timer runs, recheck your focus in
the monitor and tweak if necessary. When all is set, remove your
hands from the camera and let the shot rip! After the shot, analyze
it in the preview to make sure your focus and lighting are good. If
necessary retake the shot or else take new shots using different
lighting angles and intensities.
A
Word of Encouragement As
long as the temperature is 28 F and colder, you'll have about two
minutes to work with a flake before sublimation causes its features
to fade. So there is no need to be in some big hurry. You'll have
plenty of time to pose the flake, adjust the lighting and adjust
camera settings.
A
Word About Camera Settings I set my camera as follows: P mode,
ISO 100, EV -1/3, flash off and I leave those settings unchanged for
snowflake photography. I adjust my LED lights for proper exposure,
which is far simpler than playing with camera settings, so my camera
is running essentially in automatic mode. There are many roads to
Rome and some folks like to shoot snowflakes in manual mode. I share
what works for me and you may do as you please.
Conclusion
If you follow this procedure, you will easily be able to collect,
isolate, transfer and shoot individual snowflakes, preserving their
unique beauty for eternity in your photographs. And remember that if you encounter any difficulties, our Snowflake Group is the perfect place to get help from fellow SS3 users who have been down that road ahead of you!
END
