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Judi Lynn

(160,219 posts)
Mon Feb 1, 2021, 11:11 AM Feb 2021

These Are the Highest Resolution Photos Ever Taken of Snowflakes

Photographer and scientist Nathan Myhrvold has developed a camera that captures snowflakes at a microscopic level never seen before



"Yellowknife Flurry," a photograph by Nathan Myhrvold, captures the intricate structure of snowflakes. (Nathan Myhrvold / Modernist Cuisine Gallery, LLC)

By Jennifer Nalewicki
SMITHSONIANMAG.COM
JANUARY 27, 2021

The first chill of a winter storm is enough to send most people indoors, but not Nathan Myhrvold. The colder the weather, the better his chances are of capturing a microscopic photograph of a snowflake. Now, nearly two years in the making, Myhrvold has developed what he bills as the “highest resolution snowflake camera in the world.” Recently, he released a series of images taken using his creation, a prototype that captures snowflakes at a microscopic level never seen before.

Myhrvold, who holds a PhD in theoretical mathematics and physics from Princeton University and served as the Chief Technology Officer at Microsoft for 14 years, leaned on his background as a scientist to create the camera. He also tapped into his experience as a photographer, most notably as the founder of Modernist Cuisine, a food innovation lab known for its high-resolution photographs of various food stuffs published into a five-volume book of photography of the same name that focuses on the art and science of cooking. Myhrvold first got the idea to photograph snowflakes 15 years ago after meeting Kenneth Libbrecht, a California Institute of Technology professor who happened to be studying the physics of snowflakes.

“In the back of my mind, I thought I’d really like to take snowflake pictures,” Myhrvold says. “About two years ago, I thought it was a good time and decided to put together a state-of-the-art snowflake photography system...but it was a lot harder than I thought.”

Photographing snowflakes is nothing new. In the late 1880s, a Vermont farmer by the name of Wilson Bentley began shooting snowflakes at a microscopic level on his farm. Today he's considered a pioneer for his work, which is part of the Smithsonian Institution Archives. His photography is considered the inspiration for the common wisdom that “no two snowflakes are alike.”

. . .



"Ice Queen" by Nathan Myhrvold (Nathan Myhrvold / Modernist Cuisine Gallery, LLC)

More:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/these-are-highest-resolution-photos-ever-taken-snowflakes-180976710/

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These Are the Highest Resolution Photos Ever Taken of Snowflakes (Original Post) Judi Lynn Feb 2021 OP
Wow! UpInArms Feb 2021 #1
A painstaking technique that produces beautiful images. Thanks for posting. Arkansas Granny Feb 2021 #2
Incredible!!! Thanks for posting this!!! n/t RKP5637 Feb 2021 #3
Thanks for posting. I'm continually amazed at the beauty of nature. LazySusanNot Feb 2021 #4
I don't think anyone in the northeast wants to see a picture 3Hotdogs Feb 2021 #5

LazySusanNot

(192 posts)
4. Thanks for posting. I'm continually amazed at the beauty of nature.
Mon Feb 1, 2021, 11:30 AM
Feb 2021

The old adage of "No two snowflakes are alike" seems to have an expanded meaning these days. Ha.

New here but wanted to thank you for all your efforts over the years to help inform and educate about science. My hubby and I have learned more from your posts than we ever learned in all the years of our public education in the Sciences! Keep up the great work!!!!!

3Hotdogs

(12,210 posts)
5. I don't think anyone in the northeast wants to see a picture
Mon Feb 1, 2021, 01:18 PM
Feb 2021

Of a goddam snowflake today....

or tomorrow either

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