I have always associated Christmas with hot chocolate, warm fires and snow. It rarely, if ever, snows where I live. Oh, we can find snow alright, but to do so we would have to take a two hour drive to the mountains. Alternatively, there are plenty of paper and plastic "snowflakes" hanging in all of the local stores. Some of these "snowflakes" are really beautiful, and some...not so much.
Although real snowflakes are ephemeral, they are beautiful and mesmerizing in their complexity. In 1885, Wilson A. Bentley of Vermont produced actual photographs of snowflakes. "Snowflake" Bentley, as he became known, created a process using an old microscope, a bellows camera and a black velvet surface to capture over 5,000 images of snowflakes during his lifetime.
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| W. A. Bentley Snowflake, 1890 |
Bentley described snowflakes as "tiny miracles of beauty" and "ice flowers". I have included a few selected images on this page. You can view many other Bentley snowflakes, however, by browsing The Bentley Collection website here.
Sadly, "Snowflake" Bentley died as a result of his work. He contracted pneumonia after walking for miles through a blizzard to capture more photographs of snowflakes. He passed away just two days before Christmas in the year 1931.
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| "Snowflake" Bentley at work |
MERRY CHRISTMAS SNOWFLAKES TO ALL!
10 comments:
Merry Christmas, Mary!
Cool story, sad ending. I didn't know there are that many different types of snowflakes.
Photos of real snowflakes. To me that is capturing a miracle. So sad he lost his life doing this beautiful work. I had no idea.
I'm actually traveling to the OC this Christmas and I'm searching for Huntington Beach hotels. Being that you live there, do you have any good recommendations?
Walter, I'm not sure I can recommend any specific hotels in Huntington Beach, however, since it is best known as "Surf City USA" I would try to stay somewhere near the ocean front in Huntington Beach or nearby Newport Beach.
Happy New Year, Mary!
Mary, on behalf of Amersfoort and surroundings a happy and healthy 2014!
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Happy 2015 Mary!
It's hard to believe it's already 2016. The best of wishes!
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