Alexey Kljatov’s Snowflake Macro Photos and His DIY Camera Rig

Alexey Kljatov photographs snowflakes on the open balcony of his flat in Moscow, using a compact Canon camera and a Soviet-era lens mounted in reverse in front of it. The results show six-sided ice crystals in sharp, glittering detail, and they prove that great macro photography can start with very modest equipment.

Who is Alexey Kljatov?

Kljatov is a self-taught photographer and lifelong skier from Moscow. His interest began with his mother’s digital macro photos, and he first practised on insects and butterflies. Snowflakes came later, after he discovered SnowCrystals.com, the snow-crystal website run by the physicist Kenneth G. Libbrecht. By 2015 he had been photographing snowflakes for about eight years.

He also shoots HDR night views of Moscow, but the snowflake series made his name, shared widely by photography sites such as PetaPixel and the PBS NewsHour.

The homemade macro rig

Kljatov’s first snowflake pictures were taken in the ordinary macro mode of a 12.1-megapixel Canon PowerShot A650 IS. He pointed the camera straight down at a crystal at its minimum focusing distance, steadied it with a tube cut from a plastic bottle, used the self-timer to fire hands-free and held a flashlight on the snowflake with his other hand.

To go closer, he built what he calls a super-macro add-on:

• Lens: a Helios 44M-5, taken from an old Soviet Zenit SLR and mounted in reverse in front of the Canon, which was set to 6× zoom.
• Firmware: unofficial Canon hack firmware that lets the compact shoot RAW and HDR files.
• Support: a sheet of glass resting on an upside-down wooden stool.
• Background: dark wool or glass, which makes the pale, translucent crystal stand out.

When Moscow snow is right for photography

The right snow is rare. Kljatov needs a good snowfall of well-formed crystals, and in Moscow those come mostly in January, February and March; he noted that six Decembers in a row had been too warm. Each crystal starts to melt within moments, so he works fast and fires rapid bursts, which he has also turned into short sequences of a snowflake melting.

His view of the craft is refreshingly practical: “Every photographer with a simple point-and-shoot camera can make very good snowflake photos,” he said. “For this type of photography, patience, persistence and luck means much more than any expensive photo technique.”

Try snowflake macro photography yourself

Catch falling flakes on a dark, cold surface such as wool, a mitten or chilled glass, and work outside or on a balcony so the crystals stay frozen. Let your camera cool down first to avoid condensation, use a self-timer or remote release to stop shake, and light the crystal from a low angle to bring out its ridges and facets. Shoot many frames: only a few crystals land flat and undamaged.

To learn what you are looking at, read the science behind the crystal patterns, then browse another snow-crystal photo collection. For another photograph built from many exposures, see The President Sequoia: One Portrait Made From 126 Frames. Prints of Kljatov’s work are sold through his Fine Art America profile.

Related reading

• 18 Snowflake Photographs: Patterns Worth a Closer Look
• A Guide to Snowflakes: Plates, Dendrites, Columns and Rime
• Stunning Snow Patterns by Simon Beck (Snow Art)
• Ten Ice and Snow Designs: Hotels, Sculptures and Experimental Spaces
• Ten Ways to Understand Snow: Crystals, Records and Winter Landscapes
• The BBC’s Snowball Cam Meets Svalbard Polar Bears

Sources