Amazing snowflakes photographs

What this Russian guy, Alexey Kljatov, have done with an old USSR SLR camera Zenit with a Helios 44M-5 lens, a wooden board, some sticky tape and a lot of ingenuity is simply amazing.

Extract:

Recently, i built simple macro addon for the camera.

I used lens Helios 44M-5 from old USSR SLR camera Zenit. At first, i attached these lens at narrow wooden board (around 30 cm long), reversed: a back lens to snowflake, front lens to camera, and drilled in a board an opening for a screw suitable to tripod nest of the camera.

Then camera is put on a board so that the lens in the maximum optical zoom mode (6x) touched Helios lens and looked straight into them. I attach the camera by a screw and additionally with metallic bracket, glued to the board, it holds opposite side of camera, so it didn't move anywhere. On Helios's back side (which is front of whole construction) i attached three standard narrow extension rings from Zenit camera (this is needed only in case of shooting at glass surface with backlight).

This holds lens at needed focusing distance from the glass with snowflakes (2,5-3 centimeters). Place of connection between internal and external lens i covered with some sort of skirt, maked from black plastic bag: this protects connection point from outer light, snow, ice and waterdrops. All design turned out rather strong and steadily stands vertically with lenses looking down. I simply put it on glass over the chosen snowflake and shoot at maximum optical zoom instead of macro mode.

Camera's autofocus works well.

Full explanations here.



Some other beautiful captures of snowflakes:





Check out as well its Flickr album where lots of other captures are visible.

Incredible and beautiful Nature...

It's just amazing how perfectly symmetrical they are, absolutely beautiful.

Good post.

Those snow flakes look almost like an alien technology of some sort. Imagine those little crystals as circuits, and a whole new can of worms opens up

reply to post by elevenaugust


I was surprised to see his macguiver style set up. It's brilliant.



Ermagerd the star of David is everywhere.