This was one of the most challenging shots I've done. It involved spending the better part of last month's Good Friday outside while the last snow squall of the season brewed up.
The set-up: Pentax *IST DL with a 135mm f/3.5 + reversing ring + 55mm f/1.8 on a tripod pointed directly down. I chased snowflakes around with a sheet of glass from a picture frame and would then place this under the camera set-up. I would move the glass around like a microscope slide until I found decent subjects to shoot.
Not easy to do given the conditions! The wind would pick up & blow my subjects away and heat would transfer through the glass from my hand & start melting the flakes. Despite the fact that I could walk around my yard & find excellent examples of snowflakes to shoot, I just couldn't manage to catch one on that glass!
Anyway, I'll be disappointed if this doesn't break 6.0 but I think hoping for the scores I was thinking I would get while shooting is out of the question here now. It just didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped and I'm also afraid people will think it's fake - given the rule set...
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Well, not too bad in the end. Thanks for the nice comments...
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This is a stunning photograph. The details of the snowflakes is astounding, and the arrangement is artful. But it's the color that really sets the mood; it's perfect. And the vignette tops it off nicely.
I love the composition; I doubt you could have arranged the snowflakes better if you'd been able to. Besides the 3 flakes, the oval vignette acts as a subtle fourth element that is gradated and positioned just right to balance the photo. The overall similarities between the flakes unify the photo and the obvious differences and imperfections engage the viewer, inviting closer examination.
The lighting is just right to show off the snowflakes. Exposure and focus are perfect. The soft focus fits the subject well; snowflakes are supposed to be soft! Although a sharper focus would bring out more details, it would detract from the mood and perhaps make the snowflakes look fake.
I wish you had described your postprocessing steps; you did a great job. It has the feel of a duotone, but whether you actually used that technique or not is irrelevant. You've succeeded in bringing out and enhancing the natural beauty here.
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