ZOOMING WAY, WAY IN ON SNOW CRYSTALS REVEALS INTRICATE, EXQUISITE PATTERNS.
This snowflake was photographed on top of a sea sponge. Some people are more fascinated with the backgrounds than the snowflakes, Booth says. PHOTOGRAPHED BY KARLA JEAN BOOTH
A snowflake’s signature six-sided formation happens on its descent from the clouds. PHOTOGRAPHED BY KARLA JEAN BOOTH
“I FIRST NOTICED THE INTRICATE GEOMETRIES OF SNOWFLAKES THAT LANDED ON MY DECK RAILINGS.” –PHOTOGRAPHER KARLA JEAN BOOTH
PHOTOGRAPHED BY KARLA JEAN BOOTH
PHOTOGRAPHED BY KARLA JEAN BOOTH
EACH WINTER, one septillion snowflakes fall from the sky (that’s a trillion trillions), and conventional wisdom says no two of them are identical. If there’s one person who could confirm that, it’s Karla Jean Booth. While many photographers capture Colorado’s vast snowcovered landscapes, Booth finds beauty in the infinitesimal. Using a powerful macro lens, she zooms in on individual snow crystals. “I first noticed the intricate geometries of snowflakes that landed on my deck railings,” Booth says. “Once I took photos of them, I was just amazed. I thought, ‘I’ve got to dig deeper on this.’” Since 2006, she has captured some 300,000 images of snowflakes.
Photographed on microscope slides, these snow crystals show how different snowflake forms can combine to create infinite variations. “When they approach fractal forms, the results are fascinating,” Booth says. PHOTOGRAPHED BY KARLA JEAN BOOTH
Photographed on microscope slides, these snow crystals show how different snowflake forms can combine to create infinite variations. “When they approach fractal forms, the results are fascinating,” Booth says. PHOTOGRAPHED BY KARLA JEAN BOOTH
She often places the snowflakes on microscope slides but has also experimented with backgrounds like aspen leaves, feathers, orange lichen, sea sponges, chunks of gold—even the eyes of a dragonfly. To create a 3D effect, Booth sometimes stacks as many as 50 shots of the same snowflake, each with different focal points. To transport the delicate snow crystals—some so small they could fit on the sharp end of a pin—she uses tiny hobby store brushes.
Booth carefully sets the snowflakes onto frozen backgrounds like this orange lichen. The effect is otherworldly. PHOTOGRAPHED BY KARLA JEAN BOOTH
Booth’s “snowflake lab” is an unheated 10-by- 14 shed in Russell Gulch near Central City that’s rigged with cameras, a tripod, a custom table, lights and a freezer for her backgrounds. She leaves the door open to ensure she’s working in subzero temps (working with bare hands sometimes means frostbite). “The atmospheric conditions necessary for crisp definitions of flake formations is the most important aspect,” Booth says. Some winters, there may be only five days when snowflakes form those signature six-sided dendrites. “When you see the snow sparkling like diamonds?” she says. “That’s a great snowflake day.” realsnowflakephotography.com
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