Snowflake 934 - a photo on Flickriver

Snowflake 934

The parts of a snowflake often fit together like puzzle pieces. What at first has the illusion of symmetry will break down into simple balance. This particular snowflake is very asymmetric, but everything still “fits”.

Things started to get weird in the center, when a droplet of super-cooled water froze on the 2 o’clock branch, disrupting what would have been a more symmetrical growth. The ripple effect can be seen all across the crystal from this, albeit maybe not the only element of chaos thrown in the direction of this snowflake.

Notice how the lower-right branch has no initial side-branches near the center? That space was taken over by faster-growing branches on either side. The most “normal” symmetric branch is found on the upper-left, and the oddest among them is at the top; somehow that branch started as two separate branches! There’s a bubble between them as a “clue”, but there is not enough information to unravel this particular mystery.

What I find fascinating about this snowflake is the regularity at which the surface contours “switch sides”. If you see dark / contrasting features, that’s the topography of a snowflake facing the camera. If you see similar features with lighter grey features, those same details are present – but on the other side of the crystal. They almost always “sandwich” each-other, for which I have no explanation in physics. If a branch is growing lower (further away from the camera), the features are on top. If the branch is growing on a higher plane, closer to the camera, the features are on the bottom. The surface topography always faces each-other.

Of particular note on the details, most branch tips have some very cool ridges and valleys, some of which have started to fill in as bubbles. If only I could have watched this snowflake grow, it would have provided so much information as to how these features form. The upper-right branch tip is different, likely because that part of the snowflake had attached itself to another crystal while still growing. It breaks the overall balance a bit, but it doesn’t tarnish the charm of this skyborne jewel.

Merry Christmas, everyone! This is the penultimate snowflake in the daily series this year. There will be another one tomorrow, and then sporadically as I can find the time between other projects until the end of winter. Each one of these images takes an average of four hours to put together, some of them much longer. Tomorrow’s snowflake is ready, after taking over 14 hours to edit. I hope you’ve been appreciating them, and you’ll be wowed by what Christmas Day will bring. :)

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Taken in: Canada / Ontario / Little Lake (show map)

Taken on: February 15, 2014

Tags:

snowflake

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ice

crystal

nature

balance

weather

meteorology

hydrology

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mineralogy

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frozen $Everybody's photos tagged with fractal$ fractal

science

physics

microscopy

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macrophotography

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Canada

asymmetry

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Sets appears in: • Snowflakes & Frost

Groups appears in: • Canon DSLR User Group • Winter Wonderland more » • Snowflake • Ontario: Yours to Discover • PHOTOGRAPHERS OF CANADA • Tips from the Top Floor Podcast (tfttf) • SNOW !! • Canada Nature & Wildlife • Symbolic Pictures • Northern Ontario Scenery • Northern Exposure • The World Up-Close (Nature Macro) • Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x Macro Photo • Our Sky • Macro in the Snow • Science! • Canada from Sea to Sea to Sea • (Water Pics Only).. from a drop to an ocean .. • Winter Flickr • Awesome Snowflakes • DIYPhotography • **Snow, Snow, Snow!** • HIDDEN WORLD. • This Week in Photo • SLR Macro Photography • Fall And Winter Around The World ❀ • Simcoe Country, Ontario • CANADA >>> 1 Million Canadian Photos (56,062 Photos) • Wonders of Winter • Snow Pictures Around The World • I am Canadian! • ***All beautiful shots and many more. • ***Flickr Global • Snow show - Neve - Nieve, ice, gelo e hielo • The Art of Quality [ Macro ] • snow from the northern hemisphere to the south pole • Snow Porn • Snowflakes, Snow & Winter • Winter/Snow Pictures • Natur und Umwelt • The Nature Photography • Canon EOS 1DX / 1DC « less

Camera: Canon EOS-1D X, f/4.5, 1/250 sec, 65mm, ISO 200 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon EOS-1D X
Lens:	MP-E65mm f/2.8 1-5x Macro Photo
Aperture:	f/4.5
Exposure Time:	0.004 sec (1/250)
Focal Length:	65mm
ISO:	200
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	On, Fired
Exposure Program:	Manual
Exposure Mode:	Manual
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop 24.1 (Windows)
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