Photographer: Jen Campbell

Summary Authors: Brian Campbell; Jim Foster



Shown above are photos of snow crystals taken during snowfalls in Salisbury, Maryland, this past February. A sector plate snow crystal is featured at top. Plate crystals such as this are typically observed when the air temperature is quite cold, 0-10 F or about -15 C. The bottom photo shows a collection of simple needle snow crystals. These formed when the temperature was in the low 20s F (about -5 C). The familiar hexagonal shape of snow crystals is a result of the six-fold symmetry of the ice crystal lattice.



Note that these photos were taken from about 2 in (5 cm) away. It took 100 shots to get 7 or 8 sharp crystals, like the ones above. Top photo taken on February 16, 2015 and bottom photo taken on February 18, 2015.



Photo Details: 200 mm f/2.8 macro lens, with an ice light for lighting.

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