Enchanting Evanescence

By David W Runyan II

Snow crystals are, without argument, beautifully crafted gems, each of them distinct from all others; jewels from the sky, presenting their beauty briefly before sublimation erodes their features and facets.
Snowflakes, truly and indeed, are both enchanting and evanescent.

This book presents the artistry of snowflakes through a gallery of macro images into which the reader may immerse to ponder the wonder of water and the infinite combinations of hexagonal expressions created when a molecule of water vapor becomes a sui generis snow crystal.

The book contains a tribute chapter to the life and work of Wilson Bentley; the first person to successfully photograph a snowflake (in 1885), and to whom this book is dedicated.

There is a chapter on the science of snowflakes; how they are formed, and the physics proving the theory that no two snowflakes in the history of the world are identical.

Lastly, the book explains how I collect, isolate and photograph individual snowflakes using nothing more than a standard compact camera.

If you, the reader, might be inclined to engage in this hobby, you won't need a DSLR and you won't need a microscope. But you will need the same passion, persistence and patience found in Wilson Bentley.

• Language: English
• Publisher: David W Runyan II
• Release date: May 23, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370456420

David W Runyan II

Human societies and ideologies are given to change with such frequency that one might assume them to be severely flawed; requiring thousands of years of alterations in order to finally get it right. Nature on the other hand refuses to change and believes in endless repetitiveness and yet there is no boredom in the steadfastness of the presentation which is either so wonderfully designed that one doesn't tire of seeing the same venue millions of times or else the variations in attire continue to amaze, or both. If a sunset is viewed from the same vantage point each evening, the landscape remains unchanged but the cloud cover and sunlight effect the landscape in new ways with each dusk. Or the lush Summer greens give way to the Autumn palette and thereafter the snow clings to the denuded forest. The same is never the same. For these reasons, I spend much of my free time in the natural realm quietly observing and recording the splendor of it all; coalescing all of my perceptions and images into chronicles to share with the world in the form of EBooks hoping always that the effort inspires the reader to segregate self from our ever-changing societies and ideologies briefly and to savor the magnificence of that which refuses to change.

Book preview

Enchanting Evanescence

Copyright 2014 by David W. Runyan II

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the author. The snowflake images are in the public domain for personal, non-profit use. No commercial or profitable use is permitted.

Dedication

This book is dedicated to the spirit and memory of Wilson Bentley.

Other Ebooks by David W. Runyan II

Flights of Fancy

Mad About Mushrooms

Wonders with Winter

Facebook Venues

North Quabbin Free Fotos

Snowflake Gallery

Preface

Snow crystals are, without argument, beautifully crafted gems, each of them distinct from all others; jewels from the sky, presenting their beauty briefly before sublimation erodes their features and facets.

Snowflakes, truly and indeed, are both enchanting and evanescent.

This book presents the artistry of snowflakes through a gallery of macro images into which the reader may immerse to ponder the wonder of water and the infinite combinations of hexagonal expressions created when a molecule of water vapor becomes a sui generis snow crystal.

The book contains a tribute chapter