Snowflakes as you've never seen them before

(Image credit: December 2012 | Moscow (Alexey Kljatov))

last updated 8 January 2015

We all know that snowflakes are completely and utterly unique, but Alexey Kljatov takes that truism to a new level. His close-up shots prove each snowflake's individuality and provide an intimate look into their complex design.

The most amazing part of Kljatov's photos, though, is that he took all of them with an old Canon point-and-shoot camera. Klajotov explains on his blog that to get that intense focus, he jerry-rigged a lens onto his Canon and attached the contraption onto a piece of wood to keep the shot steady. Then, Kljatov simply walked out onto his balcony in Moscow, set up the camera, chose his background — either illuminating the snowflake with a flashlight or placing a dark wool rug below — and shot. His snowflake photos are available on his Flickr page.