Colorized Snowflakes by Rick Doble

From a past exhibit: snowflakes with added color based on the landmark work by W. A. Bentley

who was a pioneer of photomicrography and who invented a method for photographing frozen ice crystals in

1885.Widely used by teachers and reported in the media -- see citations at the end of this presentation.

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Permission To Use These Snowflake Pictures

These colorized snowflakes are copyrighted:

Copyright © Rick Doble 2000

Permission is granted to educators, teachers, schools and non-profit organizations to use these images as long as Rick Doble is credited.

These images can be extracted from this PowerPoint presentation in a variety of ways. PowerPoint allows each page to be exported in a number of file formats. Find the EXPORT command and then save in the desired file format.

In addition Windows allows a simple way to screen grab an image. Press the ALT + PrtSc(PrintScreen) top right to grab a window -- and then go into a graphics editing program where you PASTE the screen grab -- at which point the picture can be cropped, enhanced and then saved. There are also a variety of screen grab apps that are part of graphics programs or available separately -- many of these are free.

No Snowflakes Are AlikeBentley discovered that no 2 snowflakes are alike. This

is particularly odd because virtually all hydrogen atoms are the same and virtually all oxygen atoms are the same -- i.e., the atoms that make up water.

Yet the frozen crystals they create in the form of snow or ice crystals are different, even though the crystals contain a basic similar (hexagonal) structure.

"...it's unlikely that any two complex snow crystals, out of all those made over the entire history of the planet, have ever looked completely alike."http://www.its.caltech.edu/

Although each snowflake is different, the structure of each is the same, i.e., hexagonal.

So this animated work of several snowflakes overlaid on each other

creates an interesting pattern.

Around 1997, I developed a method for substituting color in the black and white

photographs of Bentley because I thought it could show the structure in a different way. Years earlier I had learned from a scientist that staining could bring out aspects of a

organism or crystal that could not be seen otherwise.

The following pages show my experiments with color and the

snowflake or ice crystal structure.

About My Work With Snowflakes

I made these snowflake images beginning around 1997 before digital cameras became widely available. As a photographer I wanted to work with photographic images and also to experiment. These public domain photographs of Bentley were perfect since they reflected my interest in patterns in nature (my first photography book) and also my interest in microscopic imagery -- having worked with a microscope as a young boy.

About My MethodsMy own method for adding color to these black and

white photos was to scan them and then separate each image into 16 shades of gray. Then I substituted a color for each shade of gray using the palette ability of GIF files. This was a technique I had perfected with the photographs of Muybridge 10 years earlier using a Radio Shack computer in the 1980s.

When I started out, I substituted a dark color for a dark shade of gray and a light color for a light shade of gray. Later I became more adventurous and played with the colors in a way that would bring out the structure even more.

Teachers Comment On These Snowflake Pictures: Page 1

Used for lesson plans:"As I was researching Wilson Bentley and snow to create lesson plans for Kindergarten through 3rd grade who are participating in the Winter Wonderland project, I ran into a site by Rick Doble. As part of his work, Rick has exhibits of snowflake images which he digitally altered from Wilson Bentley’s snowflake pictures. This became the jumping off point for the projects I did with my 4th & 7th Grade classes."http://vsedgwick.edublogs.org/tag/wilson-bentley/

Snowflake pictures put up at a Belgian school site:Dear Rick,I'm going to do my very best to translate what I wrote on our website.« By chance I found in the - indeed excellent - weekly "Clickx" an article about the website of a certain Rick Doble. This "digital artist" occupied himself with editing (I have the impression this is a poor translation for our word "bewerken", sorry; maybe "elaborating" can do?) with color the photographs of the snowflakeman. The writer of this article putted that those images were indeed very beautiful, but asked himself (we quote:) "Allright, but what can you do with such a work of art?" Dear JDP, on this page you get an answer for your question. The magnificent photographs of Rick Doble are a perfect illustration for the text that I present my pupils. Internet: what it's all good for!»Guy VAN HEDDEGEMteacher sixth gradeat the Sint-Michielsschool, Belguimhttp://users.skynet.be/sky84605/sneeuwkristallen.html

Teachers Comment On These Snowflake Pictures: Page 2

Instructional material for children:Maine Association of School LibrariesOne computer artist has taken some of Bentley's landmark snowflake photographs and transformed them into stunning animations that are like crystalline light shows. His name is Rick Doble, and his work may be experienced at http://www.RickDoble.net/newsnow Work with your art teacher and your computer teacher to learn something about Doble's artistic approach. Prepare a presentation for a specific audience that incorporates these moving images.....the presentation could be about art enhancement, about computer art, about Bentley's and Doble's artistic goals, as an introduction to a scientific presentation on snow crystals, or other approved topic.

About the 3rd Annual Snowflake Exhibit by Rick Doble:Maine Association of School LibrariesActivity For Children:Do you like Mr. Doble's snowflakes? Do you like them more or less than the ones done by Mr. Bentley? If you could choose one picture of Mr. Doles to save for yourself, which one would it be? Tell why. Save the picture to your disk to share later with friends or the class. Look at your choice of favorite snowflake pictures by Bentley. Compare it to some of the ones Mr. Doble has enhanced. Which do you like best?

Media Mentions: Page 1

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WCBS, New York NEWSRADIO 88http://www.wcbs880.com/Major Announcement: Internet MinuteWe're dreaming of a White Christmas, and while Nature may or may not cooperate with our dream this year - we can see snowflakes as we never have on the net. Rick Doble is an Internet Artist - An E-Artist, so to speak. Have you ever tried to look at snow-flakes. It isn't easy, because they melt so quickly. Each little crystal is believed to be unique - the molecules of moistures freezing with particular beauty every time around its host mote of airborne dust. There are still photos, and animations of snowflakes in Rick's online exhibit. It's a nice little thing to check out, to get you into the spirit of snow this season.

Media Mentions: Page 2

No longer online.NETSURER DIGEST Volume 06, Issue 21Thursday, June 15, 2000Digital Totem Poles and Other StuffRick Doble is a digital artist who has invested his work with a great deal of thought. His digital totem pole exhibit is a series of 10 high-quality abstractions. The images and patterns are derived from the manmade and natural world. Rick lists the major artists and artifacts that influenced his work. This is serious stuff, and very moving. The site has several other online galleries of Rick's digital art, all worth visiting. Don't skip the Third Annual Snowflake Exhibit. You can also browse Rick's written philosophical musings on digital art and the nature of art in the 21st century. If you think of art as more than just pretty pictures, this is truly a stand-out site.

SOUTH AMERICAAbout URL: 1st Annual Snowflake ExhibitDear Mr. Doble,thank you so much for your wonderful site. It is already on my bookmarks, and I sent it to our Computer Section and to the people that do the homepage (site) of our newspaper, O ESTADO DE S.PAULO.

About URL: 1st Annual Snowflake ExhibitYour page is very beautiful and moving. Thank you for the opportunity to watch such a colorful and interesting display. Thank You again, Blas JulioEl Siglo Digital

Libraries And Science Mentions

SNOW CRYSTALSAn exhibit of photomicrographsby Wilson A. BentleyPresented by the Schwerdtfeger LibrarySpace Science and Engineering Center, UW-Madisonhttp://www.ssec.wisc.edu/library/Link to Doble's snowflake exhibit:http://www.ssec.wisc.edu/library/bentley.htm

Earth/matriXScience in Ancient Artwork and Science Todayhttp://www.earthmatrix.com/"A Critical Commentary on Chaos Theory and Fractal Geometry"By Charles William Johnson.Link to Doble's snowflake site:http://www.earthmatrix.com/links.html

The Physics of Snow CrystalsBy Kenneth G. Libbrecht,Caltech UniversityNo longer online