After many failed attempts at drawing the details of the snowflakes, he connected. Four year later, in 1885, equipped with both his microscope and a camera, bentley made the first successful photograph of a snowflake. Snow, the beautiful snow, as the raptured poet sang, winters spotless downy blanket for forest and field, has ever challenged pen to describe, and brush to paint, its marvelous mass effects. Snowflake bentley nancy polettes childrens literature site. And he determined that one day his camera would capture for others the wonder of the tiny crystal. Blanchard wrote that bentley saw god in the workings of the universe and in particular in the splendor and grandeur of the snow crystalshe was familiar with the bible, for in two or three of his articles on snow crystals he quoted some scripture. He photographed over 5,000 snow crystals and no two were alike. To the villagers of jericho, vermont, bentley was considered odd, and was known to many of them as the snowflake man because of his quiet nature and unusual preoccupation with. Wilson alwyn snowflake bentley february 9, 1865 december 23, 1931 is one of the first known photographers of snowflakes. Objectives children will learn about the life and work of wilson bentley. Snowflake bentley spent most of his life studying snow and rain. Bentley had photographed more than 5,000 snow crystals, released a book of his images, and wrote. A photomicrograph is a photograph of something very small taken through a microscope.
He tried to draw what he saw through an old microscope given to him by his. Snowflake bentley had a book of photographs published. The first snowflake photographer, wilson bentley old. Wilson alwyn bentley 18651931, americas first cloud physicist, grew up on a. Wilson bentley is affectionately known as snowflake bentley today, because of his incredible success with photographing these delicate wonders of nature. Bentley s proudest moment came in 1931 upon publication of his book snow crystals, which contained 2,453 of his photographs.
But when he starting taking up a interest in smaller objects, snow. He learned that most crystals had six branches though a few had three. He tried to make detailed drawings of magnified snow crystals, but the snow. With the support of his family, he experimented with snowflakes and developed a way to take detailed photographs of the microscopic crystals.
In willies hometown of jericho, vermont, you can still read the monument dedicated to snowflake bentley, jerichos world famous snowflake authority. Explore this gallery of wilson bentley snowflake images to see the amazing range of shapes found in these tiny crystals. Wilson bentley introduced the world to his study of snow, but it didnt stop there. About the bentley collection schwerdtfeger library home. Wilson snowflake bentley artists carl hammer gallery. Its an excellent book for all ages, and i want you to have our book club guide so you can read along with us. He wrote the entry on snow in encyclopedia britannica. This book brought the beauty and wonder of the vermont snow to people all over the world. He perfected a process of catching flakes on black velvet in such a way that their images could be captured before they either melted or sublimated kenneth g. Get a sneak peek of the mountain with each cam stationed at various locations.
By age sixtysix with the help of other scientists, bentley had his pictures made into a book called snow crystals. The bentley snow crystal collection of the buffalo museum of science is a digital. It is no wonder that he earned the moniker snowflake bentley. Bentley first started his lifelong quest with a telescope and free time. His book snow crystals was published by mcgrawhill shortly before his. The book snowflake bentley tells the story of a determined boy, william bentley, and his curiosity for ice crystals. To the great beyond bentley s log entry on 7 december 1931 reads, cold north wind afternoon.
Homeschooling today magazine snowflake bentley unit study. Bentleys original glass slide photographs of snow crystals, and includes dynamic resources to further an appreciation and understanding of bentley and his work. Bentley s snowflakes cdrom and book dover electronic clip art by w. Wilson bentley refined his photography, capturing the images of thousands of snowflakes, no two alike. Wilson alwyn bentley from the earliest days of our childhood, many of us can remember hearing the phrase no two snowflakes are alike. Wilson also released his book snow crystals in 1931, with 2000 of his photographs. This amazing book was written by wilson bentley snowflake bentley.
This is a great book to introduce a unit on diversity. Students may use their erasers to highlight the wood grain, draped cloth, or accordionlike folds of the camera. To inspire young and old alike this poster includes one of bentley s most endearing quotes. How many times could bentley s microscope magnify a crystal. Visit your local library or order from an online company a copy of wilson bentley s book, snow crystals. The book is of great value both to students of ice forms and for textile and other designers who can use the natural designs of these snow crystals in their work. Since adapting her kaleidoscope quilting method to the creation of a. Libbrecht notes that the techniques used by bentley to photograph snowflakes are essentially the same as. Bentleys original glass slide photographs of snow crystals, and includes.
Dec 12, 2016 the official poster of the snowflake bentley exhibit in jericho. He died of pneumonia just two weeks later at the age of 66. The official poster of the snowflake bentley exhibit in. Snowflake bentley earned his nickname by taking photomicrographs of snow crystals. He was a farmer by trade and a scientist by passion, said terry nathan, an atmospheric scientist at the. It bore the title snow crystals, and the text was supplied by william j. Images of snow crystals taken by wilson alwyn bentley. Draw attention to which portion you are reading so students know where the information is coming from. It shows his incredible work and the most amazing snowflake images that one has ever seen. Bentley took the time and had the persistence to photograph so many snow crystals they truly are intricate and gorgeous with so many designs the beautiful, magical, breathtaking artwork of god that fills the soul with wonder and awe. Of all the forms of water the tiny sixpointed crystals of ice called snow are incomparably the most beautiful and varied. One day, while glancing through it, i saw the connection between the shape of a snow crystal and a twomirror, sixsided kaleidoscopic image. Archives and to those contained in the dover book, snow crystals 1962. Snow crystals are very small and combine to make snowflakes.
Wilson alwyn bentley, dictionary of american biography. Growing up in rural vermont, wilson bentley spent his teen years figuring out how to capture the microscopic beauty of each snow crystal. Crayola fine tip markers or gel markers can be used to draw snowflakes falling. He had a keen interested in photography, as well as snow crystals. Bentley walked home in a raging snow blizzard to make yet more photos of his beloved form of precipitation, and, contracting pneumonia from. The university of wisconsins department of atmospheric and oceanic sciences donated their collection to the schwerdtfeger library in 2000. Wilson alwyn bentley 18651931, famous for his photomicrographs of snowflakes, prepared sets of glass lantern slides of dew, frost and ice crystals. Media in category wilson bentley snow crystals the following 3 files are in this category, out of 3 total. Ironically, he died of pneumonia in 1931 a few days after a long trudge home through a snowstorm. Early gelatin silver print of frost patterns imaged by us photographer wilson alwyn bentley one of the first people to photograph snowflakes. Having grown up on a farm where the annual snowfall was 120 inches, bentley s obsession with precipitation began early, and sustained him throughout his life. His book, snow crystals, illustrated with 2,500 photographs was still. When he was sixtyfour, his book, snow crystals, was published.
Using crayola erasable colored pencils, students draw a picture of snowflake bentley taking photos of snowflakes falling, perhaps outside a house or barn. But from the time he was a small boy, wilson bentley thinks of the icy crystals as small miracles and he determines that one day his camera will capture for others their extraordinary beauty. He graduated from observing and drawing snowflakes to taking photographs. Ten of the pioneering photos of snowflake crystals us farmer wilson a bentley began taking more than a century ago are to be sold in new york. The bentley snow crystal collection of the buffalo museum of science is a digital library providing a highquality collection of stunning, unretouched images of wilson a. That same year, less than a month after the book s release, wilson a. The strange tale of the snowflake man art and design. As a young boy, bentley would hand draw pictures of snow crystals, and in his lifetime, wilson made over 5,000 photographic negatives of dew frost, snowflakes, raindrops, clouds and fog. Portrait of wilson bentley wilson bentley was born in 1865, and grew up in a rural town in vermont. Libbrecht notes that the techniques used by bentley to photograph snowflakes are essentially the same as those used today. He lived to see snow crystals, a book of his snow crystals images. Bentley s original glass slide photographs of snow crystals, and includes dynamic resources to further an appreciation and understanding of bentley and his work. Wilson, who became knows as snowflake bentley because of his passion for snowflakes, grew up in vermont, which gets feet and feet of snow every winter.
At the age of sixtysix, a book of his work was published. About the book snow in vermont is as common as dirt. Wilson bentley was born february 9, 1865, on a farm in jericho, vermont, between lake champlain and. Many of these sets found their way to colleges and universities around the united states. Snowflake bentley is an awardwinning picture book that tells the true story of wilson bentley from the time he was a small boy in vermont through his groundbreaking photographs of snowflakes. Having continued his painstaking research, by the 1920s he had amassed a gallery of more than 5000 snowflake images, some 2400 of which were selected for publication in a book, snow crystals, in 1931. It took bentley two years of painstaking trial and error, but on january 15, 1885, at the age of 19 years, he made the worlds first photomicrograph of a snow crystal. His quest to photograph snowflakes gave the world brilliant new pictures, wonders never seen before wilson bentley was born in 1865 on a farm in vermont where approximately 120 inches of snow blanketed the landscape each winter.
Wilson bentley pioneered in photographing snow crystals, snowflakes and raindrops. Bentley developed an interest in snow crystals after he received a microscope for his fifteenth birthday. Wilson bentley was 15 years old when he started drawing pictures of snowflakes. Wilson alwyn bentley february 9, 1865 december 23, 1931 was the first known. In 1920, bentley was elected as one of the first members of the american meteorological society, which later awarded him its first research grant in 1924.
A dendrite star, smithsonian institution archives, record unit 31, box 12, folder 17, negative no. A dendrite star snowflakes photomicrographed by wilson a. This discovery was made by a man named wilson bentley, a farmer from vermont, who became affectionately known as snowflake bentley. Shortly after the publication of his book, snow crystals, bentley walked six miles back to his house during a blizzard. Wilson bentley, the snowflake man, had given a great gift to the world. Wilson bentley is still known as an expert on snowflakes, and made history with his love for snow. Wilson bentley, at age 14 began a lengthy journey into science that would change the mindset of millions. At what age did bentley get a camera from his parents. In 1885, american farmer wilson bentley attached a camera to his microscope and took what is believed to be the very first photo of a snowflake. Historic bentley snowflake photos for sale in us history. Jericho was an ideal place to study snow because it was in the heart of the snowbelt, producing an average annual snowfall of over 120 inches. Wilson bentley 18651931 from the time he was a small boy in vermont, wilson bentley saw snowflakes as small miracles.
Bentley s prodigious body of work, snow crystals, was published in 1931 in new york, n. Wilson alwyn snowflake bentley and some of his snowflakes. Wilson bentleys snowflakes science is art is science. Crystal mountain provides onthesnow with cam feeds so skiers. It is done in only black and white as this book was published in the 1900s. If you have ever seen a snowflake design on a mug, or on jewelry, or maybe on a tote bag, chances are it was based on one of bentley s more than 5,000 photomicrographs of snow crystals snow crystals are the building blocks of snowflakes. The book contained more than 2400 snow crystal images, no two of them alike.
The story of snowflake bentley, the vermont farmer who. As a young boy, bentley would handdraw pictures of snow crystals, and in his lifetime, wilson made over 5,000 photographic negatives of dew frost, snowflakes, raindrops, clouds and fog. Reviewed in the united states on december 20, 2010. Sadly it was the last book he wrote before he died. Wilson alwyn bentley february 9, 1865 december 23, 1931 was the first known photographer of snowflakes. Wilson willie bentley 18651931 was born on a farm in jericho, vermont. The strange tale of the snowflake man using chilled velvet, tiny wood chips and turkey feathers, wilson bentley caused a flurry with his pioneering pictures of these miniature wonders. Bentley s book, snow crystals, published shortly before his death, must have brought tremendous satisfaction to him, and eventually earned him a degree of fame.
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