Synopses & Reviews
Dr. Kenneth Libbrecht’s incredible snowflake microphotography captures real snowflakes in full color and incredible detail. His work has been hailed around the world by everyone from the National Geographic to the New York Times. His images have appeared on U.S. Postal Service stamps and in museum collections.
Now, his newest and best images are collected here, in The Art of the Snowflake, a photographic album that will amaze all.
Snowflakes appear literally out of thin air. They are born high above us within grey winter clouds, where the simple act of freezing turns formless water vapor into spectacular crystalline ice sculptures. They grow and develop as they drift slowly to Earth, where Libbrecht intercepts their fall and uses microphotography to capture these fleeting works of natural art.
As he states, “Photographing snowflakes is always enjoyable because there are so many different types, with no two exactly alike. Each new snowfall is another world to explore, and I still often find novel specimens. The snow may seem rather unvaried to the naked eye, but the microscope reveals an amazing menagerie of beautiful crystalline forms.”
“The man is a doctor of snowflakes.” —Chicago Tribune
“Libbrecht knows snow…both the science and beauty. Libbrecht is deeply immersed in the magnificent, marvelous, mysterious world of snowflakes.” —Salt Lake City Deseret News
Review
American Institute of Physics (www.aip.org)/Inside Science News Service Dec. 18, 2007
“Exquisite photographs of the white ice crystals … Libbrecht reveals images of stunning beauty that fall to earth mostly unnoticed every winter.”
BOOK NEWS Inc, December 2007
“Libbrecht, a physicist at Caltech and has written on crystal growth, demonstrates his expertise in microphotography in this volume. Reproduced in color plats, some of them full-page, the photos depict individual snowflakes in all tier exquisite beauty.”
Ski Canada, November 2007
“From soft and delicate to sinister and gothic individual snowflakes are shown in the coffee-table book as truly wonderful creations of nature – especially when they’re photographed under the microscope by a certain physics professor from California who has a passion for them. This is the fourth and most artistic book on the subject by the author. And no matter what page you open it to, Libbrecht will have you mesmerized by the muster of such complex and symmetrical shapes that we all rely on as skiers.”
Review
Minneapolis Star Tribune, Nov. 25, 2007
“Libbrecht, a name synonymous with snow crystal photography, again shows his mastery in this gorgeous book, proving many times over the old grade-school dictum that ‘no two snowflakes are ever alike.’ They’re certainly not, and here’s the beautiful proof.”
Bookwormsez syndicated column, December 2007 “The gorgeous book is the latest in the ‘Snowflake’ series of books that show the beauty of those microscopic little flakes of ice and the inadvertent art that nature gives each of them. This is a great book for anyone of any age.”
Review
www.theweatherdoctor.com, November 2007
“This is a visual book about art, art flowing out of nature and a scientist’s eye to enhance that raw beauty. This WOW! Book straddles the worlds of art and science and should be on the shelves of everyone even remotely interested in the beauty of nature and of weather. With the holiday season fast approaching, I wholeheartedly recommend The Art of the Snowflake as a great gift that fits the season but lasts all year.”
www.forherinformation.com, November 2007
“This perfect cold-weather book showcases the beauty and grace of winter’s most fanciful decoration.”
Synopsis
The perfect geometry and exquisite beauty of nature is nowhere so clear to us as in the snowflake. But how have we been able to appreciate this infinitesimal wonder in all its crystalline glory? This book, as much a work of art as a testament to science, reveals how one of the snowflake s most inspired photographers came to such intimate knowledge of his craft and its fleeting focus. Beautiful pictures illustrate Kenneth Libbrecht s story of the microphotography of snow crystals, from the pioneering work of Wilson Bentley in the 1890s right up to Ken s own innovations in our age of digital images. A breathtaking look at the works of art that melt in an instant, this is a book to page through and savor, season after season.
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Synopsis
The secret of the snowflake’s fleeting beauty, and of the art of capturing it on film.
Synopsis
"I found that snowflakes were miracles of beauty; and it seemed a shame that this beauty should not be seen and appreciated by others. Every crystal was a masterpiece of design, and no one design was ever repeated. When a snowflake melted, that design was forever lost."
—Wilson Bentley (1865–1931), pioneer snowflake researcher and photographer
Snowflakes are indeed masterpieces of nature’s art. In The Art of the Snowflake, Dr. Kenneth Libbrecht has collected his newest and best photographic images of snowflakes. His unique method of photography captures real snow crystals in color and unprecedented detail, unveiling their incredible patterns like never before. His images save the miraculous beauty of snowflakes for all to see.
If you are inspired by Mother Nature’s glorious creations, The Art of the Snowflake takes you on a special journey into her winter’s secret world of wonder.
Synopsis
The perfect geometry and exquisite beauty of nature is nowhere near as clear to us as in the snowflake. As miraculous a feat of nature as the snowflakes has been, have we ever been truly able to appreciate this infinitesimal wonder in all its crystalline glory? Art of the Snowflake, as much a work of art as a testament to science, reveals how one of the snowflake's most inspired photographers came to such intimate knowledge of his craft and its fleeting focus. Beautiful pictures illustrate Kenneth Libbrecht's story of the microphotography of snow crystals, from the pioneering work of Wilson Bentley in the 1890s right up to Ken's own innovations in our age of digital images. A breathtaking look at the works of art that melt in an instant, this is a book to flip through and savor, season after season.
About the Author
American Institute of Physics (www.aip.org)/Inside Science News Service Dec. 18, 2007
“Exquisite photographs of the white ice crystals … Libbrecht reveals images of stunning beauty that fall to earth mostly unnoticed every winter.”
BOOK NEWS Inc, December 2007
“Libbrecht, a physicist at Caltech and has written on crystal growth, demonstrates his expertise in microphotography in this volume. Reproduced in color plats, some of them full-page, the photos depict individual snowflakes in all tier exquisite beauty.”
Ski Canada, November 2007
“From soft and delicate to sinister and gothic individual snowflakes are shown in the coffee-table book as truly wonderful creations of nature – especially when they’re photographed under the microscope by a certain physics professor from California who has a passion for them. This is the fourth and most artistic book on the subject by the author. And no matter what page you open it to, Libbrecht will have you mesmerized by the muster of such complex and symmetrical shapes that we all rely on as skiers.”
Minneapolis Star Tribune, Nov. 25, 2007
“Libbrecht, a name synonymous with snow crystal photography, again shows his mastery in this gorgeous book, proving many times over the old grade-school dictum that ‘no two snowflakes are ever alike.’ They’re certainly not, and here’s the beautiful proof.”
Bookwormsez syndicated column, December 2007 “The gorgeous book is the latest in the ‘Snowflake’ series of books that show the beauty of those microscopic little flakes of ice and the inadvertent art that nature gives each of them. This is a great book for anyone of any age.”
www.theweatherdoctor.com, November 2007
“This is a visual book about art, art flowing out of nature and a scientist’s eye to enhance that raw beauty. This WOW! Book straddles the worlds of art and science and should be on the shelves of everyone even remotely interested in the beauty of nature and of weather. With the holiday season fast approaching, I wholeheartedly recommend The Art of the Snowflake as a great gift that fits the season but lasts all year.”
www.forherinformation.com, November 2007
“This perfect cold-weather book showcases the beauty and grace of winter’s most fanciful decoration.”