Want this hanging on your wall? Click the photo to buy now!
When I discovered Kenneth G. Libbrecht’s exquisite snowflake photography, I felt I could settle for nothing less in my own.
Then, I read this: “Near-perfect, symmetrical snow crystals are fun to look at, but they are not common.” He wrote. Part of me sighed in discouragement and the other part inhaled a breath of confidence. I would just keep looking until I found perfection.
I almost swept this snowflake off my set and moved on when I saw the crusty edges. Something stopped me, though, something told me to make the image anyway. I could always Photoshop it to beautiful perfection later, I thought.
No two snowflakes are alike, I considered later on in front of my computer, that’s part of their beauty. This tiny ice sculpture formed and it’s the only one of its kind. No one will ever see it again, and I was about to hack it up in Photoshop and mold it into my culturally programmed idea of beauty.
How could I change anything once I realized this? So, in the end, I altered very little but the color.
There’s nothing unique about perfection. Whether it’s beautiful or not… that’s for your eyes to decide.
