The first ever photographs of snowflakes | Wilson A Bentley

Wilson A Bentley photographed 5,000 snowflakes in his lifetime and never found any two alike Photograph: Public Domain Photograph: guardian.co.uk At the age of 19, Bentley had pioneered the technique of photomicrography Photograph: Public Domain Photograph: guardian.co.uk He managed to hook up a microscope to a bellows camera and spent much of the rest of his life perfecting the technique through trial and error Photograph: Public Domain Photograph: guardian.co.uk He captured more than 5,000 snowflake images during his lifetime Photograph: Public Domain Photograph: guardian.co.uk 'Under the microscope, I found that snowflakes were miracles of beauty ...' he wrote Photograph: Public Domain Photograph: guardian.co.uk '... and it seemed a shame that this beauty should not be seen and appreciated by others' Photograph: Public Domain Photograph: guardian.co.uk 'Every crystal was a masterpiece of design ...' Photograph: Public Domain Photograph: guardian.co.uk '... and no design was ever repeated' Photograph: Public Domain Photograph: guardian.co.uk 'When a snowflake melted, that design was forever lost' Photograph: Public Domain Photograph: guardian.co.uk 'Just that much beauty was gone, without leaving any record behind' Photograph: Public Domain Photograph: guardian.co.uk In 1931 his book Snow Crystals, containing more than 2,400 images, was published Photograph: Public Domain Photograph: guardian.co.uk Later that year Bentley died walking home through a blizzard Photograph: Public Domain Photograph: guardian.co.uk