10 ms·

Highest resolution photos ever taken of snowflakes

89 points by atakan_gurkan 6y ago

dr_dshiv 6y ago
I love that he does all these random innovations. I hope he gets into dirigibles
- jjoonathan 6y ago
  They aren't random. He's a gigantic patent troll and has a strong vested interest in maintaining the appearance of being a quirky inventor. I suppose he genuinely is one, to a degree, but the fact that he made a killing by squeezing actual innovators en masse robs the situation of most of its charm.
  - pewpewpew777 6y ago
    A few articles that came up in google: https://psmag.com/magazine/a-patent-boogieman-with-the-potential-to-obliterate-aspiring-startups https://psmag.com/magazine/a-patent-boogieman-with-the-poten... https://www.forbes.com/sites/nathanvardi/2018/06/01/after-10-years-nathan-myhrvolds-3-billion-of-private-equity-funds-show-big-losses https://www.forbes.com/sites/nathanvardi/2018/06/01/after-10...
stephen82 6y ago
They must be kidding us...Alexey did it years ago https://alexey-kljatov.pixels.com/ https://alexey-kljatov.pixels.com/
- marcod 6y ago
  LOL https://www.americanforests.org/magazine/article/close-up-with-nature-photographer-alexey-kljatov/ https://www.americanforests.org/magazine/article/close-up-wi... I guess they have a few more pixels, so they can claim the "title" :p Also, don't shoot in yellow snow!
- mojuba 6y ago
  Amazing photos. This one can easily be a company logo - https://alexey-kljatov.pixels.com/featured/real-snowflake-2016-01-062-alexey-kljatov.html https://alexey-kljatov.pixels.com/featured/real-snowflake-20...
jjoonathan 6y ago
> Nathan Myhrvold Another puff piece for the patent troll king!
thesausageking 6y ago
If you're not familiar with him, Nathan Myhrvold is the (in)famous patent troll behind Intellectual Ventures: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellectual_Ventures https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellectual_Ventures
- martinesko36 6y ago
  Is this also the guy behind Modernist Cuisine?
  - ojilles 6y ago
    Yes.
- umvi 6y ago
  > Intellectual Ventures ... has been described as the country's largest and most notorious patent trolling company, the ultimate patent troll, and the most hated company in tech.
  - DoofusOfDeath 6y ago
    Apologies if this is too tangential, but does anyone know where I can find a good explanation of why patent "trolling" is seen as worse than any other kind of IP enforcement? TL;DR: My (perhaps wrong) view is that people are misdirecting their anger; that the real target should be governments' loose standards for what's patentable, and for the breadth of some of the patents they issue. But given that people don't show equal outrage for copyright / trademark litigation, I suspect I'm genuinely missing something.
    - deleted 6y ago
      [deleted]
    - deleted 6y ago
      [deleted]
    - umvi 6y ago
john_minsk 6y ago
I don't see any links to high res photos. Are they available?
- ddingus 6y ago
  "Art starts at $850"
mianos 6y ago
It seems no one is game to comment on the fact that it is not his idea on the comment page for fear of being sued.
shmageggy 6y ago
This was posted last month https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25414579 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25414579
ipsum2 6y ago
Using focus stacking and strobes to take high-res photos of snowflakes is nothing new. Here's a YouTube video of how to do it yourself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKA8Boa9hBA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKA8Boa9hBA Gallery of incredible snowflake photos by the same guy https://skycrystals.ca/snowflake-gallery/ https://skycrystals.ca/snowflake-gallery/ (adblock stops the gallery from working for some reason) Myhrvold is just really good at PR.
- dekhn 6y ago
  Looking at the first video link, that guy is using a telephoto/macro with a canon camera in ambient lighting conditions. Nathan has a scientific scope using a high power microscope objective, an XY stage, and lighting. The results are different. Focus stacking improves depth of field. But if you're aligning the flakes perpindicular to the optical axis, flat, then it makes more sense to just select the appropriate objective and lighting for the DOF you want, and scan the XY with a very high resolution objective to get the 2D details of flat flakes. Big difference (I do both, but not on snowflakes). Agree he's good at PR.
andytruett 6y ago
My favorite line of the article: > Every single part of his Frankenstein-esque device, which stands at about five feet in height off the ground when placed on a table, was built using materials that are less likely to cause melting or sublimation of the subject matter. I'm seven and a half feet tall when I stand on a chair.
wiremaus 6y ago
This truly isn't new; I've seen coffee table books from the 80s that used similar techniques for the photographs. This is a strangely credulous article.

89 points by atakan_gurkan 6y ago

dr_dshiv 6y ago

I love that he does all these random innovations. I hope he gets into dirigibles

jjoonathan 6y ago
They aren't random. He's a gigantic patent troll and has a strong vested interest in maintaining the appearance of being a quirky inventor. I suppose he genuinely is one, to a degree, but the fact that he made a killing by squeezing actual innovators en masse robs the situation of most of its charm.
- pewpewpew777 6y ago
  A few articles that came up in google: https://psmag.com/magazine/a-patent-boogieman-with-the-potential-to-obliterate-aspiring-startups https://psmag.com/magazine/a-patent-boogieman-with-the-poten... https://www.forbes.com/sites/nathanvardi/2018/06/01/after-10-years-nathan-myhrvolds-3-billion-of-private-equity-funds-show-big-losses https://www.forbes.com/sites/nathanvardi/2018/06/01/after-10...

stephen82 6y ago

They must be kidding us...Alexey did it years ago https://alexey-kljatov.pixels.com/ https://alexey-kljatov.pixels.com/

marcod 6y ago
LOL https://www.americanforests.org/magazine/article/close-up-with-nature-photographer-alexey-kljatov/ https://www.americanforests.org/magazine/article/close-up-wi... I guess they have a few more pixels, so they can claim the "title" :p Also, don't shoot in yellow snow!
mojuba 6y ago
Amazing photos. This one can easily be a company logo - https://alexey-kljatov.pixels.com/featured/real-snowflake-2016-01-062-alexey-kljatov.html https://alexey-kljatov.pixels.com/featured/real-snowflake-20...

jjoonathan 6y ago

> Nathan Myhrvold Another puff piece for the patent troll king!

thesausageking 6y ago

If you're not familiar with him, Nathan Myhrvold is the (in)famous patent troll behind Intellectual Ventures: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellectual_Ventures https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellectual_Ventures

martinesko36 6y ago
Is this also the guy behind Modernist Cuisine?
- ojilles 6y ago
  Yes.
umvi 6y ago
> Intellectual Ventures ... has been described as the country's largest and most notorious patent trolling company, the ultimate patent troll, and the most hated company in tech.
- DoofusOfDeath 6y ago
  Apologies if this is too tangential, but does anyone know where I can find a good explanation of why patent "trolling" is seen as worse than any other kind of IP enforcement? TL;DR: My (perhaps wrong) view is that people are misdirecting their anger; that the real target should be governments' loose standards for what's patentable, and for the breadth of some of the patents they issue. But given that people don't show equal outrage for copyright / trademark litigation, I suspect I'm genuinely missing something.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
  - umvi 6y ago

john_minsk 6y ago

I don't see any links to high res photos. Are they available?

ddingus 6y ago
"Art starts at $850"

mianos 6y ago

It seems no one is game to comment on the fact that it is not his idea on the comment page for fear of being sued.

shmageggy 6y ago

This was posted last month https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25414579 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25414579

ipsum2 6y ago

Using focus stacking and strobes to take high-res photos of snowflakes is nothing new. Here's a YouTube video of how to do it yourself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKA8Boa9hBA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKA8Boa9hBA Gallery of incredible snowflake photos by the same guy https://skycrystals.ca/snowflake-gallery/ https://skycrystals.ca/snowflake-gallery/ (adblock stops the gallery from working for some reason) Myhrvold is just really good at PR.

dekhn 6y ago
Looking at the first video link, that guy is using a telephoto/macro with a canon camera in ambient lighting conditions. Nathan has a scientific scope using a high power microscope objective, an XY stage, and lighting. The results are different. Focus stacking improves depth of field. But if you're aligning the flakes perpindicular to the optical axis, flat, then it makes more sense to just select the appropriate objective and lighting for the DOF you want, and scan the XY with a very high resolution objective to get the 2D details of flat flakes. Big difference (I do both, but not on snowflakes). Agree he's good at PR.

andytruett 6y ago

My favorite line of the article: > Every single part of his Frankenstein-esque device, which stands at about five feet in height off the ground when placed on a table, was built using materials that are less likely to cause melting or sublimation of the subject matter. I'm seven and a half feet tall when I stand on a chair.

wiremaus 6y ago

This truly isn't new; I've seen coffee table books from the 80s that used similar techniques for the photographs. This is a strangely credulous article.