More Snow!

I have tried about four different setups to get decent photographs of snowflakes and I am starting to appreciate some of the early photographers (especially Wilson Bently).  I cannot imagine having to work with glass plates, developing, and all the other steps that were involved to get a single good picture.  With the modern digital cameras it is easy (believe me!) to take several hundred photos in a matter of an hour or less, and with digital imaging techniques the images can be enhanced and printed with ease.  The collage shown represents about two hours of work (play?).  I find that using the various filters in Photoshop really makes the image stand out--especially the "glowing edge" filter.  I have included one unretouched image so you can see what they look like straight from the camera. Several of the images required multiple shots to increase the depth of field or because the snowflake was larger than the field of view.  Photoshop was used for both stitching and depth of field manipulation. Three different microscope setups were used and I can't really say one is better than the others.  A major problem is getting the best lighting although I guess one does not have to worry about the color.