A Russian man uses Soviet-made lenses to reveal the magical world of snowflakes.
![](https://gdb.rferl.org/C55D70E9-E400-4E39-B5C0-2C83A0FA2E57.jpg)
They look like jewels on display…
![](https://gdb.rferl.org/3ADCB0AD-FAEB-4162-AF1C-2AD836A90233.jpg)
...but these are freshly fallen snowflakes, or snow crystals, resting on wool.
![](https://gdb.rferl.org/88B7CF23-6D8F-44B0-A6AF-981A13B5A54A.jpg)
They are around 1 millimeter in size and were captured using a simple, cheap photography technique.
![](https://gdb.rferl.org/6D493483-26F3-493A-9850-EB736BD7FC5D.jpg)
When the snow starts falling in Moscow, Alexey Kljatov heads onto his terrace to hunt for tiny frozen treasures with a specially modified camera.
![](https://gdb.rferl.org/E1B11B48-D1E0-4055-A3A8-4D4222C57C18.jpg)
By taping a Soviet-made lens in front of his Canon Powershot's built-in lens, Kljatov transformed the 10-year-old camera into a powerful microscope.
![](https://gdb.rferl.org/FDABCA44-0E64-4395-B3B0-50220930024D.jpg)
The 42-year-old, who works as a printing-press operator, waits for snow to settle on this black wool panel…
![](https://gdb.rferl.org/097AD554-E7B9-496E-8F83-C355DD94A1DF.jpg)
...or on a glass sheet he leaves outside to chill.
![](https://gdb.rferl.org/E204E7AE-D89C-4E44-A1AB-CDE6F10CF9C4.jpg)
Kljatov says using a simple camera with a small image sensor allows him to keep more of each snowflake in sharp focus.
![](https://gdb.rferl.org/FF9CACAF-209E-471D-9DA0-2B9D2D1AB1E8.jpg)
Despite their delicate appearance, Kljatov says the tiny treasures are tough enough to handle a few prods with a toothpick, which he uses to position them for the camera.
![](https://gdb.rferl.org/B363AE33-EBF4-4F0E-9690-1B4D2D50E338.jpg)
While most of Kljatov's snowflakes are of the classic six-armed variety…
![](https://gdb.rferl.org/379DAC41-7A98-4580-84CA-7918D4BC6041.jpg)
...some photos capture the otherworldly shapes that snow crystals can take under certain conditions.
![](https://gdb.rferl.org/B3897DD9-5B1F-4E53-AFCA-CA2A4FAD5AD8.jpg)
These tiny snow crystals (around the diameter of a human hair) are known as "diamond dust" for the way they glitter in the sunlight during especially cold days.
![](https://gdb.rferl.org/9238ECD3-75EB-4453-AB63-7FC38F0BC7D0.jpg)
This rare 12-armed crystal is the result of two snowflakes bonding on their fall through the clouds.
![](https://gdb.rferl.org/6F481CE9-113E-41D3-A7DC-3A54456D179A.jpg)
The icy speckles covering this snowflake result from water droplets freezing onto its surface as it tumbled toward Kljatov's terrace.
![](https://gdb.rferl.org/AFD317D3-9626-4F3A-A186-504356E3F709.jpg)
The six arms of the typical snowflake derive from the molecular structure of water.
![](https://gdb.rferl.org/5DCFC907-7104-424D-8012-75AFC8FDA8A8.jpg)
Kljatov told RFE/RL that some days the snowflakes have only a fleeting lifespan. "When it's minus-3 or minus-4 degrees Celsius, melting is so fast it becomes a serious problem."
![](https://gdb.rferl.org/333985DC-2641-4C01-A949-705CD38FC5A1.jpg)
When the temperature drops below minus-10 Celsius, the photographer can work with individual snowflakes for nearly as long as he wants before heading inside for a hot cuppa.
![](https://gdb.rferl.org/9F7EDD75-2BAD-4A13-AAF5-EF19D1344158.jpg)
So far this winter, Kljatov says, he has only had one day of shooting snowflakes due to warm temperatures in Moscow.
![](https://gdb.rferl.org/FDEC2568-DEBC-4BC3-8A08-AB9834EABBF5.jpg)
But seeing as he lives in a city famous for its snowy winters, he's not too worried, "I have a huge number of snowflake photos in my archive, waiting for processing."