I'm excited to be getting everything set up to start photographing snowflakes this year. I asked for a Raynox MSN-202 for Christmas and it has already came in. I'll need a focus rail and some glass or glass microscopic slides also. I'm using my darkroom enlarger as a copy stand. I had planned on buying the Snow Studio from David Runyan but he is upgrading the design completely and isn't selling them this year.
I plan on using a few different types of lighting. Including, but not limited to, having taped the Raynox filter adapter to my Canon Ring Lite, using small LED flashlights taped to a couple of Manfrotto clamps I use for flashes normally, I'll use some type of bags or lids to color and diffuse the lighting from these, and natural lighting if it works. I'll see what types of lighting I like and what doesn't work (melts the snow).
I also have +4 and a +10 close-up filters that fit right onto the back of the Raynox that will get more magnification but I will lose more DOF and possibly will get some fringing. I'm excited to try it out though.
I'm testing my set-up now. This image is of a very tiny (less than 1/4 of an inch) dried weed flower. I used the darkroom enlarger stand, 2 second delay on the shutter, f16, Aperture Priority, Canon ring lite - photographed with the modeling light, Canon 100mm L macro lens with Raynox MSN-202, Canon 5D MarkIII.
I just looked up and it's snowing out right now. It's not cold enough for the snow to not melt but yay!
