Here's some snowy love...... at last!
We read Snowflake Bentley again recently. It's a beautifully written and illustrated story about Wilson Bentley, and it won the Caldecott in 1999.

Let me share a little about Snowflake Bentley and why I love him and his family...

Wilson Bentley was a man who lived with a passion for snow. He was the first person to photograph a snowcrystal with a microscope in 1885, (he was 19), and went on to spend his winters in the small town of Jericho, Vermont where he lived, photographing snow. Although rebuffed for years by the scientific community of the time, he continued his work, and amassed a collection of over 5000 photographs . In 1898 he began publishing articles of his findings, with his illustrations. He lived to see a book of his work published, and his photographs of snowflakes housed in Museums and Universities all over the world.

Wilson Bentley's theory that no two snowflakes were alike, caught the imagination of people at the time and opened the study of snowflakes to popular culture as well.

Here's what I love: William Bentley was homeschooled by his mother who had been a school teacher. He had a passion for snow, his mother fed his passion by giving him a microscope. He tried to draw the snow he saw in his microscope, but it melted too quickly. In a day and age when things like microscopes and cameras were hugely expensive, his mother talked his father into giving him a camera and a new microscope when he was 17. William Bentley was self taught in all that he did with his snowflake photography, yet two years later, he had a method that worked, it produced beautifully clear microscopic photos of snow, and it shed new light on the way we look at snow today.

The man had a passion, he really knew what he loved- snow! From the time he showed an interest in the subject he was encouraged by his family, and supported in the ways that he needed to succeed. I have to admire the courage shown by his parents. They were farmers, and things like a camera and a new microscope were luxuries. The money might have been easily spent on new stock, painting the barn, a rainy day fund... but they believed in their son and encouraged him with time and equipment and their love.

Outside interest in his work really only began later in his career. He spent years simply following his bliss, photographing snow, calm in the knowledge that he was doing what he felt led to do. When interest in his snowflake photography started it seems that he never charged a lot for his photographs. They were sold to diverse audiences, from Tiffany's as inspiration to Univeristies for study. There was never any copyright put on his photographs so they remain in the public domain. In his hometown he often gave outdoor slide shows of his photographs, using a projector and a sheet! He loved to talk about his work, and he really knew how to share his passion for snow.

Snowflake Bentley's story serves as a reminder for me that following your bliss, supporting others in their bliss and knowing how to easily share your bliss with others are all beautiful things. May we all feel so free to do these things in our lives.

(I hope I can live up to Wilson Bentley's homeschooling mama! What a role-model! And thanks to my own blissful mama who loved this book from the moment it was published, and made me read it!)