Episode
Snow & Science - Photography is Nothing with Zach Dobson & Courtney McCracken
- Podcast
- Photography is Nothing
- Published
- Dec 24, 2025
- Duration seconds
- 2203
- Processing state
not_requested
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Summary
Episode 17 - In this episode Zach & Courtney talk about two photographers with opposite approaches of photographing the science of winter. Wilson “Snowflake” Bentley photographed closeup images of single snowflakes in the early era of photography (1885-1931). Esther Horvath is a photographer working today documenting climate science research, taking a broad view of the planet that spans its entire history. “Photography is nothing–it's life that interests me.” - Henri Cartier-Bresson Index 0:00 - Photographers contributing to winter and snow research. 2:26 - Introduction to photographer Wilson “Snowflake” Bentley. 6:14 - Wilson Bentley gets his first camera and modifies it with a microscope. 9:03 - Creating an aperture was the missing component. 10:54 - Bentley creates a custom focusing system for his camera. 11:57 - Wilson Bentley employed a similar method to Edward Weston. 13:14 - Bentley donates photos to the Smithsonian in 1904. 17:00 - How did Wilson Bentley contribute to scientific research on snow? 20:55 - “Snowflake Bentley” is an award-winning children’s book from 1999 22:44 - William Bentley’s book “Snow Crystals” was published in 1931. 25:10 - Introduction to photographer Esther Horvath. 27:13 - Photographing the climate research ship Polarstern. 28:06 - Photos in the arctic at night. 29:38 - Brilliant colors in the polar regions. 30:26 - Photos of life doing climate research. 33:09 - Photographing women doing climate research. 35:02 - Photography is used to take everything from a microscopic view to a global view of our world. Find Zach Website: https://zachdobson.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zachdobsonphoto/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@zachdobsonphoto Threads: https://www.threads.com/@zachdobsonphoto Find Courtney Instagram: https://www…