The Mind Creative NOV-Dec 2016

Although he dropped his study of raindrops after a few years,
he continued to photograph snow crystal and speculate on the
nature of snow. From his large data archive, Bentley’s analysis
convinced him that the form the ice crystal took (hexagonal plate,
six-sided star, hexagonal column, needle, etc) was dependent on
the air temperature in which the crystal formed and fell. Nearly
three decades would pass before Ukichiro Nakaya in Japan would
confirm this hypothesis.
He also wanted to promote
his work for its beauty, and thus
submitted articles and delivered
lectures that focused on his snow
photography over the years. His
lectures were popular, and from
them he was dubbed The
Snowflake Man and Snowflake
Bentley by the newspapers. Over
one hundred articles were
published in well-known
newspapers and magazines. His
best photographs were in
demand from jewellers,
engravers and textile makers
who saw the beauty in his work.
He continued to farm the
acreage with his older brother for all his life. Though not an
outgoing man, he loved to entertain by playing the piano or violin
and singing popular songs. He also played the clarinet in a small
brass band and could imitate the sounds of many animals.
Bentley never married.
In early-December 1931, Wilson Bentley walked six miles, illdressed,
through a slushy snowstorm to reach his home. Not long
thereafter, he contracted a cold, which grew into pneumonia.
“Snowflake” Bentley died on 23 December at the age of 66. In
March of that year, he had taken the last of his photomicrographs
of snow, still using the same camera that took the first one.
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