When the Dew Falls
Above: Rain Drops on a Funnel Spider’s Web, My Photo, August 16, 2018
Jean May Thompson (1865-?)
Water Wonders Every Child Should Know: Little Studies of Dew, Frost, Snow, Ice, and Rain (1907)
Illustrated with Photographs by Wilson A. Bentley (1865-1931)
I read a selection from this delightful children’s science book for the 59th Volume of the Nonfiction Collection. The CD cover I designed for the collection is adapted from a photo I took on May 23, 2018 of a dew covered spider web in our local forest preserve. What fascinated me about this particular web was the ladder-like structure visible on the left hand side of the web.
Water Wonders was a collaborative effort between Jean Thompson and pioneering micro-photographer Wilson A. Bentley (1865-1931), who was the first known photographer of snowflakes. Their book is filled wonderful close-ups of dew drops, ice crystals, and the like, which attest to Bentley’s impressive camera skills
Frost patterns, photos from Water Wonders by Wilson Bentley
An article by Bentley from a 1922 issue of Popular Mechanics describing how he photographed snowflakes was read for the 56th volume of the Nonfiction Collection.
You can access an on-line copy of Water Wonders here.
You might like these readings:
On the Point of a Small Sharp Needle