This week, NYC experienced it’s first snow of the season and there will be many more of those days to come. But, growing up in Vermont, I became used to snowy days as early as October. Snow is a big part of the Vermont identity, as many parts of the state experience snow for 4-6 months out of the year. And where I grew up, we were taught in school about a hometown hero called Wilson Bentley, also known as Snowflake Bentley.

Bentley was born in Jericho, Vermont (the town where I attended high school) in 1865 and became the first known person to take detailed photographs of snowflakes and record their features. He perfected the method of catching snowflakes onto a piece of black velvet and then photographed them before they melted. The technique he created to photograph snowflakes is still widely used today and a large part of his collection is held at the Jericho Historical Society in his hometown. In 1998, author Jacqueline Briggs Martin and illustrator Mary Azarian published the children’s book, “Snowflake Bentley” about Bentley’s life, which won a Caldecott Medal.

In honor of Snowflake Bentley and the rich history of photographing snowflakes, take a look at 35 of our favorite snowflake tattoos from talented tattooers around the world.