Looking For A Challenge?

Chris Fedderson — MacroFine Musings
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Do I ever have a photo challenge for you!  Bubbles!
 
I recently experimented with trying to photograph bubbles.  Not the kind found in champagne or beer, although that might be fun too, but the kind you used to have so much fun blowing, watching, and chasing as a kid.

Life Is Bubble-icious!

An interesting thing about the experiment was that it presented about every possible photographic challenge you could think of: 
 

• Tracking the subject; not only were they moving, they were fast, and their path was random, so no way to predict a course.  (in the 2nd shot, I barely caught them before they got away)

 

• Focusing; There’s not a single, obvious, focal point such as the middle of a flower or the eye of a bug, and you can’t know what focal plane the bubble will be in when it goes by.  (notice how each shot has only 1 bubble in focus)
  

 

• Background changed depending on which wind draft they caught.  (I have shots from this shoot with the fence top or our utility shelves in the background — not so pretty)

 

• Subjects were transparent so lighting was an issue, plus they took on the colors around them; could be good… or bad…  (see how the gold bubbles captured the color from the fence and sky while others caught the color from the birdbath and hibiscus)

 

• And the really short life span of the subject.  (unfortunately, I can't show you shots of those bubbles; R.I.P.)

. . . And Bubble-icious-er!!

For me, this was actually an experiment in seeing what my new camera would do on some of the automatic settings.  I rarely use them but it is always good to know what your camera does when left to its own devises; for that moment when a hummingbird flies up and you don’t have time to do much in the way controlling your settings. 
 
You also don’t want your camera's settings to ruin a great opportunity, so you should learn what can happen.  For example, while on auto, the ISO on my camera sometimes went to some ridiculous number and if I had captured something good, I likely wouldn’t be able to print it due to the noise/grain in the image.
 
One caution: this is a messy, messy challenge — you’re going to get soap everywhere, so don’t try this challenge indoors!  Also, you’ll need an assistant — someone to blow the bubbles — and to clean up afterward!

Thank You for visiting,
 
— Chris
 
P.s.     So how did your bubbles turn out?  I'd love to hear about your experience.