Frozen Bubbles

Prep

• Get warm clothing on its cold out! With record lows like these you can develop frostbite staying out too long so bundle up. NWS Frostbite Chart
• Transition the camera from hot to cold and back in a Ziploc bag to prevent condensation.
• Keep extra batteries inside your coat as the cold drains them faster.
• Watch Toby’s Quick Tips for Snow Photos. Youtube

Location

• Just like in the summer bubbles don't like being on dry, dirty, or pointy surfaces so plan accordingly.
• Watch the wind as anything more then calm will make this much harder as the wind tends to rip them as they freeze.
• While technically anything under freezing temps will work if it gets under -10F°/-23C° they tend to shatter and above 12F°/-11C° they are more likely to pop before completely freezing. Although slower ice growth does give the chance for some in-between shots.
• Morning and night for colder temps, higher humidity, and you get nice golden hour light.

RecipeNo need to go buy bubble mix! Its easy to make bubble solution with household ingredients and it works great. The formula is 9:3:1, nine parts water to three parts soap to one parts sugar. By adding sugar it makes the bubbles thicker, last longer, and hold up to the cold better. For better consistency let it sit overnight.

• Bottled water helps if your tap is hard water
• Dish soap works great such as Joy and Dawn
  • Soap labeled Ultra need two to three parts more water
• Sugar
  • Okay - White Sugar
    • Use two parts instead of one
  • Better - Karo Light Corn Syrup
  • Best - Glycerin
    • Available at your local grocery, drugstore, or Amazon

Tips

• Blowing to form the bubble traps hot air and makes it freeze slower. If you're having trouble getting them to freeze if its warmer wave the wand instead to trap cold air.
• Ask for help, one person shooting and another handling bubbles is easier than doing it yourself. Take the kids! It makes for a group activity and you get some fun photos with them playing.
• Don’t let the bubble hit your lens, at these temperatures it will instantly freeze and is hard to get off without warming it up.
• Clean off any excess foam from the solution, with it being so cold the bubble mixture has a tendency to foam and freeze up which lowers chances of big bubbles.
• If your having trouble with getting them to freeze, try placing the bubble on something metal as it makes for a nice surface to get one to stick while conducting the cold better.
• Finally, lots of patience, not every bubble perfectly does what you want and even less will freeze right.