This Is What Happens When You Blow Soap Bubbles at -12 degrees

Jan 15, 2014

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With the Northern Hemisphere freezing and the Southern Hemisphere melting, we thought we’d post a weather-related art blog today.

When the weather dropped to -12°C last week, Washington-based photographer Angela Kelly decided to take an advantage of it in one truly creative way. Together with her 7-year-old son, Kelly combined the home-based remedies – dish soap, karo syrup, and water – and went out to blow bubbles and take pictures as they freeze and melt. Soon the two adventurers found themselves in awe while watching the frost create magical patterns in the freezing bubbles. The smaller ones would freeze momentarily, simply mid-air, and then they would fall down and scatter like thin glass chips. The bigger ones would manage to freeze more slowly on the surface, giving the photographer a chance to catch the artworks of the frost on camera.

“We noted how they would freeze completely before the sun rose but that once the sun was in view they would defrost along the tops or cease freezing altogether.“ recalls Kelly to the KOMO News. “We also noted how they would begin to deflate and implode in on themselves making them look like alien shapes or in some cases shatter completely leaving them to look like a cracked egg.”

The process and the results of the photoshoot were highly rewarding for the photographer and her little one. “Are we ever too old to play with bubbles?” Kelly asks rhetoricaly. “I really think that this is the most fun, unique and beautiful series I’ve done yet!”