Fleeting Beauty

Creating beautiful bubbles of ice and capturing them in photographs makes for a magical winter pastime

- Catherine Hamilton

Living in a small, rural community just out-side Petitcodiac, N.B., the winter days can sometimes be long and quiet. So, for about four years now, I have combined two of my favourite things, photography and blowing bubbles. I love bubbles and am fascinated by the swirling colours and reflections inside them. I wanted to try photographing them while they were in the process of freezing. As they freeze, you see designs start to form immediately as they swirl and dance around. This is caused by a thin layer of water between two layers of soapy water. It is the middle layer that freezes, so it turns to ice inside the soapy layers. The bubbles only last for about 40 seconds or so before bursting.