Today's lesson is how to make colorful soap bubble images. I learned a few things, today. First, you need a thin bubble. The physics of the colors are that the light reflects off the outside and inside surface of the soap film. When the thickness of the film is an integer number of half wavelengths for a color, that color gets reinforced. If the film is too thick, you just get white light reflecting back. Executive summary: blow big bubbles.
Another thing I learned was how to make a good bubble solution. I used dishwashing liquid, about an equal amount of water and the secret ingredient of sugar syrup. The syrup helps the bubbles last a long time. There is even enough time to focus the lens.
You can get the swirls by blowing on the bubble before taking the shot. Use a fast enough shutter speed that the action is frozen. I found 1/125 worked well. For a lens, I used my 75-300mm zoom with a stack of 31mm and 21mm macro extension tubes. The lens is close to the 75mm end of the range. This setup allows me to keep my lens several inches away from the bubble while filling the frame with the light reflection.
The lighting was an LED panel light with a double layer of diffusing material from a light box. The big light box would be a better light source, but it is more trouble to set up.
The lighting was an LED panel light with a double layer of diffusing material from a light box. The big light box would be a better light source, but it is more trouble to set up.