A soap bubble normally gives you only a moment before it disappears. In Chris Ratzlaff’s Calgary film, the moment becomes something else: a small globe gradually decorated with ice. The branching patterns are the attraction, turning an everyday toy into a close-up winter subject.
Ratzlaff published “frozen bubbles in calgary” on 6 January 2014. His description places the experiment in very cold conditions, around −25°C. That temperature belongs to his account; it is not a universal threshold that every bubble must reach before any freezing can occur.
Look for the pattern, not just the finished sphere
The most interesting photograph may arrive before the bubble looks fully white. A few clear areas let the branches stand out, while a bubble covered in ice can become harder to distinguish from a pale background. Watch the edge, the first visible crystals and the places where different patterns meet.
The still offers a useful composition lesson. A simple support keeps the subject clear, and darker surroundings separate the thin shell from the scene behind it. Side or back light can help reveal texture; shifting the camera slightly may improve the picture more than moving closer.
Trying a small bubble photograph
The recipe reproduced with the original article used water, dish soap, corn syrup and sugar. Treat that as a starting mixture rather than a guaranteed result: wind, the surface, the bubble and the actual conditions all affect what happens. Prepare the camera first and work in short, comfortable sessions close to shelter. Keep the solution away from eyes and pets, and clean it up afterwards.
You can also practise the framing with an ordinary bubble before attempting a freezing one. Pick a darker background, leave a little space around the sphere and take several frames as the light changes.
For the science behind moving ice crystals, read our frozen bubble film and explanation. For a separate visual approach, compare ZALUSKArt’s Warsaw bubble photographs. Each series makes a slightly different picture from the same wonderfully small subject.
For a larger and more colourful frozen-water project, try the ice-orb craft demonstration.
Ratzlaff’s bubble mixture and freezing experiment
Ratzlaff’s original recipe used 200 ml of warm water, 35 ml of corn syrup, 35 ml of dish soap and two tablespoons of sugar. He described briefly chilling the mixture before taking it outside. These quantities are part of his published experiment, rather than a guarantee that every brand of detergent or set of outdoor conditions will produce the same result.
The distinction between the liquid mixture and the surrounding air matters when comparing attempts. A bubble is a thin film, and its survival long enough to photograph is a different question from how quickly ice patterns appear. Wind, contact with a surface and the handling of the bubble can end the attempt before a visible pattern develops. Record what you changed instead of interpreting every burst as evidence that the temperature alone was wrong.
For a useful record of an attempt, keep the framing steady and note the mixture, approximate conditions and surface used. Photograph the first visible branches, a partly clear shell and a later stage if the bubble lasts. Comparing those frames can show where the pattern began and how the appearance changed. If you try again, alter one part of the setup rather than everything at once. The result may be an interesting sequence even when no single frame resembles Ratzlaff's finished image; the development is as much the subject as the final sphere.
Sources, photography and further reading
Original feature and image attributions:
- Twisted Sifter
- Blowing Bubbles In The Cold Seems Impossible...But The Results Are Incredible
- These Photos of Frozen Bubbles and Crystals Are So Beautiful They’ll Blow Your Mind! STUNNING!
- Water Bubbles Freezing In The Air
- A Canadian Couple Blows Bubbles In -45 Celsius Weather
- Original image link
- frozen bubble film and explanation
- ZALUSKArt’s Warsaw bubble photographs
- the ice-orb craft demonstration
The intriguing and striking experiment "Watch What Happens When You Make Soap Bubbles in the Freezing Cold" is absolutely beautiful. Delicate ice patterns appear as the bubbles freeze, producing captivating crystalline shapes. This film offers a new perspective on the artistic abilities of nature while combining science and beauty in a way that is both informative and breathtaking.I appreciate you sharing this information. I'm forward to read more of your upcoming blogs.
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