Abstract

Some of my favourite macro work has nothing to do with a recognizable subject. Under the lens, oil and water, soap film, frost, and ice turn into colour, pattern, and shape, and the result looks more like a painting or a map of another planet than a photograph.

Some of these are set up deliberately, with coloured liquids in a shallow dish and a light underneath, then a lot of patience while the bubbles drift and merge. Others are found in winter, when frost on a window or air trapped in ice makes the same kind of pattern for free.

I never know exactly what the final image will be. I set the scene, then watch for the moment when the colours and shapes line up.

Pale blue bubbles clustered in green and violet swirls

Photos

  • Frost crystals growing like ferns on dark glass
  • Blue, red, and white bubbles in swirling liquid
  • Large bubbles with yellow droplets in magenta and blue swirls
  • Ice bubbles and crystals floating against a dark background
  • Branching frost crystal on a dark surface
  • Frozen bubbles clustered on a grey surface
  • Blue ice with trapped air bubbles

Back to macro photography, or see Manitoba bird photography.