Planet Bubble

[Geoff M]

Just having a play with some bubbles, lighting and PS to see what I could come up with. All good fun!

[gstark]

And a bloody interesting and dynamic image too.

[Geoff M]

And a bloody interesting and dynamic image too.

Thankyou Gary.

I have added another image to the original post, but feel the first works the best. It is very difficult to eliminate unwanted reflections from the bubble surface but I intend to have another go to and try and improve on what I have presented here.

[gstark]

I agree that the first of these is the better.

What would a CPL do in this case? I suspect it might be counter productive, but seeing as you're experimenting, that might be another avenue for you to explore.

[Wink]

For me the first is the stronger image.
I like how it's almost planet like, with an 'atmosphere' type of edge to the bubble.

[Geoff M]

I agree that the first of these is the better.

What would a CPL do in this case? I suspect it might be counter productive, but seeing as you're experimenting, that might be another avenue for you to explore.

I don't have a CPL, but tend to think that it may eliminate the colours that are being produced.

A couple more for your C&C.

[sirhc55]

Bloody great project, bloody great results, bloody envious

[Killakoala]

Wow, really cool subjects and wonderfully photographed.

[Manta]

Fantastic stuff Geoff! Outstandingly creative use of a 'simple' bubble.

[colin_12]

These are cool Geoff.
More ideas for us all.

[Geoff M]

Thankyou all for your comments.

[surenj]

I love the concept and execution! Some of the photos really look like a planet... Next step is to add a comet, space ship etc etc Perhaps a moon as well.

[gstark]

Geoff,

I'm interested, and I'm sure that if I'm interested, then so too would others here ...

What was your technique here? How did you shoot these, and and also, what was the source of your bubbles? I'm presuming that these were large bubbles, but I'm happy to be told otherwise.

[zafra52]

The second one is the least realistic because the light is not contiguous. But, nevertheless they are all interesting images.

[Geoff M]

Geoff,

I'm interested, and I'm sure that if I'm interested, then so too would others here ...

What was your technique here? How did you shoot these, and and also, what was the source of your bubbles? I'm presuming that these were large bubbles, but I'm happy to be told otherwise.

But Gary if I do that my trade secret wiil be out ............but hey just for you and your eyes only this is how they came about.

The bubbles were just plain old dish washing liquid mixed with water. Initially I could not get any magnitide to their size and this resulted in poor results as the bubble was too small in the frame. The other problem I had was that the bubbles did not last long and kept bursting. To overcome these issues I added some glycerine to the bubble mixture, this enabled me to get larger bubbles which lasted longer. Oh and the bubbles were produced by blowing through a straw. With practice, I was able to get bubbles with a sphere of approx 3-4" radius so yes they were pretty large.

Staying with the bubble side of things, I used an old glass coffee jar to hold the liquid and the bubble when blown would sit on the rim of the jar. While satisfactory for this initial trial, I find that the rim of the jar is too thick and reflects in the bubble. I can see the rim in three of the posted images and it is most prominent in the last. I think a glass tumbler with a fine edge to the rim would be better suited for the purpose.

The background used was my 5 in 1 reflector but any black material would suffice. Lighting is supplied by one studio light shot through a diffuser to one side of the bubble set up. If you don't have studio lights then off camera flash would also be good, as would a standard home lamp.

Camera/lens combo used is my D90 with the Nikkor 60mmf2.8 micro, mounted on a tripod of course.

PP was minimal, blacks adjusted to increase intensity, adjustment of vibrance to increase saturation, clone some of the bright spots of the bubbles to create the 'stars', and some judicial cropping as required.

When I next try it out I will post an image of the set up. I am going to try using a light tent which should help eliminate some of the reflections of objects within the room. Hope that helps.

[Matt. K]

When I see images like these I remind myself why I love this forum. It's the pure creativity!

[gstark]

[But Gary if I do that my trade secret wiil be out ............but hey just for you and your eyes only this is how they came about.

Thanks, Geoff. It's greatly appreciated.

When I next try it out I will post an image of the set up. I am going to try using a light tent which should help eliminate some of the reflections of objects within the room. Hope that helps.

That would be great, and also appreciated. Yes, it helps a lot. This is great work.

[surenj]

Thanks muchly for typing all that detail!! Now I can visualise your setup much better.

I just keep looking at the first image. It easily could be another planet with the stars around it... Although I don't have a macro lens, this is a very tempting project for sometime this year.

[zafra52]

I thought of this variation on the theme...

[Geoff M]

OK folks, for those interested, here is the set up I used for the pic's posted in this thread. I have had another play with further experimentation this morning and after a quick review think I have acheived better results. I will post them in a new thread once I have processed them. BTW I did try using the light tent but the results were very poor and strangely enough created more problematic reflections than without it............go figure.

[Manta]

Cool set up Geoff - can you alter the angle of the studio light so that you're not getting the reflection of the the tumbler edge?? (I'm sure you mucked around for a while though, getting the angle 'just right' for the bubbles) Still, with your PS skills. I know you could easily clone the reflection out if it bothered you.

Edit: Another idea - can you put a black card under the glass? This may stop light coming up through the sides?