Ice Bubbles | Chicago Suburbs Newborn Photographer

It has been so cold here in Chicago land, that we haven’t really bothered going outside. It’s the kind of cold that takes your breath away and hurts when you try to breathe. So, we’ve stayed inside on these short winter days, and watched as the icicles grew longer, and the snow deeper.

I watched a video of a friend that took boiling water outside on a -18 degree day, and she threw it up in the air and the water just vaporized. I really want to try it, but I just haven’t felt like getting out in the cold. I had also heard a few people mention blowing bubbles in this frigid weather, just plain old bubbles, the same ones that you entertain your children with on a summers day.

After Jamie came across an article this morning about a Mom and her son in the Pacific Northwest doing experiments with bubbles, I jumped out of bed and immediately got dressed to start my frozen bubble experiment. Keep in mind that it was around 7 degrees when I started this experiment, and I felt like it should have been a little colder, so the bubbles would freeze faster.
I like to call these ice bubbles. My first attempts were a complete burst (ha!). So I did a little research and came across helpful information about bubble recipes, the right temperature, the right time of day…and on and on! I took a recipe and tweaked it a little, no scientific reasoning, just trying to get the bubbles to land on the snow without bursting.

Ice Bubble Recipe:

1 cup water (not ice cold)

1/3 cup of light corn syrup

1/2 cup dish soap (I tried Dawn, didn’t work so well. But for some reason my Seventh Generation Lavender worked just right!)

Mix the water and corn syrup together until dissolved, then add the dish soap being careful to stir slowly.

Take outside and start blowing bubbles. You need to be in an open area, and try to get the bubbles to hang in the air as long as possible, to give them more time to freeze before hitting the ground. So blow the bubbles straight overhead. And note, this does not work well on an even slightly windy day. Smaller bubbles work better as they freeze faster. It was a try, try again process for me. And 80% of my bubbles popped. But I just needed a few 🙂
I think I will try this again in the morning, as the light will be better and something about the humidity being just right. I am a photographer, not a scientist!!!

What do you think? I will no longer dread the sub zero weather, as I think I am going to experiment quite a bit more with these bubbles. Food coloring anyone?

Cheers!

Joy | Chicago Suburbs Newborn Photographer