We had a freeze in Portland area which does not happen too often.  I have wanted to try photographing frozen bubbles, so I gave it a try.  They did not exactly fully freeze, before popping, so I want to try this again during the next freeze.  A couple of people asked me for information on how I did this, so I will share what I learned.

First of all, I tried a couple of lenses.  Nikkor 50 1.4 with Kenko Macro, and Lensbaby Velvet 56.  I think I like the Lensbaby best with this.

TIP: for manually focusing with one hand.  I set the focus and move the camera or object to find the focus rather than refocusing on the camera.

I love trees, so I shot under a big tree and the light did just as I had hoped.  Reflected onto the bubble, making me think of a fisheye.  I tried some pictures with simply holding the bubble still on the wand; and with others I let fall onto the ground and looked for ones that did not pop, and basically got onto my stomach/knees to get as close as I could, looking for good angles and light as I did it.  The colors were brightest at first and as they started to “freeze” there was this almost invisible stage to them..  Most popped before freezing, I think; and then I ran out of time.  I definitely want to try this again.