My children have no idea that bubble solution doesn't always come by the gallons that your momma mixes up at the kitchen sink. We've used the World's Best Bubbles recipe for years and the kids LOVE it, as do any other kids that come over to play. So for years, I've wanted to beautifully capture this with my camera. And for years, I've come up lacking. Never capturing it quite how I wanted.
...The light wouldn't be right (and life during the pretty light here is never really convenient for bubbles. there is dinner to cook, dinner to eat, dinner to clean up from, the list goes on),
...She wouldn't be in the mood to cooperate (otherwise known as, as soon as I walked out with my camera, she took off to do something else) and if you know me you know I don't contrive photo opportunities. They must be real and genuine.
...Her clothes would be completely whacky (which I always let her do, and I LOVE about her, but they don't always make the "remarkable" images I had in mind),
I tried. You have no idea how many photos of the kids doing bubbles I have stored on my hard drives. Yet they were never exactly what I wanted.
We are adjusting to summertime and everyone being home all day long, together, every single day. Before dinner last Tuesday, the Little Lady untwisted the balloon animal she received from the dentist for a good job, and was inconsolable. I held her, and tried to calm her because I can at least understand that she's super disappointed about losing her toy. But many, many tears were shed. I seem to have a limit when it comes to tears shed in a day, and I think she used most of them up in that session of crying. Shortly thereafter she sat down to dinner and told me, in her entitled tone of voice, that she didn't like what I'd put on her plate.
I. was. done.
I calmly told her to get up from the table and go to her bed, upon which she broke down into complete hysterics. She wailed for ten minutes when I went up to talk to her about her rude behavior. She was so worked up she could hardly speak and I had to help her calm down for quite some time with mutual deep breaths. I had to summon the emotional and mental clarity to deal with these irrational tears, for being with them all day, every day, is draining this introvert of her energy, with ferocity.
We made it through dinner somehow, and Shawn let me choose: he could stay and help me clean, or he could take the kids outside and let me be alone and clean it by myself. Guess which one I chose. Surrounded by a messy kitchen from a tasty dinner, with my hands immersed in hot, soapy water, scrubbing pots and pans, I glanced out the window above the sink. The Little Lady caught my eye; she was at the very far edge of our driveway, with the Bubble Wand.
Shawn and Little Buddy were playing kickball in the yard, but the Little Lady was alone in all her curly haired glory, waving the bubble wand over her head and creating cascades of bubbles, in this beautiful little pocket of sunshine. We have a most awesome backyard for the kids to play in, but we are surrounded by a forest of tall, mature trees that completely block "golden hour" light. But there was a pocket that revealed itself and shone straight through to where she was. It probably took me 3 seconds to decide. I dried my hands, picked up my camera, and ran outside to document.
It was worth it. So worth it.
When half an hour earlier she had been crying to the point where I wondered if she'd need her inhaler, she was now relishing in the magic of bubbles at the golden hour of sunlight. When half an hour earlier I was trying to muster up every ounce of patience I had running through my veins so I didn't lose it on her, I was now relishing in her beauty and joy and what I was able to do with my camera. What a difference a few minutes can make. At first she was wearing her pink camo hat from Bass Pro Shops, along with sunglasses and her tennis shoes and trademark socks pulled up high. Then she offered to take them off for me, since I was taking pictures. Thoughtful, isn't she? I think she's figuring some of this picture stuff out. I took her up on the offer.
I'm not sure if it is just the joy of finally getting outside after being stuck inside during the cold winter, of if it is the joy of having a camera that focuses again, or perhaps both. But oh, this did my artist soul and heart good to shoot. I shot way too many. Way too many. I will chalk it up to learning. But this was some mighty fine teamwork, if I do say so myself.
(I use BlogStomp for my photos for my blog posts and I've been having some trouble with it, since getting my D800. Here's an example. No idea why and how this image below looks soooooo blurry. I've spent too many hours tonight trying to battle, so I will try to fix it later.)
These images may not adequately demonstrate how awesome this bubble recipe is, so i wanted to show two images I shot LAST May, in 2012! Of course, we've learned that there are other factors involved, like humidity, that affect how the bubbles behave. But truly, this three ingredient (that you probably already have in your home!) recipe is too amazing. I usually mix up a double batch - the kids go through it fast when it is making awesome bubbles.
FIND THE RECIPE HERE.
I shot these with my Nikon D800
Nikon 85mm f1.8
Nikon 50mm 1.4D
Sigma 30mm f1.4