My submission:
https://skydrive.live.com/pagenotfounderror
Smartphone used: Nokia Lumia 920, using ProShot app. The image is completely unedited (only cropping was performed).
Description: This is a photo of a soap bubble highlighting the vibrant colors on its surface and the amazing reflections it produced. In the reflection, you can see our floor-standing speaker, the fire place, a sofa, the balcony door, a floor lamp, a bookshelf speaker and even a vase with two tulip flowers. And of course, the highlight of the reflection is a Nokia Lumia 720.
Dazzling colors.
Background: The previous Nokia Lumia Challenge was about "reflections". I wanted to submit something that was an uncommon occurrence. But nothing came to my mind - everything seemed done already. For instance, there were numerous submissions that had reflections in sunglasses, water (lakes, ponds), mirrors, shiny surfaces, water droplets, you name it. Then one day, while our 2-yo was playing with his soap bubble maker toy in a park, I noticed two things - a. the vibrant colors on its surface and b. the amazing reflections it produced. But capturing reflections in a soap bubble turned out really, REALLY hard. I encountered two problems:
a. These things don't stay put. They either just float away or pop upon landing on any surface.
b. Also, they don't always produce easily visible reflections. It seems the conditions need to be right in order to see the reflections produced.
Finding a solution to problem a. was not that difficult. I noticed the bubbles don't pop when they're held on a thin layer of soap solution, like the one found on the stick that produces them. So, I could blow the bubble and hold it against the stick. But this worked indoors only. Outdoors, these would just seem to defy gravity and float away.
Finding a solution to problem b. took some time. Eventually, I figured that in order to be able to see these reflections, the background has to be dark. The darker the background the better.
Finally, having figured out solutions to both problems, I prepped my setup one fine weekend. Tripod, soap bubble maker, the Nokia Lumia 920, and as it would turn out, lots and LOTS of patience. These things are so light that even the slightest of movements would result in them popping. And with our curious lil one running around trying to figure out what we were up to, it turned out to be a real challenge. Even my own movements (like setting the bubble on the table, and moving towards the phone to press the shutter button would many times result in a pop. Anyways, after having spent quite a few hours on a Saturday and Sunday, I was able to obtain a few satisfactory images. The remaining images are available in the same public Skydrive directory if you're interested in looking at them.
Thanks for reading!
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