fabian oefner: iridient bursting soap bubbles

fabian oefner: iridient bursting soap bubbles all images © fabian oefner

swiss photographer fabian oefner has explored the art of the bursting bubble in his project ‘iridient’. coaxed through the funnel of a sugar dispenser, the soapy air pockets are immortalized in two states: the moment immediately before and after rupturing; and the famous spectrum of colors. the artist explains that this combination of timing is extremely challenging and needs a lot of patience.

the process of capturing the images requires hundreds of photos

when trying to capture the rainbow, oefner applies specialized lighting techniques using illuminated panels to surround the subject and reflect the surface in a particular way. as for the shooting the ephemeral explosion, a purpose-built high speed flash unit is required, about a couple of hundred photos and some persistence. 

the deformations are created through blowing on the bubble

the colors are achieved through special lighting techniques

a funnel from a sugar pourer is used to create the bubbles

the moment of bursting

an effervescent explosion