For many in the Northern Hemisphere, enduring January’s bone-chilling weather is pretty miserable. However, one artist to embrace the current freezing temperatures is Michigan-based photographer Hope carter, whose series of frozen bubble photos capture the amazing beauty of growing ice crystals that grow upon the iridescent, liquid orbs.

Made from both standard store-bought and self-made soap bubble mixture, the bubbles’ ice crystal patterns start forming immediately after they’re blown, typically taking just 30 seconds to entirely freeze over. The colder the weather, the faster the bubbles freeze, and carter’s main challenge lies in quickly capturing the delicate bubbles before they burst. While most pop within seconds, surprisingly, some sit frozen for minutes at a time—“i think the longest i’ve ever had a bubble remain intact was about seven minutes,” she recalls.

For carter, patience is key when capturing her fragile, snow globe-like forms. “i wish i knew how many i have blown, 10’s of 1,000’s by now as most pop by the time i am able to focus the camera,” she tells My Modern Met via email. However, the excitement in capturing nature’s beauty during the brief moment in time brings her complete satisfaction. She says, “When i am able to successfully capture the photo of nature’s beauty, it brings nothing but pure joy!”

The photographer now has a collection of 80 frozen soap bubble photos, of which no two are the same, making each one a unique work of art. carter loves to share her images, as she believes they bring “a bit of magical wonder to a world.”

photographer Hope carter embraces the freezing winter weather to capture frozen bubbles and their amazing ice crystal formations.

While most bubbles pop within seconds, surprisingly, some sit frozen for minutes at a time.

She now has a collection of 80 frozen bubble photos, of which no two are the same.