I love challenges. Art Director, Peter Elmer’s layout of two water cooler bottles looked very innocent at first. The challenge was how to rig this shot. We needed to hang the bottles, full of water, and have one bottle perform two separate actions. The water needed to rush of out the bottle while having air bubbles rise to the top at the same time. In the real world, that just does not happen. So, the challenge was on. We first cut a small hole in the bottom of one of the inverted bottles. This was for two reasons. The bottle needed to be refilled with water from shot to shot, and we needed to install a hinged rubber panel that controlled the famous water rush to bubble ratio. After hanging the bottles between two massive 4" x 4” lengths of wood, we rigged a pulley system from the ceiling which was needed to lift the rubber panel on the bottle. The bottle’s main plastic cap was still strong enough to hold all the water without its security band. When everything was set, the water cap was pulled off, causing the bubbles to rise in a very dramatic fashion. A split second later the hinged rubber panel was quickly lifted – causing a massive rush of water. Two flashes with our strobe froze the bubbles and the rush of water. The shot was complete in one quick double exposure. We also had a small inflatable swimming pool underneath, collecting all the water. The execution of the shot took much thought and planning. The actual shooting of the photo was a lot like when one is driving back home. It’s always shorter and faster then first going somewhere. By magic (and days of precise planning) it happens before you know it.

Thanks Peter for a great idea.

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