I love tea. More specifically, I love Fortnum & Mason Earl Grey Tea. I drink it all day.

For me, the idea of exploring something as ubiquitous and simple as a cup of tea was an exciting challenge. I thought looking at a tea bag up close would prove visually interesting. I started with motion so staged the shoot around that, thinking that if I spotted something cool, I’d then shoot that as a still. While lighting came from a single high powered LED light source, I used a high speed camera with a Probe lens attached, mounted on my BOLT motion control robot. A little dramatic for a humble cup of tea sitting there all on its own!

What I discovered once the camera started rolling was how beautiful a tea bag actually is. The play of small bubbles on the surface of the textured bag was stunning. Immersing the Probe lens into the hot tea so I could shoot millimetres away from the bag made the experience more dynamic. The next step was to shoot stills of this experience so I mounted the Probe lens on my Leica SL3. I plunged the lens into my tea and hand held the camera to agitate the liquid. It was such fun and would have looked ridiculous to anyone watching.

I hope you enjoy these images and that next time you reach for a humble tea bag to make yourself a cuppa, you’ll feel a new appreciation for the wonders contained within