I’m sure by now every person on the face of the earth has heard of a 17-year-old British kid, Daniel Radcliff.  If not, perhaps Harry Potter.  I was first introduced to Harry Potter when I was a freshman in high school, when the first movie came out, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.  The magic in the movie, or “movie magic” I should say, really fascinated me.  I think the thing that stood out the most, was the moving pictures.  I’ve always been obsessed with the “latest and greatest” ever since I was a little kid.  It didn’t matter if it was a new car, a new computer or some new gizmo.

Anyway, I’ve stumbled upon a few pictures recently that have really sparked an interest with me.  They’re called Cinemagraphs, and are super awesome, to say the least.  I read an interesting article from a web design blog the other day and it featured a lot of cinemagraphs.  Cinemagraphs are more than your typical late-1990′s animated GIFs, as found on just about every GeoCities page.  You know the kind I’m refering to.. the awful “Under Construction” graphics.  If not, here’s one for your viewing pleasure.

Yes.  You all remember them now.  Oh how the Internet has evolved, thankfully.  Enough about them, let’s check out the cool parts of cinemagraphs.  Jamie Beck and Kevin Burg can be credited for creating this new type of image.  They would define a cinemagraph as “an image that contains within itself a living moment that allows a glimpse of time to be experienced and preserved endlessly.”  In other words, taking a picture, then animating a small aspect, capturing a glimpse of time, eternally.  I think they’re on to something, and may start a new revolution of photography, or even be the inspiration to new camera and/or printing technology.

Enough technical mumbo-jumbo, let’s see some of my favorites, pulled from Noupe and Beck/Burg’s website.

Pretty cool, huh?  They’re more than simple animated GIF images; they’re higher quality GIF images that reflect scenes and take some time to stitch together.  What do you think, would you be interested in seeing some of these on your website or social media pages?

[Via Noupe, Cinemagraph]

Tags: awesome, cinemagraphs, photography