Cinemagraphs Captured
The world has been fascinated with photography and cinematography ever since their invention well over a century ago. Historically, society has appreciated and respected photography and cinematography for different reasons, but now there is a way to enjoy a stunning hybrid of the two processes: Cinemagraphs.
Inspired by the rise in popularity of .GIFs, Cinemagraphs were created by Jamie Beck and Kevin Burg, a team of artists with comprehensive backgrounds in motion graphics and photography. A cinemegraph is a still picture with a subtle element of movement that repeats infinitely. The official definition, which can be found on the website of the artist duo is, “Cinemagraphs are still images that contain within themselves living elements allowing a glimpse of time to be experienced and preserved.” More simply put, they are more than a photo but less than a video.
Cinemagraphs retain a cinematic quality but also have the exquisite composure and composition of traditional photography. The effect can be a little eerie but also mesmerizing, and it is so subtle that it feels unexpected and thrilling. The element of surprise within their images makes them more arresting than a normal picture. There is always something magical about a photograph, a moment captured in time, but now these artists have made it possible for these moments to simultaneously exist outside of the fraction of the second that the shutter captures.
Beck and Burg have experimented with several kinds of Cinemagraphs, all of which can be found on their website. The categories range from fashion editorial, New York Fashion Week, New York City street scenes to food. Cinemagraphs are now a new digital art form that an array of artists have been experimenting with and sharing online. Cinemagraphs are arguably able to express more than a photograph without being a video. We can almost imagine them being available in the pages of newspapers and magazines in the near future. (At the very least we can hope for the iPad and tablet editions!) Remember the moving photos that appear in newspapers and magazines in the Harry Potter stories? Maybe J.K Rowling was onto something…