When the Harry Potter movies came out, they introduced magic to our mundane, Muggle world, taking us for an unbelievable ride.
One of the fresh elements they introduced was the concept of moving photographs.
These pictures, printed in newspapers, magazines, and frames, contained moving images looping round in brief movements that lasted a few seconds.
Science has once again caught up with imagination, as it so often does, giving us real-life motion stills aka “cinemagraphs.”
These animated GIFs are the creation of New York photographer Jamie Beck and web designer Kevin Burg. They’re highbrow, cool, and made to impress, elevating GIF technology from web joke to work of art. Their potential is enormous. If they catch on, and there’s no reason why they shouldn’t, they’ll transform the way we view pictures. Stills may become a thing of the past over the years, like silent cinema, and we, Muggles that we are, and thirsty for magic, won’t have to go looking for the Daily Prophet to enjoy what one may call Animated Suspension.
Model: Coco Rocha
(For the animated versions, click here)
