Travel Cinemagraph Series: Rotterdam, Part I

Ever heard of Cinemagraphs?

I’ve been learning to make them and I love it.

It’s going to be a new direction for Active Backpacker, as we roam the world we’re going to use Cinemagraphs to help nurture our creative sides and utilise a new medium to share visual and cultural travel experiences with you guys.

The term “Cinemagraph” was coined by the funky duo of Kevin Burg & Jamie Beck and is making a splash in the world of fashion photography.

They define a Cinemagraph as…

“A Cinemagraph is an image that contains within itself a living moment that allows a glimpse of time to be experienced and preserved endlessly.”

…which I think is awesome.

To make these I use a combination of video and still image layers pieced together inside the ever confusing labyrinth that is Photoshop CS6. The only drawback to these is that the filesizes are larger than normal images, so let your browser load the page for a good minute before taking a peek for best results 😀 Tests also show that these look horrible in Internet Explorer (which is the bane of the internet anyway), so get on Firefox or Chrome if you’re not already!

The first in the new Active Backpacker Travel Cinemagraph Series is titled Rotterdam, Part I.
 

See the hands swinging? I’m aiming for subtle yet effective 😉


 
Featured in this little series of Cinemagraphs we have our Australian friends, Yash & Chris (swinging and holding hands). In the distance lies the iconic Erasmusbrug. The bike wheel and I are backdropped by the Het Witte Huis (White House), another classic piece of Rotterdam architecture.

Making these is just plain fun! There are so many special travel moments for us to catch and preserve as living, breathing things here on the blog. Amsterdam, New York, Canada, South East Asia are on the horizon for the end of this year and into the next. I wonder what moments we can capture, snatching something magical like fireflies in a night jar.

20 Responses to “Travel Cinemagraph Series: Rotterdam, Part I”

  1. kelly says:

    i love these Tom! just beautiful.

  2. Louise says:

    Gorgeous! I bet Yash and Chris love their’s…the bike wheel is really fun too..Clever!!!

  3. Manuel says:

    So fucking awesome! If you share your trips like this I will love your blog!!! Currently there are so many travel blogs and it is hard to pick the best! this time you definetely make the best! hope to see much mure of this.

    • Tom says:

      Thanks Manuel! That’s awesome to hear 🙂 We loved the few we’ve done already so there’s definitely more to come. I really appreciate your feedback, cheers!

  4. Bob R says:

    Nicely done. I like the bike tire.

  5. Chris says:

    You should put up some of the others too! Good work!

    • Tom says:

      Haha, thanks Chris. I had your head turn one up as well, but I realised it was like 6mb just on it’s own. I need to get better at making them smaller, more manageable file sizes for the web.

  6. Laura says:

    Hi Tom,
    Love the idea; they remind me of the moving photos in Harry Potter. Technology catches up with inspired thinking in fiction?

    • Tom says:

      Thanks 🙂 Yeah they remind me of the paintings and photos in Harry Potter too! And come on, who doesn’t love Harry? Technology catching up with fiction indeed (now I’m just waiting for my Marty McFly Hoverboard!).

  7. Jo says:

    Awesome concept Tom, I’m sure you’ll have fun with this one – the web is coming alive more each day – well done for being the first!

  8. I have never heard of this Tom. Great job. What a cool and unique addition to your blog. P.s. It loaded quickly in my browser. I am using Chrome.

    • Tom says:

      Thanks Stephen! Good to hear it loaded quickly, I’ve been working on making the file sizes smaller with much success – so the next ones will load even better and faster 🙂

  9. Steph says:

    Neato! I hadn’t heard of these before. Great choice of images! Would love to learn how to make them.

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