When Photos Come to Life: The Art of the Cinemagraph

The South Korean ferry that sank April 16 exceeded its cargo limit on 246 trips during the previous 13 months, according to official documents, as the death toll from the tragedy reaches 259 with 43 passengers still missing. The revelation has cast a spotlight on safety regulations in South Korea, one of the world's most developed nations. The Associated Press reports that while one industry body recorded the weight of freight, another set limits, but neither communicated with each other, resulting in a blind spot that allowed nearly every voyage to be conducted while dangerously overladen. The Sewol was examined early 2012 by the Korean Register of Shipping after it had been modified to accommodate more passenger cabins on its third, fourth and fifth decks. The agency slashed the ship’s cargo capacity by more than half, to 987 tons, and decreed that it must carry more than 2,000 tons of ballast water to maintain stability. But only the firm owning the ship, Chonghaejin Marine Co. Ltd., received the register’s report, meaning neither the coast guard nor the watchdog Korea Shipping Association had any knowledge of the new limit before the disaster. All 15 of the ship's crew responsible for navigation have been arrested, and the offices of Chonghaejin Marine and homes of key staff have been raided. Those deemed most responsible stand to receive life jail terms. South Korea President Park Geun-hye expressed sympathy for victims of the disaster during her second meeting with bereaved families over the weekend. “I’ll punish those responsible for the accident and any who committed crimes,” she told around 50 relatives of those on board the doomed ferry in comments republished on a presidential-office website. “I feel boundless responsibility.” The 62-year-old’s approval rate has slid to a four-month low amid public anger over the tragedy. The Sewol sank in calm waters en route from Incheon to the vacation island of Jeju. Most of the 476 people on board were teens on a high school outing.

Shoddy implementation of safety regulations are in the spotlight after documents confirm that the ill-fated Sewol ferry made hundreds of voyages overladen with cargo. South Korean President Park Geun-hye has vowed to “punish those responsible” for the tragedy

These aren’t your ordinary GIFs. The cinemagraph is a medium pioneered (and named) by husband and wife team Jamie Beck and Kevin Burg in which individual instants of motion are isolated against a static image. This dichotomy creates moments that are quiet and contemplative, elevating the humble GIF into something much more refined.

Jamie Beck and Kevin Burg spoke to LightBox about the medium.

Joseph Lin: What is a cinemagraph?

Kevin Burg: I think of it as a living photograph. It’s a photograph that has a living moment inside of it.

JL: How did you come up with the name?

KB: We were just playing with Greek roots. We were researching how they came up with the term photography. [Editor’s note: the word photograph is generally accepted to have derived from the Greek terms photos, meaning of light and graphō, meaning I write.]

Jamie Beck: We had to give it a name because we’d go to a photo shoot and people kept saying, Make one of those moving things. I was so tired of people saying “that moving thing,” so we came up with a name for it.

KB: And calling it a GIF didn’t seem to work either, because a GIF can mean so many things. This is a specific thing with its own criteria. Its own medium.

JB: The name cinemagraph went generic overnight. I tweeted what we named it and it went crazy from there.

KB: By the time we talked to the trademark office, they were like, this is a descriptive, generic term.

Aging mice gain energy, while also exhibiting greater strength and memory, when injected with the blood of younger specimens, according to a new study. Scientists at Harvard and the University of California, San Francisco, carried out experiments on rodents with ages equivalent to humans in their 20s and 60s. A protein called GDF11 — also found in human blood — is behind the rejuvenating properties, they suggest in research published in the journals Science and Nature Medicine. Concentration of the substance appears to decline in advanced years. The findings could be used to treat age-related diseases such as dementia and Alzheimer's. However, some have cautioned that stimulating the rapid regrowth of cells could possibly lead to increased risks of cancer.

Old mice given blood from younger rodents quickly become rejuvenated, raising hopes for treating age-related degenerative conditions in humans, such as dementia and Alzheimer's

JL: Can you explain the process?

JB: When we first started doing it, the question was can you make a living moment that exists within the GIF format? I was going out with a 5D Mark II, with a built-in video capability, shooting stills and a little bit of video, and then Kevin would hand-stitch the living moment. Now we shoot with a cinema camera, so any still that comes out of it is equivalent to a 5D Mark II, so it makes it a little easier to shoot living moments.

KB: It’s really about combining the stills world and the motion world. Cameras now are a blurry world between the two. It’s not a still camera or a video camera. For instance, an iPhone does both off the same sensor.

Every frame is like a 35mm photo. So what is a still photo and what is motion, anymore? It’s hard to differentiate between the two. We are responding to that, sort of coming together of those two technologies.

The South Korean ferry that sank April 16 exceeded its cargo limit on 246 trips during the previous 13 months, according to official documents, as the death toll from the tragedy reaches 259 with 43 passengers still missing. The revelation has cast a spotlight on safety regulations in South Korea, one of the world's most developed nations. The Associated Press reports that while one industry body recorded the weight of freight, another set limits, but neither communicated with each other, resulting in a blind spot that allowed nearly every voyage to be conducted while dangerously overladen. The Sewol was examined early 2012 by the Korean Register of Shipping after it had been modified to accommodate more passenger cabins on its third, fourth and fifth decks. The agency slashed the ship’s cargo capacity by more than half, to 987 tons, and decreed that it must carry more than 2,000 tons of ballast water to maintain stability. But only the firm owning the ship, Chonghaejin Marine Co. Ltd., received the register’s report, meaning neither the coast guard nor the watchdog Korea Shipping Association had any knowledge of the new limit before the disaster. All 15 of the ship's crew responsible for navigation have been arrested, and the offices of Chonghaejin Marine and homes of key staff have been raided. Those deemed most responsible stand to receive life jail terms. South Korea President Park Geun-hye expressed sympathy for victims of the disaster during her second meeting with bereaved families over the weekend. “I’ll punish those responsible for the accident and any who committed crimes,” she told around 50 relatives of those on board the doomed ferry in comments republished on a presidential-office website. “I feel boundless responsibility.” The 62-year-old’s approval rate has slid to a four-month low amid public anger over the tragedy. The Sewol sank in calm waters en route from Incheon to the vacation island of Jeju. Most of the 476 people on board were teens on a high school outing.

Shoddy implementation of safety regulations is in the spotlight after documents confirm that the ill-fated Sewol ferry made hundreds of voyages overladen with cargo. South Korean President Park Geun-hye has vowed to “punish those responsible” for the tragedy

JL: How long does it take to actually create one?

KB: On average it takes two days to finish one.

JB: It depends. Human movement is a lot trickier and it takes longer and it can take up to a week just working on that.

After weeks of silence, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan pledged during a nationally broadcast speech on Sunday to find an estimated 230 Nigerian girls who were kidnapped from their school by insurgent group Boko Haram in mid-April. "Wherever these girls are, we'll get them out," said President Jonathan on live television Sunday. However, he accused some of the victims’ parents of withholding information about their daughters and called for “maximum cooperation” from parents. Jonathan’s speech comes in the wake of heavy criticism both internationally and domestically of his government’s fumbled response to the kidnapping and of the failure to quash Boko Haram’s increasingly brazen campaign of violence across the country, which has seen more than 1,500 people killed during the first four months of 2014. Following a successful media campaign featuring the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls, thousands of people rallied across the world over the weekend demanding action from the Nigerian government. "I think it’s so important that the Nigerian government do a lot more in finding these women," Matilda Egere-Cooper, a demonstrator of Nigerian origin in London, told CNN during a protest on Sunday. Last Friday the President met with his top advisers and called for the creation of a “fact-finding committee” to investigate the April 14 mass kidnapping in Chibok, Borno state. He also promised to beef up security measures in the nation following a string of bombings in Abuja last month. “[The] government strongly believes that the people of Nigeria, standing together, will overcome the current security challenges,” said the country’s Minister of Information Labaran Maku, according to a press release published after the meeting. “The President assures Nigerians that ‘wherever the girls are in the world, we will get them back, apprehend and punish the culprits.’” While the U.S. has been hesitant to provide security assistance to Nigeria because of ongoing human-rights concerns in the country, Secretary of State John Kerry promised to provide support to the beleaguered administration during a speech over the weekend. “The kidnapping of hundreds of children by Boko Haram is an unconscionable crime,” said Kerry during a press conference in Ethiopia’s Addis Ababa on Saturday. “We will do everything possible to support the Nigerian government to return these young women to their homes and to hold the perpetrators to justice.”

After being blasted internationally and domestically for failing to respond to the crisis, Nigeria’s leader Goodluck Jonathan promised on Sunday to rescue the more than 200 girls kidnapped by militant Islamists Boko Haram three weeks ago

JL: How do you choose these moments and what do you look for?

JB: It took a while for us to rethink the way we looked at the world to see cinemagraphs. And then once you can train your eye to do that, things open up. You just see something different. Seeing these little live moments that exist around you and being really aware of them. You stop everything else around it and focus on this one really beautiful, living thing.

You have to be really mindful about where you want the attention to go. A lot of that happens in the post-production, deciding what is alive and how long it will be alive.

KB: And there should be a reason for it to be alive. Not just something moving for the heck of it. We want to be economical with how we use this motion.

JB: It’s also fun because it allows people to see through your eyes. I have one of Grace Coddington sketching at the Ralph Lauren show at New York Fashion Week. It was fascinating because I was watching her sketch and everything else kind of went away. Disappeared. I didn’t see anyone or anything else. Then you get to recreate that in a cinemagraph. It’s like everyone is watching her sketch the way I was watching her sketch.

After weeks of silence, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan pledged during a nationally broadcast speech on Sunday to find an estimated 230 Nigerian girls who were kidnapped from their school by insurgent group Boko Haram in mid-April. "Wherever these girls are, we'll get them out," said President Jonathan on live television Sunday. However, he accused some of the victims’ parents of withholding information about their daughters and called for “maximum cooperation” from parents. Jonathan’s speech comes in the wake of heavy criticism both internationally and domestically of his government’s fumbled response to the kidnapping and of the failure to quash Boko Haram’s increasingly brazen campaign of violence across the country, which has seen more than 1,500 people killed during the first four months of 2014. Following a successful media campaign featuring the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls, thousands of people rallied across the world over the weekend demanding action from the Nigerian government. "I think its so important that the Nigerian government do a lot more in finding these women," Egere-Cooper, a demonstrator of Nigerian origin in London, told CNN during a protest on Sunday. Last Friday, the president met with his top advisers and called for the creation of a “fact-finding committee” to investigate the April 14 mass kidnapping in Chibok, Borno State. He also promised to beef up security measures in the nation following a string of bombings in Abuja last month. “[The] government strongly believes that the people of Nigeria, standing together, will overcome the current security challenges,” said the country’s Minister of Information Labaran Maku, according to a press release published after the meeting. “The President assures Nigerians that ‘wherever the girls are in the world, we will get them back, apprehend and punish the culprits.’” While the U.S. has been hesitant to provide security assistance to Nigeria due to ongoing human rights concerns in the country, Secretary of State John Kerry promised to provide support to the beleaguered administration during a speech over the weekend. “The kidnapping of hundreds of children by Boko Haram is an unconscionable crime,” said Kerry during a press conference in Ethiopia’s Addis Ababa on Saturday. “We will do everything possible to support the Nigerian government to return these young women to their homes and to hold the perpetrators to justice.”

After being blasted internationally and domestically for failing to respond to the crisis, Nigeria’s leader Goodluck Jonathan promised on Sunday to rescue the more than 200 girls kidnapped by militant Islamists Boko Haram three weeks ago

JL: Why do you like this medium?

JB: It’s about being a storyteller. Sometimes people ask me is film better than digital? You choose the right tool for the job. Sometimes making a video is the right tool for the job. Sometimes a cinemagraph will be the best outcome to share a moment. Sometimes a photograph. You apply the correct medium to what you want to do, what you want to say.

The South Korean ferry that sank April 16 exceeded its cargo limit on 246 trips during the previous 13 months, according to official documents, as the death toll from the tragedy reaches 259 with 43 passengers still missing. The revelation has cast a spotlight on safety regulations in South Korea, one of the world's most developed nations. The Associated Press reports that while one industry body recorded the weight of freight, another set limits, but neither communicated with each other, resulting in a blind spot that allowed nearly every voyage to be conducted while dangerously overladen. The Sewol was examined early 2012 by the Korean Register of Shipping after it had been modified to accommodate more passenger cabins on its third, fourth and fifth decks. The agency slashed the ship’s cargo capacity by more than half, to 987 tons, and decreed that it must carry more than 2,000 tons of ballast water to maintain stability. But only the firm owning the ship, Chonghaejin Marine Co. Ltd., received the register’s report, meaning neither the coast guard nor the watchdog Korea Shipping Association had any knowledge of the new limit before the disaster. All 15 of the ship's crew responsible for navigation have been arrested, and the offices of Chonghaejin Marine and homes of key staff have been raided. Those deemed most responsible stand to receive life jail terms. South Korea President Park Geun-hye expressed sympathy for victims of the disaster during her second meeting with bereaved families over the weekend. “I’ll punish those responsible for the accident and any who committed crimes,” she told around 50 relatives of those on board the doomed ferry in comments republished on a presidential-office website. “I feel boundless responsibility.” The 62-year-old’s approval rate has slid to a four-month low amid public anger over the tragedy. The Sewol sank in calm waters en route from Incheon to the vacation island of Jeju. Most of the 476 people on board were teens on a high school outing.

Shoddy implementation of safety regulations are in the spotlight after documents confirm that the ill-fated Sewol ferry made hundreds of voyages overladen with cargo. South Korean President Park Geun-hye has vowed to “punish those responsible” for the tragedy

Jamie Beck is a photographer and Kevin Burg is a digital artist. The husband and wife duo have collaborated as artists since 2009.

Joseph C. Lin is an Associate Photo Editor for TIME.com

Contact us at letters@time.com.