Cool Cinemagraphs Reveal the Magic Hiding in Everyday Life

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Motion artist Daria Khoroshavina uses cinemagraphs to find the magic hiding in everyday life.  She does this by isolating otherwise ordinary occurrences that might go unnoticed. Nothing is too small—Khoroshavina will animate the cream swirling in a drink, for instance, while the rest of the image remains still. Her areas of motion are often subtle, and you must closely watch to see what actions will occur. In doing this, you can’t help but admire the incredible details that are contained in each composition.

For Khoroshavina, discovering enchantment is all about looking deeper. “Sometimes you have to stop time and search for it in between the seconds,” she tells My Modern Met, “that’s what we do with our footage, really.” Inspired by Harry Potter and the Wizarding World, she prefers to look beyond the stories of good versus evil. “I’m more of a ‘Molly Weasley’ type with all of her household magic,” she explains, “those little items that are doing their mundane things, usually in the background, not at all relevant to the major plot, but still so lovely and cute. They melt my heart every time I see them.”

Khoroshavina works with a small team on her cinemagraphs. Nastya Buryak and Olya Kolesnikova help her style the food to tell a story, and then Khoroshavina brings it to life using Adobe After Effects and Photoshop. “I’m self-taught, mostly from YouTube tutorials,” she says. “I used to do photography, but since I discovered cinemagraphs about 5 years ago, I’ve been in love with the technique and making only live photographs.”

Scroll down for some of our favorite cinemagraphs by Khoroshavina and then follow her on Instagram to see what magic she conjures up next.

Motion artist Daria Khoroshavina reveals the magic in everyday life through her enchanting cinemagraphs.

Her spooky cinemagraphs make it look like a ghost is busy doing ordinary tasks.

The subtle movements—the bubbling, the dripping, the relaxed rotation—make them all the more haunting.

Daria Khoroshavina: Instagram | Tumblr

My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Daria Khoroshavina.

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