20 Vintage Photos Re-imagined as Animated GIFs

Old school pics with a modern twist.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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Vintage photographs have an uncanny attractiveness. They are familiar, but at the same time seem to come from a different world. Those same photographs become even more visually stimulating with the help of digital artists who animate them into GIFs. These photos can come from anywhere, and the sources here range from the Library of Congress to old fashioned movie stills. Many artists post these GIFs on impressive Tumblrs that show off their creative approaches to old photography. Fall in love with the past in a whole new way with these 20 Vintage Photos Reimagined as Animated GIFs

 

Image via Cari Vander Yacht

1. Cari Vander Yacht is a big name in the animation of vintage photographs. Her ability to make this bike ride feel endless shows why she has attained so much esteem in this field. 

 

Image via Kevin Weir on Tumblr

2. Kevin Weir is another well know graphic artist who animates old photos. The best part of this image is the nonchalant look on the man’s face, considering that he just got shit on... literally. 

 

Image via nightmare-of-mine on Tumblr

3. This Tumblr user turned an already dynamic picture into a full-blown disaster. The details in this dark rendering are especially impressive. 

 

Image via thequeenofrad on Tumblr

4. By bringing life to a romantic cruise in front of the Eiffel Tower, this artist manipulates a vintage photo with simple elegance. 

 

Image via anafigas on Tumblr

5. By animating black-and-white photos of a heavy smoker’s cigarettes, the artist creates a hypnotizing time lapse.

 

Image via Bill Domonkos on Tumblr

6. If Eadweard Muybridge liked to create his moving images in the bathroom sink, they might look something like Bill Domonkos’ surreal GIF.

 

Image via Vintage 3D on Tumblr

7. Vintage 3D is a Tumblr dedicated to animating old photographs so they shift back and forth. Here, the Cat in the Hat comes alive with this clever GIF.

 

Image via Bill Domonkos on Tumblr

8. Domonkos took some creative liberties with this vintage photograph. His additions show the real chemistry between the kissing couple.

 


Image via Stoneponi on Tumblr

9. Audrey Hepburn comes alive with the subtle flicker of a lit match. Even the queen of vintage benefits from slight animation.

 

Image via serenitypower99 on Tumblr

10. The unwrapping of the wall illustrates the cathartic beauty of destruction. 

 

Image via Cari Vander Yacht

11. Behold the human pogo sticks.

 


Image via Kevin Weir on Tumblr 

12. If this old lady didn't look like a witch before, now you know her true colors. This GIF just begs for a Harry Potter reference.

 


Image via Bill Domonkos on Tumblr 

13. This man will never have trouble with directions. He always knows how to head home. 

 

Image via Cari Vander Yacht

 14. Grandma is always watching, and she's really, really creepy.

 


Image via Kevin Weir on Tumblr 

15. This image of the past foreshadows what our apocalyptic future may look like when the world is taken over by aliens.

 

Image via Jessica Timmerman on Tumblr

 16. Levitation gets retro.

 

Image via Vintage 3D on Tumblr

 17. Movement makes this complicated photo even more confusing in a really good way. 

 


Image via Bill Domonkos on Tumblr 

18. Domonkos turns a tame portrait into a portal to another world.


Image via Cari Vander Yacht

19. Ladies man or family man? Yacht's animation creepily blurs the line between the two.  

 

Image via Kevin Weir on Tumblr 

20. It bearly takes any effort to go from vintage to psychedelic. The splash of color in this animation takes the image to the next level.

 

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