Convert Image to Base64 Encoding in PHP

<?php 
    $path = 'images/thumb1.gif';
    $type = pathinfo($path, PATHINFO_EXTENSION);
    $data = file_get_contents($path);
    $base64 = 'data:image/' . $type . ';base64,' . base64_encode($data);
    echo substr($base64, 0, 50);
?> 

Output

data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhWABgAPcAAPL36nF1TOav