levitating self portraits

I can't even tell you how many photographs of people jumping in the air I've seen on various websites and blogs. It's definitely a cute, fun idea for a photo, so I understand why people like them so much. Taking photographs of yourself levitating, however, are a different matter entirely.

Natsumi Hayashi is a Tokyo photographer who goes by the name yowayowa - a Japanese term meaning "weak" or "feeble" - which she uses to make fun of the fact that her SLR camera is so heavy she can barely carry it. Natsumi has not only assumed this yowayowa persona, but has taken the idea even one step further with her series of levitating self portraits - photographs where she literally appears to be floating above the ground. Not only are these images incredible because of the perfectly frozen state of suspension that Natsumi has managed to capture with each pose, but even outside of the context of the levitation, they also happen to be really lovely, fascinating photographs.

(Via Spoon & Tamago)