Japanese Photographer Reaches New Heights

Hayashi posts a levitating picture-of-the-day each day on her blog, <a href="http://yowayowacamera.com">yowayowacamera.com</a>

"Sometimes I needed to jump more than 300 times to get the perfect shot," Hayashi told Today.com on June 8.

“I got an idea from an English idiom that says ‘to have one’s feet firmly planted on the ground’ applies to a practical type of person,” Hayashi said in an interview. “In Japan, we have the exact same idiom. But I am not a practical person at all. Therefore, I try not to have my feet on the ground in my self-portrait photos to show my true self.”

“I set the camera with the shutter speed of 1/500 second or faster to freeze my jumping movement," Hayashi told Today.com.

Sometimes Hayashi has to work alone and uses a self-timer, or she'll ask a friend to join in and press the shutter for her.

“I believe that I am becoming [more popular abroad] than in Japan,” Hayashi said. “It is lovely that so many people started taking levitation photos all around the world, from countries in South America to Scandinavia.”

“We all are surrounded by social stress as we are bound by the force of the Earth’s gravity. So I hope that people feel something like an instant release from stressful, practical days by seeing my levitation photos.”

“They are time machines to me, because I can see actual people and scenes captured in 19th century right in front of my eyes,” she said.

Hayashi has been working as an artist's assistant in photography for two years now, and is in her 20s.

Hayashi said she finds inspiration from the photography of the 19th century.

Hayashi started sharing photos at the beginning of 2011 on her website, but has been experimenting with this technique for about two years.

Her website 'Yowa Yowa Camera Woman Diary' can be translated as "A feeble or weak camera woman's diary." See all her photos on her site, <a target="_blank" href="http://yowayowacamera.com">yowayowacamera.com</a>.