The Yowayowa camerawoman
Natsumi Hayashi has a unique talent. She shoots self-portraits while levitating around Tokyo
Stock floatation
There is an English-language saying that suggests it’s good to keep both feet firmly on the ground. Natsumi Hayashi disagrees. Her images, typically shot against mundane urban backdrops, capture her dreamily levitating. But there are no wires, digital tricks or supernatural powers at work, just lots of jumping and a super-fast shutter speed.
Jump start
Hayashi typically sets her camera to shutter speeds of 1/500 second or faster. She then focuses her lens, sets a ten-second timer, runs to her chosen spot and leaps at what she instinctively feels is the right moment. It can take hundreds of goes to capture the image she wants. For pictures taken from longer distances, she enlists the help of a friend to take the picture.
Levitation nations
Her work is just beginning to garner real international interest online, and through technical explanations and ‘how to’ information on her website, she has managed to inspire tributes from Europe to South America.
The artist
Hayashi lives in Tokyo with two cats. She calls herself ‘yowayowa camera woman’, referring to a Japanese word meaning ‘feeble’ or ‘weak’. "Since I’m yowayowa," she says, "it’s really heavy to carry SLR cameras around". www.yowayowacamera.com
