Although her photoblog has changed over time, the two main features are the “levitation” photos and the 3D photos. Both are really cool, and her regular photos (though you’ll have to go back in time for those) are nice too. Personally, I was captured by the levitation side of things.

Magic?

The thing that mainly amazes me is how natural she makes the levitation look. It’s not photoshopped, and there aren’t really any tricks. According to her About Section, she sets the timer on her camera, uses intuition, and jumps right when she thinks the photo’s going to take (though sometimes she uses a friend for the button pushing for far-away shots). Obviously she’s had quite a bit of practice, but just imagine having to take the above picture over and over again in the middle of a train. Good thing Japanese train-riders will just ignore you, no matter what you’re doing.

Still though, the “levitation” is really natural. I can’t jump in the air and make it look like I belong up there. You’d just end up with a dumb picture of me jumping while making a stupid face…

It’s not just levitating she does, though – there’s also flying.

Seriously, though. How do you look so calm and relaxed while jumping like that?

When she’s not doing levitation photos, she’ll occasionally dabble in the third dimension as well. THREE dimensions, you ask? How is that possible with a photo? Actually, this technology has been around for a long time (and is even present in the oldest pictures of Japan). The hard part is the setup, though. You need two identical cameras that take pictures at the same exact time (so you need something that presses both picture-taking buttons at once). You put the two cameras next to each other (just like eyeballs) and then put the two pictures you’ve taken next to each other too.

In order to see the 3D, you have to cross your eyes until the two pictures come together as one. Then, relax, and enjoy the three dimensions. I think it really adds a lot to the photos in a quirky sort of way. Here, give the 3d a try for yourself – click on the pictures to get a bigger view:

In fact, these are all half levitation, half three dimensions. What more could you ask for in photography?

If you go through her blog, you’ll definitely find a lot of gems. I think she’s gotten better at levitating over time, so I hope she continues to post. Maybe one day she’ll discover that if you forget to fall you’ll just be able to fly all the time…

Vacuuming just got a whole lot easier

You can find Natsumi’s blog over at yowayowacamera.com. She’s also on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+. Levitate on over to your favorite social network and give her a “hallo.”