I hope the headline is very haiku because what I encountered on the web recently was for me a very 'haiku' moment – a sense of succinct rhythm conjuring images that absolutely defy the power of the word.
I always been amazed at the human mind and its capacity to create an alternative perspective if let out of the box. Unfortunately too few people do so in fear of ridicule for not following on the established norm.
The mind of Natsumi Hayashi, a young Japanese photographer's assistant and a photographer herself, has not just been allowed out of its box, it has burst out!
A even greater achievement when you set it against the perceived high sense of decorum and conformity of the Japanese people.
Natsumi realised at an early age that “keeping two feet on the ground” was highly overrated and admits she didn't want any of it. When it came to practicality or sensibility, to be grounded and pragmatic. She knew what she wasn't and so wanted none of it.
Her self-portraits are solely those with her seemingly levitating all over Tokyo. “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,” she was quoted in a news report.
Of course she can't levitate, but she can jump – which is levitating backwards in a sense. She sets her camera, either on self-timer or with a friend clicking the shutter for her, at 1/500 second or faster shutter speed and jumps. A lot.
She says that it can take her anywhere from 10 to 60 minutes to get the right shot... which may mean sometimes as many as 300 jumps for that perfect instance of unadulterated levitation.
Its people who think so purely out of the box that have my devotion. People who are not confined by the values set upon them by others, who, in turn, are probably living the values set on them by still others.
Natsumi shatters the myth of individuality in conformity. She has taken the camera as her voice, and armed with her unique vision she has snatched her moment and frozen her true self for the world to see.
Want to see more of Natsumi's work... visit her website or click on the images in this post.
I always been amazed at the human mind and its capacity to create an alternative perspective if let out of the box. Unfortunately too few people do so in fear of ridicule for not following on the established norm.
The mind of Natsumi Hayashi, a young Japanese photographer's assistant and a photographer herself, has not just been allowed out of its box, it has burst out!
A even greater achievement when you set it against the perceived high sense of decorum and conformity of the Japanese people.
Natsumi realised at an early age that “keeping two feet on the ground” was highly overrated and admits she didn't want any of it. When it came to practicality or sensibility, to be grounded and pragmatic. She knew what she wasn't and so wanted none of it.
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| Floating across a restaurant |
Of course she can't levitate, but she can jump – which is levitating backwards in a sense. She sets her camera, either on self-timer or with a friend clicking the shutter for her, at 1/500 second or faster shutter speed and jumps. A lot.
She says that it can take her anywhere from 10 to 60 minutes to get the right shot... which may mean sometimes as many as 300 jumps for that perfect instance of unadulterated levitation.
Its people who think so purely out of the box that have my devotion. People who are not confined by the values set upon them by others, who, in turn, are probably living the values set on them by still others.
Natsumi shatters the myth of individuality in conformity. She has taken the camera as her voice, and armed with her unique vision she has snatched her moment and frozen her true self for the world to see.
Want to see more of Natsumi's work... visit her website or click on the images in this post.
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