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Two women float a quarter of a meter above grass while holding hands, as if gravity has suddenly vanished. Drifting weightlessly, one woman, her companion in tow, holds an umbrella and eyes the horizon, ready to put some serious altitude between herself and the ground.

But this is not magic. In fact, the two models have simply jumped and posed in mid-air to create the illusion of levitation.

A local photography community has taken this technique to the next level, creating a group called “Levitasi Hore,” which translates to “Hooray, Levitation.” Avid photographer Anggun created the group with his friend and fellow photography-lover Dana Oktiana, and the duo now posts floating photos on their new blog, levitasihore.tumblr.com.

Last year, photographers jumped on another unusual fad called “planking,” or balancing and stretching the body in odd locations like the top of a McDonald’s sign or between two grocery shelves. The bizarre practice caught on in portraits and Internet posts, resulting in a proliferation of photos and even a Global Planking Day.

Taking from that trend, Anggun and Dana show their models “levitating” in photographs. The models achieve this feat simply by jumping, but they must mask the physical exertion of leaping to create the illusion of floating. Their expressions are calm and their actions are normal, such as talking on a phone, swinging a mallet or walking — but always in mid-air.

According to Anggun, photographers can capture the magical qualities of levitation photography in two ways, either with or without editing. In the latter method, models may pose with the help of a tool, such as wire, sling or even a table to stand on, which will later be erased from the image with Photoshop. Both techniques are accepted in competitions but must be distinguished by category.

Tracing levitation photography back in history. Anggun points to photographs of Indian Yogi Pullavar in the 1930s, which depict a man draped in white ropes and floating a few feet off the ground. While the images are not specifically levitation photography but rather photography of levitation, Anggun says they help show the earlier roots of this budding genre.

Today, he and Dana say levitation photography is more possible than ever due to increasingly sophisticated photography and editing techniques.

For inspiration, they look to one of their contemporaries.

“We are hugely inspired by Natsumi Hayashi,” Anggun said, referring to a Japanese woman with a similar, ethereal style who regularly posts images of herself levitating in public spaces, from a train to a gallery or restaurant.

“Her expression is just natural; she levitates effortlessly,” he added of Hayashi’s ethereal and slightly supernatural subject matter.

For Levitasi Hore, he and Dana try to emulate Hayashi’s techniques, but with a distinctly Indonesian twist. Their photos feature subjects hovering across busy streets or working in rice fields. Anggun, who calls himself an iPhotographer because he takes photos with his iPhone, also advocates for the use of several different camera types, not just the professional and expensive digital single-lens reflex equipment.

In addition to the photography blog, Anggun set up a Twitter account, @LevitasiHore, which instantly attracted attention with its seemingly paranormal subject matter.

“People seem to be interested,” he said.

Based on the success of the Twitter following, Anggun even managed to find sponsors willing to give prizes and vouchers for the group’s first levitation photography competition.

At the end of January, he and Dana also conducted a photo walk for people interested in the genre, and some 30 enthusiasts came out for the event at Ragunan Zoo in South Jakarta.

The photo walk began with a quick workshop from Anggun and Dana, who then divided everyone into groups. Everyone spent the next three hours snapping shots around the zoo.

TV journalist Inne Nathalia volunteered to be a model in the photo walk. She had never tried to “levitate” before, but after seeing several pictures on Twitter, she found the idea genuinely interesting.

After just a few shots, however, Inne learned levitation photography is tricky, especially compared to the static postures in planking. She tried jumping off some stairs in the zoo several times, but photographers couldn’t find the right shot.

“It’s about keeping your expression steady, shoulders down and hair neat, so we don’t look like we’re jumping,” she said.

A few tricks aid the illusion and create the perfect shot. Wearing a hat, a huge hair piece and stiff clothing can help erase the appearance of gravity on clothes and hair, while Anggun encourages models to apply hairspray and use double tape under their clothing to keep it secure.

Inne even brought her own props and outfits. After finding that her cardigan ruined the appearance of floating, she changed into a leather mini dress.

Posing with a book and playing with her umbrella, she tried to keep her legs straight and her feet flat as she jumped. But it took several shots to get used to the odd postures, and in her first attempts, she hurt her legs because she landed awkwardly.

Low angles help create the illusion of levitation. More sophisticated equipment, in this case DSLR cameras, offer more control because they can shoot several frames per second (often in burst mode); mobile phones are tougher to use because they can only take one photo at a time and often have tricky shutter delays.

“You must get used to the delay time first,” said Abu Al Ardh, who is a member of iPhonesia, an Indonesian community of iPhone photographers.

Abu has been using an iPhone to take pictures since the first model was released, and he even performs his job of shooting wedding photos with his iPhone. Mobile phone camera users can acquire the burst mode through paid photo applications.

Lighting is also a critical factor in creating the perfect shot, because a visible shadow gives an ensuring look in levitation photography.

As for the models, Inne and other newbies warned of an inevitable side effect from countless hours of jumping during the photo walk: tired muscles.

But to get that one perfect photo out of dozens of attempts, the shot where something truly phantasmal is created through persistence and ingenuity, the effort is well worth it.

“And it was fun, anyway,” Inne said.