When someone asks whether you’ve shot a photograph ‘with a potato,’ they’re usually making a cheeky comment about the quality of the image. In the case of Simon Meyer, though, shooting with a potato — and plenty of other strange objects — is more a statement of fact than a jape about the quality of his images.
Simon Meyer is a German film director and photographer who’s using his TikTok account to showcase a selection of wacky camera ‘lenses’ he makes and retrofits to his Sony a7 III through various means. So far, he’s managed to turn a potato, a shoe, a roll of toilet paper and even an Elmo stuffed animal into pinhole lenses of sorts to capture the world around him through very unconventional — not to mention uncomfortable — means.
Below are the four TikTok videos Meyer has so far shared:
Potato
@simonmeyer_director I made a diy lens out of a potatoe 😂 #photography #tutorial #diy ♬ Oh No – Kreepa
Shoe
@simonmeyer_director I used a shoe as a lens 😂🙏 #filmmaker #diy #tutorial #photographytricks #sonya7iii #blackmagicpocketcinema4k #fypシ ♬ Act 2: In the Hall of the Mountain King – Edvard Grieg
Toilet Paper Roll
@simonmeyer_director This is how I made a lens out of toiletpaper 😂🙏 #photography #photographersoftiktok #2022 #toiletpaper #sony #cameralenses #arricamera ♬ Surrender – Natalie Taylor
Elmo
Warning: You might not want to watch this if you have children around. It might traumatize them to watch their Sesame Street friend get lobotomized.
@simonmeyer_director Reply to @sallimartin I did it 🙏😂 elmo camera lens! #camera #phototricks #photographytricksandtips #analoguefilm #vintagecamera #filmtricks #fypシ ♬ Avengers Endgame: Main on End Theme (From “Avengers: Endgame”) – Cinematic Legacy
Meyer is taking requests for future lenses, so if you’re interested in seeing what can be turned into a camera lens, head on over to his TikTok profile and suggest the object.