YUMI LENS
3D printed body with upcycled camera parts
MADE
FROM
Upcycled
CAMERA
PARTS
YUMI Lens is an experimental camera system built as a response to how automated and disposable image-making has become. The project started from a desire to bring physicality, intention, and unpredictability back into photography, where the image is shaped by real light, real materials, and real optical behavior rather than software presets or AI generation. Every photo made with YUMI is earned through interaction with the lens itself, not corrected afterward through filters or computation.
The system is built around modular, interchangeable components that allow photographers to physically alter how light behaves inside the lens. Color, diffusion, flare, and distortion are not simulated. They are engineered through materials, geometry, and optical imperfections. This makes each configuration behave like its own instrument, producing images that cannot be exactly replicated digitally. The lens becomes part camera, part sculpture, and part experimental tool.
From an engineering standpoint, the project involves iterative hardware prototyping, modular product architecture, and hands-on optical testing. Multiple functional lens iterations and system builds have been developed, refined through physical testing and real shooting conditions. The design process balances manufacturability, usability, and expressive potential, treating the lens as both a product and a creative system.
YUMI Lens is also built with sustainability in mind, incorporating upcycled electronic waste and reclaimed materials wherever possible. This reinforces the philosophy that image-making should be slower, more intentional, and materially grounded, not disposable or endlessly reproducible.
At its core, YUMI Lens is about restoring friction and authorship to photography. In an era where AI can generate images instantly, this system makes the photographer physically responsible for how light is shaped. The result is a camera tool that behaves less like software and more like an instrument, where each image carries the trace of the process, the material, and the person behind it.
(Im)perfect vibes
