Viral video makes Portland look like a model playset

This nearly three-year-old video of Portland — shot using a neat method that makes everything look like a tiny model playset — has gotten new life on social media after being aggregated by the website HomeSnacks.

The video was created by Joerg Daiber and posted on the YouTube channel LittleBigWorld, which has episodes toy-ifying a number of other places around the world, like Beijing, Montreal and Brooklyn.

The Portland video has been viewed on YouTube more than 150,000 times as of this writing, with an additional 111,000-plus pageviews on the HomeSnacks post.

Joerg Daiber uses a method known as tilt shift photography to achieve the effect of making Portland buildings, cars and people look like tiny toys.

(The effect can be achieved in the editing/post production process as well.)

Here’s how a subject matter expert explains the use of a tilt shift lens, if you want to get this equipment and try it for yourself:

Seth Koenig

About Seth Koenig

Seth has nearly a decade of professional journalism experience and writes about the greater Portland region.