[MF3D.FORUM:170] Time to end my silence!

[Sam <3dhacker@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Guys,

I've been hiding in the background for some time now, due to other
commitments, but hope to get more in the swing of things from now on. I
know there's a billion more people on this list than when it was first
started almost 4 years ago, and I'm very pleased that it's still going
strong and bitch-free, and still helping turn more people on to the
ultimate stereo format, medium format.

For the benefit of those who just joined us in the last little while, allow
me to ramble on a little. I first started with crude experiments in stereo
photography around 1974 when I read about it in Popular Photography. Being
a young teenager with a very low budget, my first attempts were acheived by
doing the cha-cha with a Polariod Colorpak 80 instant camera. My sister was
an antique dealer, so I managed to get an old stereoscope for $20. This and
the polaroid allowed me to make my first crude stereo cards. I still
remember the thrill of seeing my own creations in 3d, something that comes
back every time I get a roll processed and start mounting today.

It wasn't until I got a Realist in the 1980s did the 3d bug really bite, as
this introduced to me the concept of colour stereo slides in a quality
viewer. From that point on 2d was never good enough. I then started reading
everything I could about the history and magic of stereo photography, and
when the novelty of seeing depth in my pictures started to wear off, the
need for experimentation began. This was the point I realised how limited
the available equipment was. The only available "new" camera was the
Nimslo, with virtually everything else was old, worn, and almost entirely
limited to a single format.

When I started working at a vintage camera store in 1988 I suddenly had an
unlimited supply of old cameras at my disposal. My appreciation for the
spectacular sharpness of a large format negative made it natural to broaden
the scope of my stereography with medium format, so I made my own stereo
camera by fusing two German folding cameras into a single unit. To
compliment this I made a viewer from the optics of an old pair of
binoculars. This was the start of medium format stereo for me.

Since then I have made over a dozen stereo cameras of various formats, but
still favor medium format for general shooting. I have a web page up
showing my pride and joy at: http://www.cadvision.com/3dhacker/index.htm

As for my shooting, I take mostly nature shots, and prefer Astia over
Velvia for slides, and have my own little technique for black and white
slides (which I am very willing to share)!

I have to conclude with saying that nothing has inspired me more in the
last few years than this list. I was very fortunate to be one of the first
members, and would like to show my gratitude to Greg Erker, Joel Alpers,
Stephen Kearney, Eric Goldstein and John B for starting this by combining
their individual interests into a single think tank of 3d. Hat's off to
Paul Talbot as well for taking the reins and keeping this list alive.

Atta go guys! You're all still on the list, correct?

Sam