If only they were cameras....

[P3D swarren <swarren@xxxxxxx>]

When I posted my stereoview box sets for sale, not even one "nibble" came
in - if only they were cameras or viewers!

Okay, that's out of my system. Moving from shameless plugs to the "personal
observation" department, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Photo
3D is exclusively a camera-oriented, shooters-&-viewers-only mailing list.
Viewmaster is well represented, but not stereoview collectors. I've been
participating for nearly a year and a half, and watching the daily mail go
by certainly backs up my supposition. This is not a bad thing to be amongst
the best and the brightest of today's 3D photographers, but I _wish_ there
were more view collectors here with us (alas....).

It's funny how many of the stereo collectors on the list (all ten of us...)
often comment that "maybe one day I'll buy a camera and shoot," but I never
hear the camera users pining for the day when they'll start collecting
views. Just my observation....no harm intended. In fact, I say this only to
encourage all of you "users-only" type people to dive into collecting 19th
century views.

Collecting views sure has given me a different perspective of the types of
subjects I'll go after with my Realist in 1996. By understanding which
categories, or types of stereoviews gather the most interest a hundred
years after they were shot, it helps me to understand what subjects are
worth documenting today (beyond the birthday parties and holiday family
gatherings).

Of course, that assumes one is going after this in the pursuit of
"documenting" our world in 3D. That is where I tend to fall as a
photographer, at any rate.

If one is instead shooting into the realm of artistic expression, one
doesn't always have to be steeped in history to find new ways of making
personal statements. I enjoy both realms - documentary and artistic, but
without the help of studying early photography, I'm somewhat lost in being
able to interpret what may be valuable today as I go about town capturing
ordinary things in 3D.

I'm looking forward to seeing Expo2, just for the sake of seeing what
others are up to. Conventions are wonderful for this, too. I must confess
there are always a few "yawners" in the slide program where I think the
photographer needed to have a better understanding of what is really worth
documenting. Perhaps a trip backward might help to understand what's
relevant, and what's not.

Hey, who snatched that soapbox away - I wasn't finished yet!
(grin)

Stephen Warren
Roanoke, VA






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