First Half of "What to Shoot"

[P3D swarren <swarren@xxxxxxx>]

Thanks to everyone who commented, either off-line or in the forum,
regarding the collecting of 19th century stereoviews. I believe most people
took my statements in the manner with which I intended, that is, to provoke
meaningful thought on what we shoot today.

As for the boxed sets, I also thank you for the suggestions on pricing. I
researched over six years of NSA dealer auction lists, and consulted with
someone who is also familiar with box sets, before I arrived at my prices
(which BTW were not hard-set, but just a starting point). For those who
aren't watching, or just don't agree the market, these sets _have_ been
gaining ground in the past few years. So, George, (or maybe I should say
"Dear Themelis"!) as you are apt so say from time to time, "You should see
what the other guys are charging. I thought I was offering a bargain."
(grin, please....)

I'm glad to hear that many of you have a collection of views - why don't
you talk about these gems more in the future? Can we learn anything from
them? Do they affect how you go about documenting things today in 3D?
Keeping them in a box and never talking about them doesn't sound like much
fun to me.... and I'm as guilty as anyone here of not talking much about my
collection. That's something I'll try to improve on in the future.


For now, I want to respond to the request for how the best views from the
19th century affect my decisions on:

"What to Shoot in 1996 That Will Mean Something in 2096....."

This is certainly no expert guide, but just some ramblings from nearly ten
years of using a 3D camera and having a great deal of fun along the way. I
hope it spurs others on the list to offer ideas. For beginners wondering
what to go after with that new camera, you can start by looking at today's
collector "sweet spots" as described in almost every auction listing.

Animals, Architecture, Aviation, Children, Military, Personalities,
Photographica, Railroads, Subjects by State, Subjects by City,
Transportation, etc. Everyone knows the drill, so I'll just clarify what
goes on in _my_ mind before snapping the picture. Your mileage may...well,
vary.

I look for events that are part of this community I live in. For the most
part, I'm not out for artistic (artsy-fartsy?) views, because it's too easy
to fall into cliche work, and damn difficult to pull off truly great
statements that speak of truth, humanity or whatever an artist may be
reaching toward.

For me, great composition is on my mind at all times, but not high art. I'm
more of a photojournalist, so I simply want to portray what it's like to
live here, to document what we think is important at the time, and to catch
a few human interest scenes along the way that may transcend local or
regional interest.

I'm one of the rare birds who will stand out in traffic to document a
street scene if I think it's the best shot I can get. Urban scenes
fascinate me because they document a moment in a city's ever-changing
streetscape. Not only buildings, but also storefront signs come and go.
Vehicles are so quickly dated in style and colors. Just as George was
saying, so many things change and I would add that we take it for granted
that everything will simply be there for us tomorrow - so we never bother
taking a picture of it today.

One of my favorite yearly 3D excursions is to the downtown area and
outlying suburbs to capture Christmas lights, and I particularly seek out
buildings or homes which use trim lights to outline their entire structure.
The streets are usually deserted at night, so I've stood in the middle of
intersections with a tripod doing 2-3 second exposures without a bit of
trouble. The fingertips usually freeze that time of year, but that's the
only hazard I've run into so far.

I'll show up at fairs, carnivals, the Tour Du Pont bike race as it comes
through town - whatever is "indigenous" to your locality is what matters
the most for future enjoyment/relevance. But rather than worrying about the
future, just get out of the house today and enjoy yourself as you go about
your work.

This is a good breaking point in what became a rather long article. I'll
send up part II in a few days, as I whittle it down some more.

Stephen Warren
Roanoke, VA



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