Stan White's Tabletop set available from PSA

[P3D Dr. George A. Themelis <DrT-3d@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I was reviewing Stan White's "Stereo Tabletop Photography - A Primer". 
This is available on loan from PSA (Mrs. Henrietta Tinay of the Oakland 
club is in charge of loaning these subject sets, another benefit of
your PSA membership).

Many of you have purchaced Stan White's "Beyond The Third Dimension"
excellent View-Master set.  (If you have not, Dr. T. says it is excellent
and you should!) This is tabletop photography at its best, great humor
excellent photography, amazing imagination.

The "Primer" shows pictures of the set-ups used in a few of the pictures.
They are all simple and take up little space.  Stan writes: "No large
space is needed to carry out this fascinating pasttime which can be done
in your living room, kitchen or basement... In Tabletop photography the
world is your oyster.  In fact, you can make your own personal worlds
real or surreal."

At the end of the notes which accompany the "Primer" (also attached are
two PSA Journal articles by Stan) he lists "A Few Hints For Making
Stereo Tabletop Pictures".  Here are a few good ones:

- Do not waste picture space.  Keep your image large in the frame.
- Do not try to fill a predetermined 4, 5, or 7 sprocket format.
  Match the format to the space the picture naturally fills.
- Do not put anything in your picture unless it serves a purpose.
  Leave it out if it makes no difference.
- A picture can only communicate one idea at a time.  Any picture which
  attempts to convey two ideas will be totally unfathomable.
- Do not put anything in your pictures that can be mistaken for other
  than what it is.
- Use simple and appropriate backgrounds.
- Your audience's first reaction to your images will be sensory; only
  after this need has been satisfied can you engage their intellect.

If you want more, you will have to join PSA and borrow the "Primer".  It
helped me realize how crude my tabletop attempts have been.  It gave
me ideas in improving my setups, lighting (John Vala is right BTW), and
composition.  The rest (and most important, the actual idea and
inspiration) cannot be taught and it is up to everyone.

Afterthought:  Table-tops and computer-generated 3d images are very close
to each other.  The computer will let you design an imaginary tabletop.  
Good programming and image-manipulation skills are equivalent to the
ability to select appropriate tabletop props and control the lighting.  
The rest (composition, imagination, etc.) is up for grabs and that's
what will make the difference among people with equal skills.

George Themelis


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