Ortho Grand Canyon

[P3D <PTWW@xxxxxxx>]

Lincoln Kamm writes:

>One thing that people that don't like hyper stereo images may want to
>consider is how little you would like seeing a stereo image of the grand
>canyon taken with less than 3 inches of seperation.  It would look acurate
>(stereoscopic wise), but there would be no seperation. The non3-D fanatical
>public would never be happy with a set of stereo images that were flat<snip>

I have heard the Grand Canyon take shots as a poor subject for "normal"
stereo photography before.  In my lurker days I didn't speak up, but now
I would like to try to put this myth to rest...or at least document that
the assertion is not universally true for all people :).

I was a member of the non3-D fanatical public until just a few years ago.
Then a friend showed me slides his grandfather had taken with a Realist-
format camera.  I had the typical reaction most of us witness when showing
our stereo images to someone who has never experienced them before.  "Oh,
wow, isn't this neat!"  Also like most people we show our images to, I
did not have any particularly compelling interest in becoming a stereo-
photographer...that is, until my friend popped in a Realist-format image
of the Grand Canyon.  That's the one that pushed me over the edge!  The
photographer knew enough to include a little bit of the ledge on which
he was standing in the foreground.  The stunning difference between this
well composed normal separation shot of the Grand Canyon and the flatties
I had taken when I was there several years earlier was too compelling to
ignore.  I caught the bug because of that image and will never forget the
experience.  It was several years before I was able to start pursuing
stereophotography, but this past year I finally got back to the Grand
Canyon and took plenty of shots with my trusty Realist.  I took some
aerial hypers from the plane when we left, but I enjoy the Realist shots
just as much as the hypers.

By contrast, the hyper of the Grand Canyon in the "Photographing in 3-D"
book that I got from Reel-3D, was neat at first, but holds less and less
appeal for me each time I look it.  The hyper effect is so extreme that
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the Grand Canyon looks more like a child's sand castle.  The realism of a
good Realist image of the Grand Canyon does a wonderful job of making me
feel like I am there, which of course is a very powerful experience.  A
good hyper of the Grand Canyon is interesting and enjoyable, but I have
not seen one that captures that sense of being there.

Paul Talbot, defender of the Grand Canyon!


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