Re: Ask Dr. T, part I

[P3D David W. Kesner <drdave@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Dr. T writes:

> From time to time I am asked to critique
> stereo images,

> I recently received slides from David Kesner
> ("I am not a doctor"), To say that I am
> impressed is not enough! 

> David asked for my advice and feedback
> regarding his work because back there in
> Boise, Idaho, there is not much going on
> 3d-wise.  As I said to him, there not much
> I can say other than congratulate him for
> a job well done.

I am surprised and honored!!!!! Thank you for the kind praise. I hope
you are not just trying to make up for the last time where you
wondered if I even knew what the stereo window was and questioned if
I should even be taking stereo pictures at all *{;-)

> My only question:  How did he accomplish
> such progress over a short period of time?
> I ask this because I had seen his work less
> than a year ago and there was plenty of room
> for improvement.  At this time David was using
> a Owla stereo camera and a Delta viewer and
> he did not appear to understand the concept
> of the stereo window, plus he was having
> problems with Owla's slightly narrower image
> size.  Now, he is using a Realist camera and
> a red button viewer.  
> 
> I suspect, but will let him confirm, that these
> new tools have something to do with the
> improvement.  Especially the issue of the
> good viewer. I believe that without a good
> viewer, a person cannot see his work critically
> and hence will not be motivated to improve.

I believe my improvement came from three things.

1) Good equipment. There is no substitute for quality. There just
isn't any arguing that the same picture taken by the same person with
better equipment will be better. As far as the viewer goes there is
that old saying "you don't know what you are missing". If you can't
see a problem with your slides, then there is no way to improve it.
And the things I saw when I looked into that "Themelized" Red Button
for the first time..... it's no wonder Dr. T. questioned my integrity
*{;-)

2) Good critique. You just can't beat constructive criticism from
your peers. Whether you are just starting out or consider yourself an
expert, you should seek out the opinions of others. The practice of
"sharing" slides is a wonderful way of accomplishing that. It is
especially helpful with beginners like myself that have no idea what
they are doing. A few well chosen words here and there (like I got
from Dr. T.) can make all the difference in the world. The next step
would be to participate in a folio or send in to competitions,
although I understand that most of the PSA and NSA competitions don't
give you much feed back other than to let you know where you "rank".
If you don't want to join an established folio, start one of your
own. I have started the Underground Folio and should have the first
round on its way early next month.

3) Seeing quality work. Before I started taking stereo slides I had
only seen them once before as projected images in a less than perfect
environment. That was a few years ago and the images hadn't stayed
with me. Without something to strive towards I just blundered forward
thinking my slides were as good as it gets. So good in fact that I
sent them to Dr. T for an honest evaluation, thinking he would heap
praise on me. When I read his comments, I must admit I was somewhat
devastated. He had sent some of his slides along with the critique.
When I looked at his slides and saw how beautiful and wonderful this
medium can be, something just hit me. It was like looking at crayon
scribblings on the kitchen wall and thinking that was "art" and then
to have some one take me to the Louvre. Everyone needs to see quality
work to know what is possible and what to strive towards.

> Thanks David for sharing these slides,

No, thank you Dr. T. You are responsible for all three of the reasons
I have stated. To put it bluntly, you are the sole reason I have been
able to improve in such a short time. Well, OK, maybe I had a little
talent to start with *{;-)

> there are in their way back to Boise,
> together with some of mine!

In closing, let me once again stress the importance of "sharing"
slides and seeing other peoples work. I am more than willing to
exchange slides with anyone that is interested. Drop me a line.

Thanks for the time,

David W. Kesner
Boise, Idaho, USA
drdave@xxxxxxxxxx
(No I'm not a doctor - just a nickname)


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