NSA '97: You had to be there

[P3D E R Swanson <ers@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

NSA '97 Hindsight...


Something happened at NSA '97 that was groundbreaking, so 

I've been told. There was a strong focus on teaching, and an 

effort on the part of the planners to emphasize an active 

vs. a passive experience, or at least create that option. 

There was also a lot more going on concurrently, so people 

had to make choices. At this point, we know, repeat, know 

that workshops need to be continued and expanded. NSA is no 

longer just a group of stereo card collectors. Almost all 

the workshops were SRO.


For example, in my own workshop about all there was time for 

was familiarization with tools, so I showed pictures of 

tools and talked. In hindsight and from comments, instead of 

just commentary on what the basic tools look like and their 

purpose, I should have also shown them in action. If I had 

it to do over, I'd have done it differently. My apologies to 

those who expected something more sophisticated. But you 

have to crawl before you walk, and walk before you run. If 

you don't know a good screwdriver from a bad one, then 

that's where you begin. Sam's workshop was at the run level-

- conjuring up stereo cameras via twinning and splicing. 

(And I don't agree with the comment implying this awesome 

presentation was of camera building beyond the powers and 

abilities of mortal men or women. On the contrary, it shows 

you what anyone can do with a saw, epoxy, good hand tools, 

and at the heart of it, imagination and determination.) Sam 

does not have a machine shop. He has a workbench and common 

tools. But you don't start where Sam is. You get there, step 

by step as your skills increase by actually DOING SOMETHING! 


Instead of the 40 minute workshop I did showing pretty 

pictures of tools, it should have been a three hour hands-on 

workshop, and an audience limitation of 15 people. If I'd 

done a workshop on how to take apart and reassemble a Kodak 

camera it would have been a 4 hour workshop and 5 people, 

all of whom had pre registered and had brought cameras and 

basic tools (either having completed Basic Tools 1A as a 

prerequisite or having the equivalent in experience). :)


NSA needs to be thinking along these lines in 1998. 

Practical hands-on workshops for small groups of people, pre 

registered.  Additional workshop fees might be 

appropriate to help subsidize the travel or hotel expenses 

of presenters to attract the key players. Something to 

consider as NSA '98 goes together.


Bill Moll deserves a big round of applause for wrangling the 

workshop sessions. It was a massive and ongoing job. Thanks 

you Bill. Without you, it wouldn't have worked. 


Jon Golden did a great job with slide mounting, to which I 

added a footnote on cheapo paper mounting for those who view 

in hand viewers rather than project. (I don't consider paper 

mounts suitable for projection because thin paper just isn't 

stable enough re bending or fitting a carrier evenly.) Every 

NSA needs a slide mounting workshop-- maybe several-- 

because it's one of the things basic to stereo many people 

never take the time to properly learn. Harry zur 

Kleinsmeide-- who attended the show and is a fascinating guy-

- has an excellent little mounting manual with 

demonstrations of the key errors. It was interesting that 

Jon and I both feel that mounting gauges are problematic-- 

you can't get accurate enough with them...


My View Master workshop with welcome assist by Wolfgang Sell 

was probably the best one I presented in terms of audience 

reaction and a balance of information and demonstration. It 

involved the operation of the camera and accessories, and 

how to use the cutter, plus how to mount images (and even 

make adjustments for the stereo window). Also contributing 

info was an unexpected visit by Dave Hitchcock, an NSA GOH, 

and we probably spent 3 or 4 hours talking after the 

session. Dave, one of the designers of the VM Personal 

Camera, is coming out with a VM Personal repair video, 

professionally done. And if that's successful, it will be 

followed by one on the TDC Vivid, the VM sister camera. Dave 

also explained an incredible little trick manipulation using 

the VM Personal advance to give one the ability to *double 

expose images without any modification to the camera*!


I wasn't able to attend David Lee's card mounting workshop, 

but heard good things.


Ed Comer's twinning of the Lite-Touch workshop was great 

how-to information, involved techniques within anyone's 

means, and gets you a great little full frame Nikon rig for 

minimal expense. BTW, his info is available at:

http://www.frii.com/3d.tutorial/twin.camera/twin.cam.html


Bob Brackett-- yes, THE Bob Brackett-- taught the cha cha. 

Actually he showed a number of techniques for getting stereo 

out of a single camera. I was unable to attend, but again, 

heard good comments about his presentation (The "cha-cha" or 

step to the side technique is one of a number of single 

camera 3D methods.)


For me the high point of the convention's workshop series 

was John "Orthoman" Bercovitz's presentation on the Geometry 

of Perspective. I'd been cramming by reading what I could 

comprehend in Kingslake's book Optics in Photography, but 

seeing John pull concepts together in his clear, elegant, 

witty manner actually brought me beginning understanding of 

this complex subject. After the program, John and I briefly 

talked about letting me dupe his slides, and getting him to 

record the narration so this program can be shared with 

others. I hope he goes for it. There was also a handout with 

the technical info for his program, but reading it without 

John himself to interpret and describe just isn't the same 

experience. For people who want to develop real control over 

what happens in the stereoscopic photo process, this is key 

information. (And when John goes for the ortho seat in a 

stereo presentation, he *knows* where it is-- John carries 

around a little pocket digital rangefinder!)


I missed John Baird's light painting workshop, and that was 

one I wanted to attend. However, it was scheduled on Sunday 

night, and that bar stool was mighty comfortable.  :)


There were some presentations on computer stereo graphics I 

was unable to attend, but folks, this is the future. I 

managed to talk Lincoln Kamm out of one of his computer 

generated "Cow Abduction" slides to pull a copy-- awesome 

work. I hope NSA '98 makes room for the computer wizards to 

show and hopefully teach their stuff. I know some of the 

techniques are proprietary, but there's also some off the 

shelf material like Photoshop people have been getting 

spectacular results with. And taking a break from the wrap-

up work on Cameron's forthcoming film "Titanic", Franklin 

Londin made a brief appearance. Franklin's 3D work for 

Digital Domain is killer-- the 65mm stereo pairs from 

Terminator 3D takes stereoscopy to it's outer limits.


So, in summary, NSA seems to me to be in an evolutionary 

stage. There's a thirst for knowledge and hands-on 

workshops. This needs to be encouraged and supported by the 

organization.


In my humble opinion...


(And in addition to the workshops, it was great to meet all 

those people I've only known via type on a computer screen. 

That alone was worth the price of admission.)


--Elliott 



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