PSA Convention in Chicago - Report

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

Jim Motley and myself just came back from the PSA convention in St. 
Charles IL (a suburb of Chicago).  Three days well spent, filled with 
stereo images and much more!  PSA Conventions are held once a year and 
they are a great place to get exposed to new ideas, images, techniques, 
and interact with photographers sharing similar interests.  

Here is a list of stereo programs that Jim and I attended during the 
convention:

- Stereo Hall of Fame VIII
- PSA Stereo International Exhibition
- "Glory of the Garden" by Donald Wratten
- Stereo Spectacular included short presentations, "Peru" and   
  "Underwater" shows by John Roll, "Chicago" by Eugene Mitofski, 
  shows by James Roy, Otto Walasek, and others.
- Stereo Slide Sequences
- Stereo Image of the Year Judging

One of the best parts of this convention is meeting and talking to 
fellow stereo photographers.  There was plenty of that going on too.  
It was my honor to meet and chat with the President of the 
Stereoscopic Society (UK), Donald Wratten, and stereo personalities 
like Ron Fredrikson, Otto Walasek, H. Lee Pratt, Ron and Bob Leonard 
(Bob is the current president of the Stereo Division), Pauline 
Sweezey, Dr. Paul Milligan (recipient of the Stereo Image of the Year 
award), Stan White, James Roy, Bill Duggan, and many others.

Another great part of the convention is the education via workshops 
and seminars.  Not only stereo but also 2D that can be adapted for 
stereo.  For example, on Saturday I attended presentations by Heinz 
Otto on Composition and by James Paradise on making slide montages.  
Mr. Otto is active in the Pictorial Print division, which is a bit 
away from my interest on stereo slides, and yet I learned a lot about 
photographic composition from a master of the art.  Same with the 
slide montages which I plan to employ in my stereo photography.

There is a trade show in these conventions with companies like Kodak, 
Fuji, B&H and other manufacturers and retailers having booths with 
information.  The Stereo Division had a table with stereo information
and a display of stereo cards and other interesting stereo images.

Finally, I had the chance to photograph live models, like Indians, a 
clown, and a couple of lovely ladies posing in bikinis (thank goodness, 
I brought plenty of film!!!)  Stereo people had a great presence in 
the convention and also made their mark by the poses they were asking 
the models to take, like holding a gun towards them ("Through the 
Window", assignment coming up in Detroit, he, he, he!)

Overall, we had a great time!

PSA (Photographic Society of America) is an organization of dedicated 
amateur photographers, interested in sharing and improving their work. 
PSA has a number of divisions (Pictorial Print, Color Slide, Nature, 
Photo-Travel, Photojournalism, Stereo, etc.)   The Stereo division was 
founded in 1952 and it has a long history in promoting stereo 
photography.  The President of PSA today is Pauline Sweezey, a past 
President of the Stereo Division.  Executive Vice President of PSA is 
Dr. Albert Sieg, one of the most prolific and internationally 
recognized stereo photographers today.

I hope we will see more photo-3d and stereo people in PSA.  
Membership benefits include a monthly magazine ("PSA Journal"), a 
quarterly newsletters for the Stereo Division ("Dimensions Three") 
and an impressive list of services like stereo slide shows, 
educational stereo sets, critique of images, circulating folios 
(there is even one on digital images, Bill Payne is the secretary) 
and many many more, all available to members for a nominal fee.

If you would like a copy of the services available to Stereo Division 
embers and an application form, just send me your mailing address and 
I'll be happy to forward them to you.

The next PSA convention is about the same time next year in Orlando 
Florida.  The one after that is in Toronto Canada.  Plan to join PSA 
and attend!

Regards,

George Themelis


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