P3D Stereos of Steel Mills

[fj834@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Dr. George A. Themelis)]

Thanks Mark for another great posting!

Michael Chikiris was a great speaker.  I heard about him when
Harold Kaiman from our club emailed me an article of the Pittsburgh
Gazette talking about Michael and his slide show.  I was 
immediately impressed by the coincidences:

- A GREEK!?
- Stereo Photographer!??
- Taking pictures of Steel Mills!???

WO!  What is going on here???  That sounds like me!
It is almost impossible to find a Greek stereo photographer,
to find one with interest in steel mills is just too much!

I had heard Michael's name... well known in NSA for his stereo
activities.  So we talked and met in the last NSA convention and
arranged for him to be our guest speaker in March.

His slides of the Pittsburgh steel mills in the 70s was both 
informative and very appropriate, being presented in a conference 
room of the steel company that owned these steel mills! 

>What did we learn? Molten steel is very very very very HOT!!!

Also:

- It is very hot in one direction and very cold in the opposite!
- Very bright in one spot and VERY DARK in the rest.
- Challenging to photograph, from getting into the Steel Mill and
  figuring out the exposures.

The presentation inspired a couple of us to document the present
state of the Steel Industry in 3d.  I am lucky to own a rare set,
"The Iron and Steel Industry", a set of 100 stereo views from
the turn of the century, by U&U.  (Some of these pictures taken
right in Cleveland).  I would like to join efforts with a Steel
Historian/Expert and present these pictures in one of the Iron
and Steel Industry conferences, now that we are turning centuries.
"The Steel Industry 100 years ago"  It is funny seeing some of
these pictures, workers with a cigarette in their mouths and
soft hats (if any) on their heads.

George Themelis


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