P3D Re: I need help

["Stuart Stiles" <sstiles@xxxxxxx>]

Doc wrote about a local 3D promotion.

This sounds like a small printing job.  It should still get the attention
that it deserves,
even though the cost per copy may be higher than the per copy cost of a mass
production publication.

As I see it, the first requirement is to obtain fine quality stereo pair
photographs.
Quality composition, technique and skill are hard to beat.  If you are doing
the work
yourself, then do well.  If not, then ask the assistance of a stereo
photographer.

Next, you will need a printer who knows how to meet the quality demands of
your project.

Among the printing options available, my experience has been that half tones
are a bit harsh.
Duotone images capture some of the warmth of antique look views.

I used duotone photo printing technique in Stereoscopic Saratoga Springs, a
book of reproductions
of full size Holmes type view cards that we published last year. (see the
review of this book and a
sample of images in the July/August 1998 issue of STEREO WORLD, pages 34 and
35.) Full color
reproduction was well beyond my budget... and the antique views themselves
were not in full color.

Some of the computer printers using  glossy paper give the do-it-yourselfer
an opportunity to
produce some "acceptable"  larger views from digital images, comparable to
the Holmes cards.

Ease of viewing is another matter.  The plastic lorgnettes are a challenge
to many beginners.
I have designed a folding cardboard holder, that is now in prototype
production.  Because it sets
the alignment and distance close to the desired conditions, most of the
inexperienced viewers, with
whom I have used it, were able to see the 3D effect on their first try.  It
is somewhat like the viewmaster
in level of difficulty of use.

Because there is no card holder involved, this system can be used for
examining a variety of formats.
With it, I have examined the depth in hand held View Master reel images
(they are really small) ,  the depth
in printed pairs on the pages of STEREO WORLD, as well as the depth in my
collection of antique cards.

As an aside, it is possible to move the viewer across the pair, placing
different parts of the photo pair scene
into the center of view.  Some unnoticed depth in the old images came to
life, such as showing the crown in a dirt road
to be more visible, as the viewer scanned the image.

For lack of a better term, I like to call this an "exhibition stereo
viewer."  It could well be used by patrons of
an art gallery, who move from image to image along an exhibition hall,
carrying their viewer with them.  It would be
inexpensive enough and portable enough for them to take along home after
visiting the exhibit.  Now that should
facilitate an increased interest in stereo cards and modern stereo
photograph prints!

The glasses themselves are the AOtec lorgnettes that were included in my
book.  As soon as I have the first
batch of viewers, I plan to take them to the shops in Saratoga, where the
book was sold.  I will offer them in
exchange for the unmounted glasses to anyone who bought the book and found
the glasses inadequate.  Of
course, I advertised that the book was best viewed by placing the bottom of
the book in an antique stereoscope.
I even sold a few modern replicas of stereoscopes with the books last year.
Those folks, who did not receive
the glasses when they bought the stereoscope, can still get the new viewer,
if they send me a snapshot of themselves with the
stereoscope and book (even a monoscopic image will work.)  After all, we
can't expect to transform everybody into stereo photographers, can we?

If you are planning to attend NSA '99 at Green Bay, WI, stop by the
publishing workshop to see some
of the ways that 3D images have been published recently.. (Watch for another
posting, or two, that will appear on P3D.)

In any event, good luck.  And keep promoting the use of 3D... if only for
the pleasure of it.

                    Prof. Stuart Stiles
                    Orange County Community College
                    Middletown, NY







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