3-D Stereo Photography

One of my fondest childhood memories is my View Master and the little 3-D stereographic reels that I used to buy at the “Dime Store”. They had a rotating rack by the front door with View Master viewers and a multitude of picture reels with 3-D scenes from all over the world. They also had cartoon reels, sports reels and even educational reels.

I naturally bought View Masters and picture reels for all of my children so they could enjoy them as I had. Imagine my surprise to discover that after all these years they are still being made & sold. As I was searching online with the idea of getting another one for myself (I guess I’m getting ready for my second childhood) I got side tracked by the whole subject of 3-D stereo photography. Apparently there is a lot more to this 3-D stuff than I thought.

First there is what I enjoyed so much as a child, stereo photography which involves taking two photos simultaneously of the same scene with cameras or lenses that are approximately the same distance apart as the human eyes. These photos or slides can be viewed using a stereoscopic viewer or by either parallel or cross eyed viewing. The latter are both methods of “freeviewing” which involves training the natural eyes to see stereoscopic images in 3-D without the assistance of any devices. Apparently only about half of the world’s population is genetically equipped to do this. 

Then there is Anaglyph photography which involves using different color filters to create a 3-D effect. This is the type of 3-D that requires the special glasses like when you go see 3-D movies.

Lenticular Photography is another type that involves using three or more multiple images to simulate a 3-D effect where special viewers or glasses are not practical. This is great but it appears there is only one Canadian company still producing lenticular prints.

Since the last two methods require special equipment and processing not readily available, and I am apparently in the half of the world’s population that can “freeview” 3-D images  I will be spending my time studying and perhaps experimenting a little with stereography.