Make:

Comments

Oldest comments listed first.

• I'm an amateur stereographer myself. My only real disagreement with the article would be the choice of subjects. 3D is most noticable in separating foreground from background, so the best subjects for 3D photos are items that are somewhat close to the camera set against things that are farther away.

  Landscapes, at least where everything is far away, tend to make poor 3D subjects. But someone standing in front of a landscape (the infamous "here's me in front of the Eiffel Tower" shot) work much better.
  

  Posted by: JAO on April 20, 2006 at 11:21 AM

• I'm an amateur stereographer myself. My only real disagreement with the article would be the choice of subjects. 3D is most noticable in separating foreground from background, so the best subjects for 3D photos are items that are somewhat close to the camera set against things that are farther away.

  Landscapes, at least where everything is far away, tend to make poor 3D subjects. But someone standing in front of a landscape (the infamous "here's me in front of the Eiffel Tower" shot) work much better.
  

  Posted by: JAO on April 20, 2006 at 11:23 AM

• I've done lots of single-camera stereo shots of people- you do have to tell them to hold still but it works just fine. And as JAO says, it makes a good shot. I'd disagree with the instructions to "toe-in" the cameras though- you will get a better stereo picture if the shots are parallel. You *eyes* will converge when viewing the shots, but the shots should be parallel. This rule can be broken sometimes whn doing macro shots against a neutral background. You can also do stereo without building anything- balance on your left foot, take a picture, then balance on your right foot and take another. (this is usallly called the Cha-Cha method.)
  

  Posted by: RobCruickshank on April 20, 2006 at 11:49 AM

• I've found that USGS not only has some excellent 3D photographs, but they also have some great tutorials on making 3D photographs. There are some great instructions on creating anaglyphic photos in photoshop from your stereo pair.

  http://3dparks.wr.usgs.gov/3Dbayarea/html/aboutthissite.htm

  Posted by: bethanyvsmith on April 20, 2006 at 12:56 PM

• I used to do 3D with two 35mm cameras. put them bottom to bottom and hold them together with two big rubber bands (I used band that held together broccoli). then just snap both shudders at the same time.

  If you want to adjust for parallax you can put a narrow wedge between the two cameras from the back, I used a little piece of balsa wood. The further you push in the wedge the greater the "toe-in"

  Posted by: infield on April 20, 2006 at 3:31 PM

• I used to do 3D with two 35mm cameras. put them bottom to bottom and hold them together with two big rubber bands (I used band that held together broccoli). then just snap both shudders at the same time.

  If you want to adjust for parallax you can put a narrow wedge between the two cameras from the back, I used a little piece of balsa wood. The further you push in the wedge the greater the "toe-in"

  Who's going to post the View-Master reel how to?

  Posted by: infield on April 20, 2006 at 3:32 PM

• As for viewmasters, it's certainly possible to do your own. Viewmaster made "Viewmaster Personal" cameras, and, until a few years ago, still produced the blank reels for these. Here's the info on that system:
  http://www.vmresource.com/camera/camera.htm

  
  There is an artist named Vladimir, who makes "Vladmaster" art reels with soundtracks they're absolutely wonderful- I believe she shoots the frames with a Bolex 16mm camera, rather than using a viewmaster camera. She uses custom die-cut reels, also rather than the "official" vm reels.
  http://www.vladmaster.com/

  Posted by: RobCruickshank on April 21, 2006 at 9:26 AM

• Stereo photographs are fun with pin hole, too. For extra pizazz, I suggest converting an old army binocular case into your camera body--super cheap at an army surplus and easily made light-tight. How better to play on the concept of stereo vison?

  Posted by: cookiedough on April 21, 2006 at 9:49 AM

Subscribe to MAKE Magazine!

Subscribe today, save 42% and get web access to MAKE free. MAKE Digital Edition is available only to subscribers.

$34.95 / 1 year
(4 Quarterly Issues)

Subscribe now