Stereo Photography

Last night we welcomed Ian Bayley as our guest speaker to give a talk on Stereo Photography, a subject new to the club however, the high attendance rate demonstrated an enthusiastic interest in the subject. On arrival each visitor was given a pair of 3D glasses to view Ian’s presentation.

The evening was split into two sections, firstly Ian gave us an insight into his working life, he has two passions, photography which was his chosen career and history, both became clearly evident as the evening progressed. We were given an insight into Stereo Photography and how it was initially invented by Charles Wheatstone in the 1830’s, further development took place at Fox Talbot in Lacock. In the 1850’s it was extremely popular with the use of Stereoscopes. Ian produced a number of images and sets of cards demonstrating what the viewer would have enjoyed in the Victorian times. Ian also showed the club images from his own book, The First World War in 3D, Although some of the scenes  were very graphic in the depiction of the war the 3D element transported the viewer to the trenches and a feeling of involvement, his knowledge of this subject was clearly evident throughout.

Following the break Ian delved into the process of producing a stereo Photograph, demonstrating the method using a single camera called the Cha-Cha or using two cameras side by side on a tripod. He gave details of calculating the requirements to produce a good image to be viewed in 3d. Ian also shared information of web sites, software, and societies that had helpful advice on this subject.

Finally we were treated to a short video produced in several countries around the world demonstrating the unique ability of this method of photography, A very interesting and enjoyable  evening. DW

Image Best view by 3D