[Boston.com]
To hear its practitioners talk about it, you almost get the impression that they’ve discovered the next frontier in media. But in fact, stereoscopic, or 3D, photography has been around for more than 150 years.
Although among the general population, it will probably never again enjoy the popularity it had at the turn of the century, a solid core of photography enthusiasts in New England have been rediscovering it in recent years: They even have a club called the Depthmen.
The group is exhibiting samples of 3D photography at Gallery Seven in Maynard later this month and through October.
Viewing stereoscopic images requires special implements, which is probably why it has never gained much momentum as an art form. At the gallery exhibit, a variety of viewing devices will be used, including 35mm transparencies backlit in pairs, large format lenticular images where the lenses are built into the photo, polarized glasses like those used at 3D movies, and an arcade-style viewer. …
“When I was attending Mass College of Art in the late ’70s, I liked to collect old toys at flea markets,’’ he said. “Several years after graduation, I found a View-Master toy with a brochure which advertised ‘Take your own 3D pictures with our View-Master stereo camera’! I contacted the company that owned View-Master at the time, but they said the camera hadn’t been made for many years. They advised me of a club in California, which led me to subscribe to a small publication called REEL 3D News. Through one of the classified ads, I bought a Realist stereo camera and viewer in late 1980s. …
“One technique in 3D photography that really interests me is hyperstereoscopic, which is where you use two cameras and experiment with the distance between them. It enables you to get the perspective of a giant. So when I take a photo in midtown Manhattan and then make it look like a miniature, it reminds me of the train models that my father used to create.’’ …
See the full story here: http://www.boston.com/yourtown/brookline/articles/2011/08/25/maynard_gallery_exhibit_adds_3d_depth_to_still_photography/?page=2