Three-Dimensional Photography - Principles of Stereoscopy

2 THREE-DIMENSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY

Why should stereo be chosen rather than conventional photog-

raphy? Much of this volume is devoted to the answers to this

question, but to sum it up, it may be said that the stereogram

accurately reproduces the original, In the stereogram you see

just what you saw with your naked eyes. In short, in conventional

Fig. 1-1 A. How It Works. An or-

dinary photograph of three posts

set up in a row as seen by the ow-

lens camera set directly in front of

the row.

photography you must have years of experience before you can
predict the appearance of the final print; in stereo “What you
see, you get.” Stereo never disappoints, it always gives you just
what you expect.
Moreover the utter, incredible realism makes conventional
photographs appear as artificial as a wood engraving.
How is it done? Load the camera, set the exposure, focus with
the rangefinder, sight the subject in the finder, press the button.
Repeat until the film is exposed, When the film is removed it is
factory processed as usual, and if you do not care to mount the
films yourself, they are mounted for you. You drop the stereo-
gram into the viewer (or place it in the projector) and enjoy it.
The headaches have all been removed. There is nothing more
than this that is absolutely essential. You will discover a great
deal that is fascinating in this renewed art, and while you will
never fully master all of its intricacies, you have the solace that
you will be making excellent stereograms right from the start.
That fact seems paradoxical, but it is the paramount reason for
the tremendous rise in stereo popularity during the past two years,
Stereoscopy is based upon the simplest of principles. We have