The 19th-century stereoscope was a staple of the Victorian drawing room.
Stereoscopic photographs were among the first types of photographs created by 19th-century photography pioneers. The cameras used two lenses approximately the same distance apart as human eyes are. The printed photographs were mounted onto cards, and were viewed with a special hand-held stereoscopic viewer. The same basic method can be used today to create your own stereoscopic photographs to syour friends at home.
Instructions
Taking the Pictures
1. Load the camera with film. Many stereo cameras use medium format film. If you plan to use a Holga-style viewer, use color transparency film. If you plan to use the wooden Holmes-style viewer, you can use print film, color or black and white, or you can shoot with a digital stereo camera.
2. Mount the camera on a tripod securely. Some cameras can be used hand-held, but the results will often be better if you use a tripod.
3. Set up the tripod in front of the scene that you plan to photograph. Good subjects for 3-D photography are landscapes with a lot of depth of field; that is, it's good if there are objects close the camera as well as far away. If the camera doesn't have a built-in light meter, take a reading and adjust the exposure time and aperture to get a good exposure. Take the picture. Advance the film two places, as each exposure will require two frames, one for each lens. Continue in this manner until you shoot all the exposures. Roll the film up onto the reel and remove it from the camera.
4. Process the film according the manufacturer's directions, or take it to a lab for processing.
Mounting the Photographs for Viewing
5. Mount your transparency film directly into the plastic mounts in order to use them with a transparent Holga-style viewer. You can use tape to hold the two exposures in their corresponding places in the mount. Look through the viewer to see if the images come together. If not, adjust the spacing slightly between the two images until they appear to merge when viewed through the viewer.
6. Or, assemble a Holmes-style wooden stereoscope kit. Make two small prints for each view. Mount the two prints side by side onto a card, provisionally at first, in order to test how far apart the prints should go in order to merge when seen through the viewer.
7. Glue the two prints in place on a heavier piece of card stock. Insert the mounted prints on the card in the stereoscopic viewer and look at them through the lens hood.
Tags: through viewer, cameras used, film plan, Holga-style viewer, merge when
