How to Make and View 3D Color Photographs Without Glasses
Have what you need., Take the picture., Process the images., When you have the prints, lay a given pair out side by side aligned horizontally (not twisted) on a flat surface such as a table (later you can put them in your album)., Learn to cross...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Have what you need.
It is assumed that you have one suitable camera, digital or film.
If it is a digital camera it is helpful if the delay time ready for the next shot is short, say less than one second.
If it is a film camera, better one that does not require awkward manual film advance. -
Step 2: Take the picture.
Frame your subject (which must be static as wind in nearby bushes will not reproduce well), steady your arm, ask your subject to hold as still as possible.
Count down, take the first picture, then shift the camera laterally, horizontally 2–3 inches (5.1–7.6 cm), with as close to the same framing as possible, and squeeze off a second photograph.
Moving the whole body is probably easier.
This creates the stereo pair in two successive photographs recorded on the film or digital media.
Especially with digital cameras, if it is a memorable scene and shot, repeat the process a few times so that the best pair can later be saved. , We will assume printed copies in this example, but the same can be done by displaying the two images side-by-side on a sharp computer monitor using ordinary photo processing software. , If you always take the left image first then move the camera right (a good habit to adopt), then put the first of a pair on the RIGHT and the second on the LEFT, that is, reverse them, left image on the table to the right, right image to the left, because you are going to view them by crossing the eyes. , This is a bit of a challenge, but once learned, it can become automatic, and you can go through your album without glasses and see everything in 3D! , Let us assume for this that you attach the two photographs to a bit of cardboard and prop it up near the vertical, for 3x5 to 4x6 prints, say at about a forearm's length away.
Try to cross your eyes; you may be able to do this 'by force of mental command'.
If so, concentrate on the pictures.
You will come to see three or four images with the middle one 'hunting back and forth' to find its overlap-place.
Concentrate on that image and ignore the others.
Alter the crossed-eyes until the middle image freezes into one and holds there.
It may be out of focus because the brain links how much you have crossed your eyes with where they focus (this is actually easier for older people than younger because we cannot refocus with the lens inside the eye). , For those who can learn this, and it may take some practice, the middle image will slowly come into focus then snap to focus, and the image will be full 3D without the need for glasses.
You may find that the images separate again.
Just keep practicing, in the order: first merge the images, then try to hold them together, and allow the refocusing to happen. , If it doesn't work first time, relax, and try again after resting the eyes for a minute or two.
Don't come too close to the prints at this stage, it is easier if they are at middle-distance.
Later you will be able to come closer. , If this does not work for you after trying several times, you can use this trick that does work for most everyone.
With the photos on the vertical surface and higher in your vision field than midline, hold your arm out with a finger or a pencil or some such held vertically under the photographs at the same distance.
Concentrate on the finger rather than the photos, which you leave in the background for now.
Slowly bring your finger towards your eyes keeping it in focus, but 'sense' what is happening to the two mounted photographs behind it.
They will separate (as above) and gradually merge together as you bring your finger forward.
A point will be reached where you have the finger in focus AND the middle photograph (the pair overlapping as above) is now one, the overlap precise, though out of focus.
Stop moving your finger and slowly, mentally, redirect your attention to the photographs but don't try to focus on them just yet; leave the finger in focus.
Now leaving the pencil and photographs 'aligned' in this way, without breaking this 'lock'
try to let the photographs come into focus and let the finger go out of focus.
Again, you may need to try this for a 'session' every day for a while.
Most serious attempts suddenly succeed because you have learned how to 'decouple' the focus from the crossing.
It has a certain 'feel to it' just like many other manual dexterities we learn to master. , If you tire of it, rest and come back to it as you might when learning any new skill such as touch-typing or shooting baskets.
It can be learned and then once learned, be used throughout your life. , When you can view them in pseudo-3D by crossing your eyes, you can solve these puzzles in a flash, and amaze your friends, because the differences literally 'stand out'! , One of them is to process the photographs with software that will present them sequentially, rapidly on your screen, and you use shutter glasses.
There are hundreds of Web links to those technologies.
This is particularly impressive for high-resolution digital photographs on a large, flat screen. , -
Step 3: Process the images.
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Step 4: When you have the prints
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Step 5: lay a given pair out side by side aligned horizontally (not twisted) on a flat surface such as a table (later you can put them in your album).
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Step 6: Learn to cross your eyes and refocus.
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Step 7: Cross your eyes.
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Step 8: Concentrate on the merged image and some object within it.
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Step 9: Do not practice for more than the count of 10 or 20.
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Step 10: Try an alternate method.
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Step 11: This may take some practice.
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Step 12: You know those side-by-side drawings or photographs that challenge you to 'find the differences' between them?
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Step 13: If this fails for you
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Step 14: you can avail yourself of any of several ways of viewing separate 3D images.
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Step 15: Bear in mind that the basic idea here is that you can take 3D photographs of static scenes with a single camera
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Step 16: no special equipment required
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Step 17: and with moving scenes using a pair of identical cameras mounted on a rig (both to be triggered simultaneously either by using two fingers or a split cable-release).
Detailed Guide
It is assumed that you have one suitable camera, digital or film.
If it is a digital camera it is helpful if the delay time ready for the next shot is short, say less than one second.
If it is a film camera, better one that does not require awkward manual film advance.
Frame your subject (which must be static as wind in nearby bushes will not reproduce well), steady your arm, ask your subject to hold as still as possible.
Count down, take the first picture, then shift the camera laterally, horizontally 2–3 inches (5.1–7.6 cm), with as close to the same framing as possible, and squeeze off a second photograph.
Moving the whole body is probably easier.
This creates the stereo pair in two successive photographs recorded on the film or digital media.
Especially with digital cameras, if it is a memorable scene and shot, repeat the process a few times so that the best pair can later be saved. , We will assume printed copies in this example, but the same can be done by displaying the two images side-by-side on a sharp computer monitor using ordinary photo processing software. , If you always take the left image first then move the camera right (a good habit to adopt), then put the first of a pair on the RIGHT and the second on the LEFT, that is, reverse them, left image on the table to the right, right image to the left, because you are going to view them by crossing the eyes. , This is a bit of a challenge, but once learned, it can become automatic, and you can go through your album without glasses and see everything in 3D! , Let us assume for this that you attach the two photographs to a bit of cardboard and prop it up near the vertical, for 3x5 to 4x6 prints, say at about a forearm's length away.
Try to cross your eyes; you may be able to do this 'by force of mental command'.
If so, concentrate on the pictures.
You will come to see three or four images with the middle one 'hunting back and forth' to find its overlap-place.
Concentrate on that image and ignore the others.
Alter the crossed-eyes until the middle image freezes into one and holds there.
It may be out of focus because the brain links how much you have crossed your eyes with where they focus (this is actually easier for older people than younger because we cannot refocus with the lens inside the eye). , For those who can learn this, and it may take some practice, the middle image will slowly come into focus then snap to focus, and the image will be full 3D without the need for glasses.
You may find that the images separate again.
Just keep practicing, in the order: first merge the images, then try to hold them together, and allow the refocusing to happen. , If it doesn't work first time, relax, and try again after resting the eyes for a minute or two.
Don't come too close to the prints at this stage, it is easier if they are at middle-distance.
Later you will be able to come closer. , If this does not work for you after trying several times, you can use this trick that does work for most everyone.
With the photos on the vertical surface and higher in your vision field than midline, hold your arm out with a finger or a pencil or some such held vertically under the photographs at the same distance.
Concentrate on the finger rather than the photos, which you leave in the background for now.
Slowly bring your finger towards your eyes keeping it in focus, but 'sense' what is happening to the two mounted photographs behind it.
They will separate (as above) and gradually merge together as you bring your finger forward.
A point will be reached where you have the finger in focus AND the middle photograph (the pair overlapping as above) is now one, the overlap precise, though out of focus.
Stop moving your finger and slowly, mentally, redirect your attention to the photographs but don't try to focus on them just yet; leave the finger in focus.
Now leaving the pencil and photographs 'aligned' in this way, without breaking this 'lock'
try to let the photographs come into focus and let the finger go out of focus.
Again, you may need to try this for a 'session' every day for a while.
Most serious attempts suddenly succeed because you have learned how to 'decouple' the focus from the crossing.
It has a certain 'feel to it' just like many other manual dexterities we learn to master. , If you tire of it, rest and come back to it as you might when learning any new skill such as touch-typing or shooting baskets.
It can be learned and then once learned, be used throughout your life. , When you can view them in pseudo-3D by crossing your eyes, you can solve these puzzles in a flash, and amaze your friends, because the differences literally 'stand out'! , One of them is to process the photographs with software that will present them sequentially, rapidly on your screen, and you use shutter glasses.
There are hundreds of Web links to those technologies.
This is particularly impressive for high-resolution digital photographs on a large, flat screen. ,
About the Author
Matthew Johnson
Writer and educator with a focus on practical practical skills knowledge.
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