Jan-Feb 2014 (v39#4) 12/31/13 10:26 PM Page 38

J/F b
2014 V l
39 Nb4

Renjo’s
Mystery Views
of Japan
Deadly Rivalries
ISU 2013

Jan-Feb 2014 (v39#4) 12/31/13 10:26 PM Page 39

A taste of the late ’40s through the early ’60s found in amateur stereo slides
by Mark Willke

Fun on the Swing Set

T

he backyard swing set has beena fun place for kids for ages, andit also makes a pretty good spot
for capturing stereo images. (Whenmy own kids were younger, I tried
on numerous occasions to click the
shutter at just at the right moment tocapture them in a dramatic 3-D shot
as they came toward the camera!)
The first view was provided byDavid Starkman and Susan Pinsky,
and was taken in the 1950s by thelate Samuel Biren. The others, which
are View-Master Personal images, areunlabeled, so no details are known
about them. These are all from theera when the swing was simply arigid piece of wood—not the most
comfortable place to sit!
I’m nearing the end of my supplyof images to share, so if you havesome classic ’50s flavored views,
please send them this way!

T

his column combines a love of stereo
photography with a fondness for 1950sera styling, design and decor by sharing
amateur stereo slides shot in the “goldenage” of the Stereo Realist—the late 1940s
through the early 1960s. From clothing
and hairstyles to home decor to modes oftransportation, these frozen moments oftime show what things were really like inthe middle of the twentieth century.
If you’ve found a classic ’50s-era image
that you would like to share through thiscolumn, please send the actual slide or ahigh-resolution side-by-side scan as a jpeg,
tiff or photoshop file to: Fifties FlavoredFinds, 5610 SE 71st, Portland, OR 97206.
You can also email the digital file tostrwld@teleport.com. If the subject, date,location, photographer or other details
about your image are known, please
include that information as well.
As space allows, we will select a coupleof images to reproduce in each issue.
This is not a contest—just a place to shareand enjoy. Slides will be returned within
6 to 14 weeks, and while we’ll treat yourslide as carefully as our own, Stereo Worldand the NSA assume no responsibility forits safety.

January/February 2014

Jan-Feb 2014 (v39#4) 12/31/13 10:25 PM Page 1

Volume 39, Number 4 • January/February 2014

2 Editor’s View
A Publication of

National Stereoscopic Association, Inc.

Comments and Observations
by John Dennis

3

in Print Again
3 Ferrierreview by John Dennis
NSA Board of Directors
Lawrence Kaufman, Chairman
Alexander Klein
Phyllis Maslin
William Moll
Russell Norton
H. Lee Pratt
Ernie Rairdin
Jeremy RoweAl Sieg
Leonard A. WalleNSA Officers
H. Lee Pratt, President
John Bueche, Vice President
Ronald Gold,
Vice President, Marketing/Advertising
Wolfgang Sell, Vice President, Activities
Carol Super,Vice President, Marketing/Advertising
Robert A. Schreiber,
Vice President, Finance4 Shimooka Renjo

and the Mystery G.A.B. Stereoview Series

by Terry Bennett & Rob Oechsle

2013
14 ISUby Lawrence Kaufman

17 Blu-ray 3D

3-D Video for your Living Roomby David Delouchery2014
18 3D-Con
by Bill Moll

Stereo World and Web Staff
John Dennis, Editor
Lawrence Kaufman, Contributing Editor
Mark Willke, Art Director
Sylvia Dennis, Subscription Manager
Mat Bergman, Web Master

14

28

Seven Deadly Retinal Rivalries
20 Theby Jeff Boller

24 When Stereo Zeal
How to Reach Us:
NSA Membership andStereo World Subscriptions(New memberships, renewals & address changes)

P.O. Box 86708, Portland, OR 97286
e-mail: strwld@teleport.com

Stereo World Editorial OfficeOutpaced Photography
review by John Dennis

26 The SocietyNews from the Stereoscopic Society of America
by David Kuntz

Stereo World Advertising(Classified, display and insert ads)

5610 SE 71st Ave., Portland, OR 97206(503) 771-4440
e-mail: strwld@teleport.com

NSA Regions
Please contact your regional Director
for information about local events or
NSA activities. See current list at:
www.stereoworld.org/about.php

G.A.B. No. 5527, “Girl with Pipeand Fire-box.” from our feature“Shimooka Renjo and the Mystery
G.A.B. Stereoview Series” by
Terry Bennett & Rob Oechsle.

Back Cover:(Letters to the editor, articles)

5610 SE 71st Ave., Portland, OR 97206(503) 771-4440
e-mail: strwld@teleport.com

Front Cover:

Great War in 3D
28 Thereview by Ralph Reiley

30 NewViews

Current Information on Stereo Todayby David Starkman & John Dennis

A case of “unbalanced light”
from Jeff Boller’s article “TheSeven Deadly Retinal Rivalries”
produces the “Indescribable”
effect threatened by Ro-Man in
the article’s stereo pair. Boller
also received a Ro-Man trophy
with the first Ray Zone 3-DIY
Award at the 2013 LA 3-D
Movie Festival. (See NewViews.)

34 Classified

Buy, Sell, or Trade It Here

Stereoscopic Society of America(Affiliated with the
National Stereoscopic Association)

Dan Shelley, Membership Secretary
4366 Morning Glory Rd.
Colorado Springs, CO 80920(719) 209-2799
e-mail: dshelley@dddesign.com

Stereo World on the Web
www.stereoworld.org

The National Stereoscopic Association
is a non-profit organization whose goals are to promote research, collection and use of vintage
and contemporary stereoviews, stereo cameras and equipment, and related materials; to promote
the practice of stereo photography; to encourage the use of stereoscopy in the fields of visual artsand technology; to foster the appreciation of the stereograph as a visual historical record.
Stereo World (ISSN 0191-4030) is published bimonthly by the National Stereoscopic
Association, Inc., PO Box 86708, Portland, OR 97286. Entire contents ©2014, all rights
reserved. Material in this publication may not be reproduced without written permissionof the NSA, Inc. Printed in USA. A subscription to Stereo World is part of NSA membership.

Annual membership dues (six issues): $32 third class
US, $44 first class US, $44 all international memberships.
New members receive a plastic lorgnette viewer.
Member, International Stereoscopic Union

January/February 2014

Jan-Feb 2014 (v39#4) 12/31/13 10:26 PM Page 22014 Convention Forms!?

A

lert readers will notice that nocascade of convention registration forms fell from the bag orenvelope when this issue was
opened. With so many people now
downloading forms from the NSA
website, this year we’ve finally decided to avoid the expense and waste ofof terminology, usage and style.” He
identifies early photography related
usages of both “3-D” and “3D,” noting that the two have been effectively interchangable in some areas, butwith “3-D” the older and somewhat
more formal usage and “3D” frequently used in non-stereoscopic

technologies like computer graphics,
3D laser scanning, 3D modelling and
3D printing.
But both usages remain common
even in strictly stereoscopic references, so Andrew surveyed housestyles in several publications, quoting several editors including:John Dennis, the editor of the National
Stereoscopic Association magazine Stereo
World, said: “We follow a style of using ‘3-D’
in articles except when ‘3D’ is used as partof a movie or book title or product name.”

He counted and charted the usagesof each form in academic papers,
and produced a table of the percentages each are used in the text andadvertisements of six publications.
Stereo World topped the entries, with
“3-D” used 79% of the time in text
and just 14% of the time in ads. Twoother charts reveal a decline in “3-D”
in Google searches from 2005 to
2013, while searches using “3D”
have remained more constant.
(Continued on page 35)

trees resulting from inserting every
form that anyone could possibly
need in every copy mailed. So, themain registration form required for

Logo by Rob Ellis

Explore the World of Stereo Images
Please start my one-year subscription to
Stereo World magazine and enroll me as amember of the National Stereoscopic Association.

everybody attending has been printed in this issue and members can:U.S. membership mailed third class ($32).
U.S. membership mailed first class for faster delivery ($44).

A. heartlessly rip that page from the magazine

All international memberships ($44).

B. scan and print it or photocopy it

Send a sample copy (U.S. $6.00, all other $7.50).

C. download any and all forms fromhttp://stereoworld.org/2014/

Please make checks payable to the National Stereoscopic Association.
Foreign members please remit in U.S. dollars with a Canadian Postal Moneyorder, an International Money Order, or a foreign bank draft on a U.S. bank.

D. request any forms needed from Bill
Moll, (423) 702-5779, 4018 Marlow Dr,
Red Bank, TN 37415, WHMoll@aol.com.

3-D or 3D:
Hyphen Wars Launched?
The earth-shaking question ofwhether to include or exclude thehyphen in “3-D” has finally received
the incisive academic attention it
deserves. NSA member Andrew
Woods of Curtin University in Perth,
Australia presented a paper in theAugust, 2013 issue of European Science Editing titled “3D or 3-D: a study

2

January/February 2014

Name
Address
City

State

Zip

National Stereoscopic Association
PO Box 86708, Portland, OR 97286
The Only National Organization Devoted Exclusively To Stereo Photography, Stereoviews, and 3-D Imaging Techniques.

Jan-Feb 2014 (v39#4) 12/31/13 10:26 PM Page 3

Ferrierin Print Again
review by John DennisT

he late John B. Cameron’s
Stereo World article “The Early
Paper Stereographs of ClaudeMarie Ferrier 1851-1861” (Vol. 31 No.
3) expanded on a previous version of
the article in the Michigan Photographic Historical Society’s The Photogram, thanks to responses fromother collectors, curators and art historians. The result was an even moredetailed examination of Ferrier’s
work photographing and publishingpaper stereoviews in addition to his
glass views which categorized theminto seven groups and sub-groups,
and identified many previously
anonymous views as Ferrier’s. Alongwith our cover of that issue, there
was space for a dozen of Ferrier’s
paper stereoviews in the 16 page feature, which received one of three
awards for historical stereoscopy articles at the 2006 NSA convention in
Miami.
A recent book by Cameron’swidow Janice G. Schimmelman, The
Early Paper Stereoviews of Claude-Marie
Ferrier, 1852-1858, presents his
research for the article with a few
new observations in an updated format which organizes the stereoview
groups and sub-groups into chapterswith introductory paragraphs, followed by 56
full size view
reproductions
centered on
the pages. Whether tissues (front
illumination only), or regular card
views, all the reproductions are fromoriginal salt prints and a few albumen prints, generally positioned
within an arched gold outline. Eachview page includes an informative
caption with the original title if
known, date, subject informationand the view’s classification within
John Cameron’s original research.
Well known for his glass views,
Ferrier made most of the stereo
daguerreotypes sold by Duboscq in
Paris for the 1850-51 introduction of
the Brewster designed lenticularstereoscope, as well as for the stereo
daguerreotypes from which the firstprinted views were created as lithographs in 1851. Subjects of the viewsin the book range from monuments
and buildings in Paris to scenes from
London, Venice, Bern, Rome, Pompeii and Strasbourg. Several fascinating views along the banks of theSeine show construction projects,
and views from a series of street
scenes in Paris suburbs are among
those few readers will have seen anywhere else.
Like most early stereos, thecityscapes, street scenes and even relatively close studies of buildings
were shot sequentially with wide
enough separation to produce revealing hyper views of many of theabove locations. Ferrier was careful
to avoid horses or people moving
between exposures in his views, witha few exceptions like the wagon thatmakes a ghostly appearance in frontof Westminster Abbey in London. A
row of horses and wagons lined upbehind Notre-Dame in Paris, on theother hand, seem frozen in place fora hyperstereo study of the cathedral’s(Continued on page 32)

The Early Paper Stereoviews ofClaude-Marie Ferrier, 1852-1858
by Janice G. Schimmelman,
The Collodion Press, 2012,
ISBN 978-0-9829456-4-3. Includes
56 full stereoview illustrations, 80
pages, 9.5 x 8”. $42 softcover,$52 hardcover from www.blurb.com(search using the author’sname or see
www.facebook.com/TheCollodionPress.)

January/February 20143

Jan-Feb 2014 (v39#4) 12/31/13 10:26 PM Page 4

Shimooka
Renjo
andtheMystery G.A.B. StereoviewSeries
by Terry Bennett & Rob OechsleT

he earliest commercial photographs of Japan appeared instereographic form when photographic and scientific instruments
manufacturer, Negretti and Zambra
of London, started publishing Pierre
Rossier’s work in April 1860.1 Other
early stereographic series appeared
throughout the 1860s, and most ofthem have now been identified andstudied.2 One early set of Japan views,
however, has remained a mystery
until now. This is the so-called“G.A.B.” series, which appeared for the
first time in 1862 or 1863. The purpose of this article is to show that
this rare series is the earliest-known
work of the famous Japanese photographer, Shimooka Renjo.

The Photographs

The original set of views appearedon slightly curved yellow card stock,measuring 8.2 x 17cm. Most have asmall, pink caption label, with blackprinted lettering, pasted on the backof each card. The series is titled“Japan,” and each view has a short
descriptive title
with the text:
Fig. 2. Label on Reverse of Fig. 1.
“Registered. No.
5_ _ _. (Phot.
G.A.B.).” On theface of eachphotograph theregistered or
position number is just visi-

Fig. 1. Typical G.A.B. stereoview, No. 5533, “Shop With Sign.”(All on yellow mounts.)

4

January/February 2014

ble in faint black, scratched into theoriginal negative. (Figs. 1 & 2.)
The numbers 5498-5535 appear on
the reverse of the known cards fromthis exceptionally rare series.3 Thissuggests a complete set of aroundthirty-eight views, of which theauthors have seen thirty-six. No

Jan-Feb 2014 (v39#4) 12/31/13 10:26 PM Page 5

Fig. 3. G.A.B. No. 5510, “Mother and Child playing Checkers.” See also Fig.10.

complete set is known to exist. The
images themselves include a few studio portraits, but the majority consist of outdoor rural scenes, usuallypeopled with relaxed-looking Japanese villagers, posed or going about
their normal work.

Publisher of the G.A.B. views
Whenever these G.A.B. views haveappeared on the market, their location has always been North America.
This would tentatively suggest an
American publisher being behindthe series. Other factors support this.
One of the views shows a Japanesefamily playing the ancient Japaneseboard game of Igo (Fig. 3). The caption states, “Mother and Child playing Checkers” although the game
being played in the photograph isclearly not checkers. The point hereis that Europeans would invariably
apply the description “draughts”
whereas Americans would use“checkers.” Another view titled“Residence of American Missionaries,
Kanagawa,” also suggests an American flavor.
Inquiries of the copyright experts
at the British Library and the Libraryof Congress established that the“registration” numbers on the cardbacks were not recognizable as copyright entries. This leads to the conclusion that the 5498-5535 range of
numbers shown are “position numbers” used by the publisher or photographer to keep track of his portfo-

lio—and probably a large portfolio atthat, given the high numbering.
Assuming that the compiler of the
G.A.B. series had a commercial interest in seeing them published, itwould have been natural at that time
to consider the largest distributor ofstereoviews in North America, E.
Anthony & Co. of New York. By thelate 1850s/early 1860s, the firm saw
itself as a wholesaler of views, andactively encouraged photographers,
worldwide, to submit their stereoview photographs for sale throughthe firm’s extensive distribution network and customer base. An 1859
advertisement, illustrated here,
makes clear their interest in this area
(Fig. 4).
Unfortunately, pre-1862 E. Anthony & Co. catalogs are very hard tocome by. In a surviving 1862 catalog,
seen by Rob Oechsle and issued
around November of that year, thefollowing cryptic advertisement
appears:

VIEWS IN JAPAN,
Price $6 per doz.
These are the ﬁrst views ofthat interesting country thathave ever reached the civilized
world, and are published byour house in advance of theirappearance in Europe.
Could these be the G.A.B. views?
They could alternatively be the series
photographed by the American,
John Wilson, who was attached to
the 1860-61 Prussian diplomatic mis-sion to China and Japan and who
had returned to America by September 1862 at the latest, keen to promote his Japanese photography.4
The only two other possibilities are
the 1861-62 series of China and Japantaken by Milton Miller which Anthony & Co. made available around thistime, and the Pierre Rossier Views ofJapan which were published byNegretti and Zambra, but also issued
under license, by a number of other
distributors.
On the face of it, we can discountthe Miller series since there were
only six or seven Japan views included, not “dozens.” As for Negretti andZambra, it is perhaps unlikely thatthey would allow their Japan views
to appear in America under the
Anthony banner before publishing
the series themselves in Europe. In
fact, we know that N & Z did publish
these views in London from April
1860 and in set form in November
1861—apparently a year before the
Anthony advertisement. However,
without ready access to earlier
Anthony catalogs, we have to consider the possibility that the circa
November 1862 advertisement was
repeating wording from earlier issues.
For example, one advertisement in
the same catalogue, unrelated toJapan, speaks of some glass views
which: “We have just received (Nov.
1860)…”
At this stage, therefore, it is difficult to relate the Japan views advertisement to G.A.B. or any particularseries. It has also not been possible
to locate any other Anthony catalogs
January/February 20145

Jan-Feb 2014 (v39#4) 12/31/13 10:26 PM Page 6

Fig. 4. E. Anthony advertisement in The Photographic Journal, Dec 15, 1859.

between the years 1860 and 1867,
and the G.A.B. series did not appear
in the firm’s 1868 catalog. In 1870,
however, W.S. Clark published his
Illustrated History which included
numerous stereoscopic views, allpublished by E. & H. T. Anthony &Co.5 One of these was a view of“Simonoseki” from the G.A.B. series
with a position number of 5529.
This shows that E. & H. T. Anthony &Co. (the firm by now had taken on
other family members) did publish
the G.A.B. series. The high position
numbers in the 5,000s also neatly
fills a gap in other known number
sequences of Anthony’s views; andthe form of back-labeling is consistent with other contemporary
Anthony sets of views.6

6

mentioned, most of them are scenic.
Just seven of them name a location—Kanagawa (4) or Simonoseki(3) [Shimonoseki]. However, following recent investigations it is clearthat the captions are wrong. Why
they were mislabeled is unclear. The
stated views were actually taken in
Shimoda, located at the southern tipof the Izu peninsula. Shimoda waswhere Commodore Perry arrived in1854 and successfully forced a treaty
on the reluctant Japanese. It is also
famous for being the home of thefirst American consulate in Japanand the place where the Treaty ofAmity and Commerce between
America and Japan was signed in
1858. Significantly, Shimoda wasalso the hometown of the Japanesephotographer, Shimooka Renjo.

When and where in Japan
were the Photographs taken?

Who was the Photographer?

The images have a definite early“1860s feel” and one of the views, asmentioned earlier, is captioned“Residence of American Missionaries,
Kanagawa.” Ostensibly, this helps
with the dating, since the last American missionaries left Kanagawa (following pressure from the Japanese
authorities) on 1st June 1863. Therefore, the very latest date for the G.A.B.
photographs is May 1863, and theearliest conceivable date is October
1859, when the first American missionaries arrived in Kanagawa. For
reasons mentioned later in this article, however, the authors believe theviews to date from the period 186263.
We now turn to a curious but verysignificant feature of the views. As

The back of each stereoscopic view
indicates the photographer as “G.A.B.”
It would be easy to take this at facevalue, and we will return to thesecurious initials later. First, we might
ask a slightly different question: wasthe photographer Japanese orWestern?
There is not the space here to outline in detail the social and politicalbackground of Japan in the early
1860s. What we can say, however, isthat the arrival and residence of foreign merchants, diplomats, missionaries and military personnel in thedesignated treaty ports of Yokohama,Nagasaki and Hakodate was not generally welcomed—at least not by theruling classes. Anti-foreign feeling
was rife and a number of foreigners

January/February 2014

were assassinated. The country wasentering a period of significant social,economic and political upheaval andthe ruling Tokugawa regime, which
had been in power for some 250
years, was feeling increasingly threatened—from without and within.
Uncertainty, xenophobia and revolution were in the air. Foreigners wereprohibited from traveling outside thestrictly defined geographic limits ofthe treaty ports, unless they had permission from their consuls and apassport counter-signed by theJapanese authorities. Such permission was not freely given. Towns like
Shimoda were outside these limits,
and were foreigners ever to findthemselves in such places, theywould almost certainly be armed or
accompanied by a Japanese escort.
The pictures in the G.A.B. series
show Japanese looking relaxed andvery much at ease with the photographer. In several views they are
shown smiling. It is almost inconceivable that a foreign photographer,even with the help of Japanese assistants, could have orchestrated suchtension-free poses. The presencealone of a foreigner would haveprobably prevented these seemingly
carefree compositions. The G.A.B.
series is therefore likely to be thework of a Japanese photographer.

Shimooka Renjo (1823-1914)
We now need to consider theprime suspect for authorship of the
G.A.B. series - Shimooka Renjo. His is
the name that most Japanese would
mention in relation to the history ofphotography in their country. He
was one of the earliest Japanese photographers, and opened his first studio in Yokohama in 1862. However,there is still considerable uncertainty
over the details of Shimooka’s life
and, in particular, how and when hecame to learn the techniques of photography.
We do know, however, that
although his first years as a commercial photographer were not particularly easy, by 1865 his business had
prospered and he had moved intolarger premises in Benten-Dori—aprestigious and central location in
Yokohama. A number of students
were taken on, some of whom later
became well-known photographersin their own right. These included
Yokoyama Matsusaburo, Usui Shus-

Jan-Feb 2014 (v39#4) 12/31/13 10:26 PM Page 7

Fig. 5. Portrait of Shimooka
Renjo.

aburo, Esaki Reiji and Suzuki
Shinichi I and II.
Within a few years, Shimooka felt
secure enough to diversify into otherbusiness areas. He invested money ina dairy and operated a horse-drawn
carriage service between Tokyo and
Yokohama. However, these businesses were not successful. The energetic
Shimooka also seems to have learnt
the principles of lithography, and tohave had some involvement in thecontroversy surrounding the invention of the jinrikisha. Another American missionary and friend of Shimooka’s, Jonathan Goble, is credited
by some authorities as having
invented this two-wheeled, man-drawn carriage, which was tobecome omnipresent from around
1869 onwards. Others credit Shimooka himself, although this isunlikely.
Shimooka can certainly be creditedwith opening the first Japanese commercial photo studio in Yokohama.
He also has a strong claim to being
the first Japanese oil painter andlithographer. As far as his photographic work is concerned, morethan 150 cartes de visite have now
been positively attributed to his studio. However, his larger-format work
remains elusive, with just a handfulof images having been identified. As
a result, it is still too early to provide
a reliable critique and assessment of
his work. The stereoview series underdiscussion in this article adds a significant number of images to his
oeuvre.
He seems to have ceased being
active in photography from aroundthe early to mid 1870s, leaving his
studios in the hands of his assistants.
Increasingly, he returned to his oldlove of painting. Although it seems
that his various business activities
did not make him particularly
wealthy, he lived a long and active
life, finally passing away at the ageof ninety-one.

Early Attempts at
Photography
Born in Shimoda, the son of asamurai shipping agent to the ruling
Tokugawa family, Shimooka, being

Fig. 6. G.A.B. No. 5501, “Children Playing Baby-house.”

the third son, followed the notuncommon Japanese tradition of
being adopted into another family.
Showing artistic promise, heattempted to become an artist at theage of thirteen and went to study in
Edo (Tokyo), whilst also being
employed as an apprentice to a local
merchant. He was not successful in
his artistic studies and in 1843 was
one of a number of samurai ordered
to serve at the Shimoda artillery battery. Whilst there he met the famous
artist, Kano Tosen, and became oneof his students. A year later Shimooka’s time at the battery expired.
He returned to Edo with the intention of continuing his artistic studies.
It was there that he apparently saw a
Dutch daguerreotype in the house of
one of the members of the Tokugawa
clan. Fascinated, he resolved to finda way of making photographs.
Knowing that in order to do this hewould need to converse with foreigners, he managed to get employment as a draughtsman at the coast
guard office in Uraga, Kanagawa Prefecture. Whenever the occasional
foreign vessel came into the port, hewould attempt to find out something about photography. However,he failed to make any progress until
the American, Henry Heusken,
arrived in Japan in 1856.
Heusken had been appointed as
secretary to the first American consul,
Townsend Harris, then based in Shimoda. Shimooka apparently
obtained the rudiments of photography from Heusken who, without theadvantage of readily available equip-

January/February 20147

Jan-Feb 2014 (v39#4) 12/31/13 10:26 PM Page 8

Fig. 7. Shimooka Renjo, carte de visite,c.1862.

ment, simply described the mainprinciples and improvised by substituting some twigs for a tripod, folded paper in the shape of a box for acamera, and a piece of glass in lieu
of a lens.
When the government decided toopen the port of Yokohama in July
1859, Shimooka decided to move
there to improve his chances ofstudying photography. There he met
an American merchant, Raphael
Schoyer, whose wife, a talented artist,
taught him Western-style painting.
Around this time, Shimooka also
met an American friend of Schoyer’s,John Wilson, who had been hired as
the official photographer to the1860-61 Prussian Expedition to
Japan.7 Following the conclusion of
the treaty, Wilson decided to stay on
in Japan. He took a number of photographs, in and around Edo, andthese were used by Shimooka andother Japanese artists who were commissioned by Wilson (with thepossible financial involvement of
Schoyer) to create a giant panoramic
painted scroll.
At the end of 1861, Wilson decided to exhibit the scroll in America
and Europe and by way of compensation gave Shimooka his stereo
camera, photographic equipment,
and some chemicals. Wilson left
Japan on 2 January 1862 and it
seems that he did not spend sufficient time explaining the techniques

8

January/February 2014

ter Julia.11 These
claims wereconsidered in a
recent article
which suggested
that the amateur American
photographer
and missionary,John Gulick,
was actually
Shimooka’s
most influential
teacher.12 In
order to deepen
the connection
between the
G.A.B. stereFig. 8. Engraving from Humbert’s Japan and the Japaneseoviews and ShiIllustrated (1874, p. 14).
mooka Renjo,
we now need toof photography to Shimooka, who
considersomethingofthe photostruggled to achieve any degree ofgraphic activities of John Gulick,competency. A visiting American
who was in Yokohama from 24 April
missionary, Thomas C. Pitkin, wrote
1862
until 26 October 1863. Thisin his travel notebook: “The arrival
wasundoubtedly
a crucial period inof a photographer caused no slightthe development of Shimooka’s skill
excitement in Yokohama. The result
as a photographer.
of his efforts appears in many beautiful views of the country including
some of the finest in Yedo, which arefor sale in London and perhaps alsoin New York. He left his instrument
and chemicals behind which anenterprising native whose gallery I
visited was endeavoring to use withno very good success.8 Pitkin stayedin Japan from approximately
November 1861 and was still inJapan in the middle of February,
since Samuel Brown wrote to the Rev.
Peltz on 26 February 1862: “…I wasat Yedo about ten days ago, with theRev. Dr. Pitkin, Rector of St. Peter’s
Ch. Albany.”9 Pitkin arrived back in
the United States on 18 August
1862.10
Pitkin was undoubtedly referring
to John Wilson and Shimooka Renjo.
We can assume that by early 1862
Shimooka was still struggling to master photography.

Early Teachers
It is likely that Shimooka owed his
eventual proficiency in photography
to more than one teacher. We saw
earlier that he received some rudimentary instruction from Henry
Heusken in Shimoda. It has also
been suggested that he improved his
technique with the help of theAmerican missionary and amateur
photographer, Samuel Robbins
Brown (1810-1880), and his daugh-

John Thomas Gulick(1832-1923)
In 1862 the American Board ofCommissioners for Foreign Missions
received an application from John
Gulick, the son of missionary parents, for a missionary post in Japan.
At that time the organization’s funds
were stretched, due to the American
Civil War, and the request was
refused. Gulick nevertheless decided
to proceed to Japan, despite having
no guarantee of employment there.
Thinking that he might be able toearn some money as a photographer
he purchased a stereo camera and in
February 1862 took photography lessons in San Francisco from the noted
American photographer, Carlton E.
Watkins. On 15 March 1862, he left
for Japan. Upon arrival he stayedwith the missionary Dr. Samuel Robbins Brown, to whom he had been
recommended. Writing years later ina manuscript entitled“Outline of My Life,” (undated but
approximately 1912 and held by
Hawaiian Mission Children’s Society
Library), Gulick explained how he
had supported himself whilst inJapan: “During the 18 months that I
remained in Japan I was supporting
myself partly by tutoring in Dr.
Brown’s family and partly by taking
stereoscopic photographs with aJan-Feb 2014 (v39#4) 12/31/13 10:26 PM Page 9

small camera that I had broughtwith me from San Francisco...”At the time of Gulick’s arrival,
Brown himself had yet to masterphotography, although he was inpossession of chemicals and equipment which had been donated bymembers of his Church back in
America. This is made clear from anentry in a journal kept by Gulick forseveral months in 1862, also held by
the Hawaiian Mission:
2 May 1862 “At noon experimented withsome of Mr Brown’s photograph chemicals
which Miss [Julia] Brown supposed were outof order; succeeded in taking a poor picture.
Changed some of the materials and after
dinner took my first portrait. It was an
ambrotype of Mr Louder [sic—Lowder, John
Frederick (1843-1902) a language student
at the British Legation who married Julia
Brown in August 1862]. It was taken when
the sun was behind the hill and is therefore
lacking in contrast of shades. Mr. Ostrom of
the Dutch Reformed Mission at Amoy has
arrived this evening with his family, andthey have taken the room which I haveoccupied the past week, and I have a roomadjoining Mr. Brown’s study in Sokoje[Sokoji Temple, Kanagawa].”

Brown himself acknowledges
Gulick’s help in a letter he wrote
home to the Rev. Philip Feltz of the
Dutch Reformed Church:13
25 October 1862 [Kanagawa] “By thebearer, Mr. T. Hart Hyatt, I send you 42
large photographs of Japanese scenes,
marked, & in parcels, to be sent to the following churches, seven to each... All these
Churches contributed to purchase theapparatus & chemicals for my use. I promised them pictures from Japan, expecting Dr.
Simmons to make them. But as he did not,I bought last year $45 worth & sent homeby a Capt. Jones, who writes me that heexpressed them to Auburn as directed, butthey have never been heard of since. Now
to keep my promise I have learned bybooks, mostly, enough to take pictures
myself, & here are some of the results. I
have sold enough here to buy additional
material at San Francisco, & so keep mystock good, & have procured the same. A
brother of Dr. Gulick of the MicronesianMission, has spent the summer here, &aided me in learning the art.”[Julia] is desirous that they should be madeof some avail.”
17 May 1862 “I have been considerably
occupied with photograph[y] the past week.
I have been testing the chemicals belonging
to Mr. Brown. The old collodion that hebrought out with him & that obtained fromCapt. [John] Wilson are alike but little avail,but some new collodion that I manufactured works successfully. Mr. Brown and Mr.
Ostrom are both enthusiastically engaged.”
4 June 1862 “...The Arrival left for San
Francisco. All Wednesday I was engaged inprinting photographs to send. ...Wednesdaynight I sat up writing to Mr. Cox, Mr. Shew
& Mr. Watkins. I sent a large sized photograph to Mrs. Lacy, another to Mr. Cox & athird to Mr. Benchley. To Mr. Town, Mr.
Perkins & Mr. Francis I sent each a stereoscopic view, to Mr. Alden likeness of aJapanese girl, & a Japanese coin. Also to Mr.
Douglass, to Mr. Hamilton & to Mr. Fisher& to Mrs. Stiles each a coin. To Mrs. Pierson
I sent a likeness of the Japanese girl… I am
this week resting from my photographic
labors & am giving more attention to theJapanese Language.”
15 June 1862 “Mr. Brown and Mr
Ostrom, who arrived recently from Amoy,
have spent several days this week in thefields taking photographic plates while I
stayed at home fixing the chemicals andprinting photographs from the plates. The
most interesting views have been taken at
Bokinji [Bugenji, Kanagawa], a large temple
or rather a cluster of temples and houses,
the residences of the priests, which areshaded by noble trees. Yesterday morning I
took my horse & went out to help them on
for an hour or so. They returned in theevening, very tired but rejoicing in theirsuccess.”
27 June 1862 “...Mr. Brown and I havebeen out on a ride over the Yokohama

bluffs. We have selected some points fromwhich good views of the town can be taken.
A week or two since Mr. Brown sent to Mr.
Pruyn two of our photographs as samplesof what we can do. Mr. P. writes that he has
given them to the chief of the ambassadorsthat visited the U.S. and that he has
obtained permission for him to come &take pictures in Yeddo [Tokyo].”In an undated manuscript titled
How I reached Japan and my Experiences there Before 1880, written in
Gulick’s hand and held by the
Hawaiian Mission Library, the following reference appears:“Under my teaching a Japaneselearned to take photographs; and,
when I left Japan in 1863, I passed
my camera & photographic material
to him; and he became one of thefirst to spread the knowledge of thatkind of picture taking among his
countrymen.”
When Gulick died, the following
appeared in an obituary in the May
1923 issue of The Friend:“…He earned his way at first as atutor and incidentally made the first
photographs ever taken in Japan andtaught photography to the firstJapanese to learn it.”
In his 1902 work, A Maker of the
New Orient, William Griffis, whenwriting about Samuel Brown stated:“He was thus one of the very first to
photograph Japanese costumes,
works of art, and varied human characters. One result was the instructionof Renjio Shimooka, still living at
the age of over four score years, thefirst native of Japan to learn the fascinating art of photography, inwhich so many of his countrymen
now excel.” In Saito Takio’s Shimooka

Fig. 9. Shimooka Renjo carte de visite, c.1862.

Other key photographic references
appeared in Gulick’s 1862 journal:
3 May 1862 (Saturday) “The children do
not recite lessons on Saturday; accordingly I
have determined to make that my day forphotographic operations. I have to-day
unpacked my instrument & chemicals. I
have the use of Mr. Brown’s Daguerean [sic]Room. He has two cameras & a large supply of chemicals belonging to the mission;

January/February 20149

Jan-Feb 2014 (v39#4) 12/31/13 10:26 PM Page 10

Renjo (1823-1914), reference is madeto Shimooka’s receiving photographic help from Brown’s daughter, Julia.
It is possible that Julia Brown had
independently reached some degreeof competency in photography andimparted that knowledge to Shimooka. After all, her American merchant friend and amateur photographer, Francis Hall, then residing at
Yokohama, had been using a camera
there since May 1860.14 Julia herself
became an active amateur at somestage, as recorded in F. Notehelfer’s
Japan Through American Eyes (1992,
p.161-2n.40). It would also explain
why she was able to conclude thather father’s chemicals were defective.
However, it seems less likely that her
father, who according to Griffis
maintained a long friendship with
Shimooka, was the Japanese photographer’s main teacher. Brown does
not seem to have become proficientin photography until May 1862,
although he may have been able toprovide photographic support to Shi-

mooka in some way after that date.
Gulick, with his greater understanding of the art, was clearly in the best
position to instruct Shimooka.
The main purpose in outlining
above the close relationship between
Gulick and Brown, and their connections with Shimooka, is to suggest asolution to the mystery of the G.A.B.
initials printed on the backs of thestereo series.

Jonathan Goble of the American
Baptist Church. Although there is norecord of Goble’s taking an active
interest in photography, it is conceivable that he persuaded Shimooka
to produce photographs which could
be sent on to New York for sale. The
initials might then be rendered as
Goble American Baptists. However,these suggestions can only be taken
as speculation at this stage.

The Mystery behind the
G.A.B. Initials

Aimé Humbert (1819-1900)

We have seen that Gulick and
Brown practiced photography
together and that both of them were
motivated, for different reasons, toraise money by selling some of the
product of their labors. There is verystrong evidence to show that Shimooka Renjo was the author of the
G.A.B. series and that he was friendly
with both Americans. The series was
published by the New York basedstereographic firm, E. Anthony & Co.
in either 1862 or 1863.
It seems possible that theinitials could
Fig. 10. Title page from Humbert’s 1874 work. Compare theillustration with Fig. 3.
correspond to
Gulick And
Brown. This
would signify
some financial
collaboration
between the
two Americans.
The negatives
could have beena gift from Shimooka, or payment for photography lessons, or even
Gulick’s camera.
Alternatively,
Gulick alone
may have taken
the initiative insending thephotographs to
New York. In
that case theinitials might
possibly signify
Gulick American Board. It isalso worth mentioning that
Shimooka wasfriendly withanother American missionary,

10

January/February 2014

Aimé Humbert, who arrived inJapan in April 1863 as head of an
official Swiss government trade delegation, plays an important part inenabling us to assert Shimooka’s
authorship of this series. After concluding a trade and friendship treaty,
he left Japan in February 1864 andreturned to Switzerland where hewrote about his travels in Japan.
Humbert was independently
wealthy and a connoisseur of fine art.
During his time in Japan he accumulated many Japanese art works andphotographs and became friendly
with the English resident, Charles
Wirgman, an artist and correspondent for the Illustrated London News.
Humbert was very interested in photography and sought out the best
examples he could find. Wirgman
must have introduced him to his
friend, Felice Beato, who had only
just arrived in the country and,almost certainly, Shimooka Renjo
whom Wirgman also knew well.
The photographs in the Humbertcollection in the Musée d’ ethnographie, Neuchâtel, Switzerland consistof approximately fifty large-format
early Beato photographs and around100 cartes de visite most of which, if
not all, are from the Shimooka studio. Furthermore, a number of thembear the same props and carpet illustrated in the studio portrait views in
the G.A.B. series. See Claude Estebe,
Le premier âge d’or de la photographie
au Japon, 1848-1883 (2006). In thiswork, Estebe illustrates a number of
Shimooka photographs which match
the G.A.B. stereo series and demonstrates a strong connection with the
Humbert collection. It seems fromthe collection in Neuchatel that
Humbert employed just two photographers—Beato and Shimooka. One
interesting letter written by Humbertfollowing his return to Switzerland
seems to confirm this. It is dated 7
June, 1865 and was sent to Hum-

Jan-Feb 2014 (v39#4) 12/31/13 10:26 PM Page 11

bert’s friend in Yokohama, the Swiss
merchant François Perregaux:
Mon cher Monsieur Perregaux,“…Je vous prie d’aller chez le photographejaponais qui demeure dans une rue près deBenton*; de lui demander de vous faire voir
tout ce qu’il a fait depuis le printemps de1864, et de choisir, pour mon compte, ce
que vous trouverez de mieux. J’ai déjà delui deux femmes assises, l’une ayant la pipeà la main, une femme nue appuyée sur unmonument, et quelques yacounines. Prenez
tout ce qu’il aura de nouveau en fait detypes de femmes surtout des types defemmes, et aussi d’artisans; quant aux
yacounines et gens de la douane, j’en ai
assez. Je n’ai pas besoin non plus de vues
de Yokohama. Veuillez avoir l’obligeance dem’expédier cette commande par le retourde la malle, en me disant chez qui je dois
vous en rembourser le montant.
J’ai traité à Paris avec la librairie L.
Hachette et Cie pour la publication d’un
volume illustré sur le Japon, et l’on commencera à en donner des extraits dans lejournal illustré Le Tour du Monde, dès lemois de novembre.”
Aimé Humbert* J’ai donné une commission analogue à M.
de Polsbroek pour Beato, parce qu’il connaît déjà ce que celui-ci m’a livré. Mais s’ilétait absent ou empêché, veuillez y pourvoir pour le mieux, dans le même sens.

This can be translated as:“I ask you to go to the Japanese photographer who remains in a street close to Benton * [Shimooka had his studio in BentenDori at this time.] to ask him to show to
you all that he has done since the spring of1864, and to choose, for my account, thebest examples. I already have from him an
image of two women sitting, one with apipe in her hand, a naked woman supported by a monument, and some yacuninsFig. 11. G.A.B. No. 5527, “Girl with Pipe and Fire-box.”[Japanese officials]. Take all that he has ofvarious types of women, and of artisans; as
for the yacunins and people of the customs,
I have enough of them. I do not need any
views of Yokohama. Please be kind enoughto dispatch this order by return and do letme know how much I should reimburseyou. I have contracted in Paris with thebookshop L. Hachette and Co for the publication of a volume illustrated on Japan, andthey will start to give extracts in the illustrated newspaper Le Tour De Monde, as ofNovember.”*I gave a similar commission to Mr. Polsbroek for Beato, because he already knows
what this photographer has delivered to me.
But if he is absent or unable to assist, pleaseprovide a similar service for me in thisrespect.15

Studio Portraits
from the G.A.B. Series
We will shortly show that all of
the outside views from this series
seem to have been taken in Shimoda,
and not in Shimonoseki or Kanagawa as indicated on the printed
captions appearing on the reverse of
the stereo cards. Before doing so, we
can now connect the studio portraits
to Shimooka.
Although the series consists of perhaps thirty-eight stereoviews, only
three of those known have beentaken inside a studio. The threeviews are as follows, and will each beconsidered in turn:• No. 5501, Children Playing
Baby-house• No. 5510, Mother and Childplaying Checkers• No. 5527, Girl with Pipe andFire-box
The image entitled “Children Playing Baby-house” (Fig. 6), includes
studio props which can be seen inother known early Shimooka images.
The floral carpet and the screen resting against the backdrop are featuresthat are present in (Fig. 7), a Shimooka carte de visite forming part of
the Tom Burnett collection andwhich is also depicted as an engraving in Aimé Humbert’s Japan and theJapanese Illustrated (1874, p.14).
(Fig. 8)The second image, “Mother andChild playing Checkers,” (Fig. 3) has
the same carpet as in the previous
view. The aspidistra plant and pot
are also known props in early Shimooka cartes de visite. For example,
see illustrations numbered 47 and
129 in Ishiguro Keisho’s Shimooka
Renjô Shashinshû (1999), and page103 of Terry Bennett’s Early Japanese
Images (1996) (Fig. 9). Finally, it isworth noting that a variant of this
G.A.B. stereoview appeared as anengraved illustration on the title
page of Humbert’s book (Fig. 10).
The third and last G.A.B. studio
portrait to be considered is entitled“Girl with Pipe and Fire-box” (Fig. 11).
Once again, we see the Shimooka
trademark carpet. Whether these studio shots were taken in Shimoda, orin Shimooka’s Yokohama studio, is
not currently known.

January/February 201411

Jan-Feb 2014 (v39#4) 12/31/13 10:26 PM Page 12

Outdoor views
from the G.A.B. Series
For some years, the authors of thisarticle had harbored suspicions thatthe three views in the series labelled
Simonoseki were actually taken in
Shimoda. Furthermore, the fourlabeled Kanagawa were also not convincing. In 2006 Rob Oechsle madetwo trips to Shimoda to verify theoutdoor locations of the G.A.B. views.
His preliminary conclusions were
published in his “Stereoviews -Index
of Japan-Related Stereoview Photographers and Publishers, 1859-1912”
in Terry Bennett’s Old Japanese Photographs (2006, pp.180-3). His updated
notes, which follow, show that a
number of the photographs can bedirectly linked with Shimoda.

The G.A.B. Series
No. 5498, Mill (worked by hand) Hulling
Rice.
No. 5499, Rice Mill (worked by foot) for
Hulling Rice.
No. 5500, Mode of Winnowing Grain.
No. 5501, Children playing Baby-house.
No. 5502, House with thatched Roof
several feet thick.
No. 5503, Monument with Japanese
Inscription. [This view shows the Kaizenji
Temple Grounds in the town of Shimoda.
Mt. Shimoda-Fuji can be seen in the
background. While the buildings havechanged, the monument remains to thisday. Interestingly, a variant of this view
was published by the Austrian photographer, Wilhelm Burger in 1871 in a portfolio of views entitled Bilder Aus Japan. A

copy of this publication is held by the
British Library (ref: Maps 8.d.24). Burger
made a photographic tour of Japan in
1869 but did not visit Shimoda. We doknow that he borrowed Shimooka’s Yokohama studio (see Terry Bennett’s Photography in Japan (2006, p.109)) and it now
seems clear that he acquired a number ofnegatives of Shimooka’s G.A.B. work at
the same time. Some images in the 1871
Burger portfolio should now be attributed
to Shimooka. See also notes to Nos. 5505
and 5522 below.]
No. 5504, Mode of Carrying Baggage.
No. 5505, Simonoseki from the Hill side.
[Actually, the town of Shimoda. This
forms a panorama together with view No.
5507. Photographed from halfway up Mt.
Nesugata. This same image was published in Wilhem Burger’s Bilder Aus Japan.
See notes to Nos. 5503 and 5522.]
No. 5506, Dipping Water from a Stream.
No. 5507, Simonoseki [Actually, the townof Shimoda. Forms a panorama with viewNo. 5505. Photographed from halfway
up Mt. Nesugata. Clearly seen isolated by
the foothills at the upper-left of the viewis white-roofed Ryosenji Temple where
the Shimoda Treaty was signed in June
1854. The signatories were Commodore
Matthew Perry for the United States andDaigaku Hayashi for the Shogunate. Thisis possibly the earliest extant photographof this historic site, shown in its relationship to the town. It was around this temple and its grounds in 1854 that Eliphalet
Brown Jr. took many Daguerreotype portraits of the local people, later reproduced as lithographs in Francis Hawks’
Narrative of the Expedition (1856).]
No. 5508, Drawing Water from a Well.

Fig. 12. G.A.B. No. 5517, “Temple-Stone Lamp-post in the foreground.”

12

January/February 2014

No. 5509, Winnowing Machine. [There is a
Shimooka Renjo album of 24 cartes devisite owned by the New York collector
Tom Burnett. The second photograph in
the album is of a slightly different scene
but is clearly taken in the same location.
See the website http://tomburnettcollection.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=365]

No. 5510, Mother and Child playing
Checkers. [The carpet, screen and flowerpot can be recognized as early Shimooka
studio props. Compare with (Fig. 9).]No. 5511, Teaching a Child to Write. House
with domestic utensils.
No. 5512, A Japanese Shop.
No. 5513, Kan-go (or palanquin) used by
the poorer class. [Note the Namako Kabelattice-like patterning of white mortar andgrey tiles—a fire-proof construction
design still preserved on many of theolder buildings in Shimoda and the Izu
Peninsula to this day; see also #5518
below. Of particular significance is thefact that this image is taken in the sameplace as twenty-third image in the Tom
Burnett Shimooka album referred to in
5509 above.]
No. 5514, [Unknown View]
No. 5515, View in Kanagawa. [Actually the
town of Shimoda; small group standing
by unknown building; entrance toHachiman Temple in Distance. Less thanten years earlier, this temple was sketchedby William Heine of Perry’s Japan Expedition. See also view No. 5517 below.]
No. 5516, Residence of American Missionaries, Kanagawa. [Actually, the town of
Shimoda, Toden Temple. The camera wasthen turned 90 degrees to the right totake view No. 5531 below, with the same
three models. The same tombs remain
even today.]Jan-Feb 2014 (v39#4) 12/31/13 10:26 PM Page 13

No. 5517, Temple - Stone Lamp-post in theforeground. (Fig. 12) [Town of Shimoda,
Hachimanji Temple. Location also confirmed by William Heine’s 1854 sketch of
the same spot, published as a lithographin vol. 1 of Francis Hawks’ Narrative of the
Expedition (1856). The lanterns and edifices visible in the scene were partly submerged yet unmoved by the destructive
tsunami of 1854.]
No. 5518, Store house.[Note the Namako
Kabe type constructed storage building.]
No. 5519, A Village Street in Japan [Townof Shimoda—street scene looking east
with headlands seen across Shimoda
Bay.]
No. 5520, Stonecutter’s House and Workshop.
No. 5521, Japanese Pack-Horse.
No. 5522, A Japanese Fisherman. (Fig. 13)[Town of Shimoda—Village of Kaki-Zaki Benten Island Temple at back. Eastern
slope of Mt. Nesugata in distance. Just off
scene to the right is Gyokusen Temple,
site of first American consulate in Japan

Fig. 13. G.A.B. No. 5522, “A Japanese Fisherman.” See present-day scene in Fig. 15.

under Townsend Harris, and location of
the tombs of the American sailors seen in
the Daguerreotype on pages 32-33 ofTerry Bennett’s Photography in Japan(2006). It is in the hills of this immediate
scene that Harris’s interpreter, Henry
Heusken, clandestinely gave Shimooka
Renjo the first rudimentary lessons in thetheory of photography (see Photography
in Japan (p.70), and Old Japanese Photographs (p.36). Location also confirmed byWilliam Heine’s 1854 sketch of the same
temple, published as a woodcut in vol. 1
of Francis Hawks’ Narrative of the Expedition (1856). See also the present-day
scene depicted in (Fig. 15). Also, a variantof this view was published in 1871 by
Wilhelm Burger. See notes to Nos. 5503
and 5505 above.]
No. 5523, A Japanese Mansion. [Town of
Shimoda; possibly Houfuku Temple
Gateway.]No. 5524, A Group of Japanese Women ata Well. [Town of
Shimoda; large
group (mostly chilFig. 14. Rob Oeschle, 2006, Shimoda Harbor with Benten Island
Temple.
dren) in tightcourtyard
enclosure—
Mt. Nesugata indistance.]
No. 5525, Scene
Near Kanagawa.
No. 5526, A Small
Japanese Temple.
[Possibly Chouraku
Temple near “PerryRoad” Shimoda.]
No. 5527, A girlwith pipe and firebox.

No. 5528, Seminary near Kanagawa. [Likely
to be Daian Temple in Shimoda.]
No. 5529, Simonoseki [Actually, the townof Shimoda. Part of Mt. Nesugata seen
on left in distance. It is from the slope of
this mountain that views 5505 and 5507
listed above were taken.]No. 5530, Street in Kanagawa. [Actually,
the town of Shimoda. Shows Hiraname
River and Bridges on “Perry Road”.]
No. 5531, Grave yard and Entrance to a
Temple.[Town of Shimoda, Toden Temple
facing back to gate. Same group as in No.
5516 above.]
No. 5532, [Unknown View]
No. 5533, Shop with Sign.
No. 5534, Grave Yard and Monuments.
[Town of Shimoda. Children among
Tombs in Graveyard of Taihei Temple.]No. 5535, Japanese Workmen.

Summary
The G.A.B. series is important on
several levels. First, it increases the
known Shimooka Renjo photographs
by some thirty-eight. Given the current paucity of material attributed tothis famous Japanese photographer,
this additional group will be greatly
welcomed by researchers and photohistorians of early Japanese photography. Furthermore, as the G.A.B.
series looks to have been photographed in the 1862-63 period, it
represents the earliest-known workby this artist and will contribute
greatly to our understanding of thedevelopment of early Japanesephotographers.
(Continued on page 33)
January/February 201413

Jan-Feb 2014 (v39#4) 12/31/13 10:26 PM Page 14

ISU 2013
by Lawrence KaufmanEvery International Stereoscopic
Union (ISU) Congress has it’s
own endearing memories. Truly
those from the 19th ISU Congress,
held August 20-26, 2013 inLjubljana, Slovenia will be some of
the most memorable ones. Ljubljana
is classified as a mid-sized European
city, but it has preserved its smalltown friendliness and relaxed atmosphere while providing all the facilities of a modern capital. It is a crossbetween dreamy central Europe andrelaxed Mediterranean. It was a perfect base to explore the many faces
and beauties of Slovenia. Slovenian
territory was part of the Roman
Empire. The Holy Roman Empire
controlled the land for nearly 1,000
years. In 1918, Slovenes joined
Yugoslavia, while the west of thecountry was annexed to Italy. The
country gained its independence
from Yugoslavia in June 1991, and istoday a modern state and a memberof the European Union and NATO. I
never would have even consideredvisiting Slovenia if it hadn’t been for
the ISU Congress. It is a small country that just wasn’t even on my radar.
After visiting, I understand why ‘love’
is in the middle of Slovenia and I

recommend that if you haven’t visited Slovenia you should do so.
The Congress hosted more than
210 participants from twenty-fivecountries and five continents, which
was down from the 252 stereo lovers
from twenty-six countries who had
attended the previous bi-annual 3-D
get-together held in Egmond aan Zee
northwest of Amsterdam in 2011.
The ISU Congress is a great excuse to
explore the globe.
The 19th ISU Congress was very
well run by a very small committee.
Seven people did the majority of thework:
Matjaz Podjed, Congress manager
Vladimir Assejev, ISU Country rep
Petra Tolja, Administration manager
Albert Gyurica, Stereo Theater manager
Milan Korbar, Exhibit director andWorkshop manager
Tibor Gedei, Co-Stereo Theater manager
and Sound manager
Damir Vrancic, Technical manager andoutgoing ISU president

The Stereo Theater
There were almost a hundred 3-Dshows presented. The registration
package included ballots for six ofthe seven projection blocks, block G
consisted of invited shows whichwere not included in the voting. All
exhibitors were presented with a certificate after each block of projection.
The show introductions and presentations were made by Matjaz Podjed
and Vladimir Assejev in English, German and Slovene. The winningshows were awarded at the end of
the ISU Congress. One author was
eligible only for one prize (forhis/her best show). Only the registered authors were eligible for the
prizes, so the prizes could bepresented in person.
Recipients of the first prize (inalphabetical order):Matej Bohác - “Ladakh - an Insight into
the Himalaya”
Dominique Bretheau - “Dynamic Flowers”
John Hart - “Stop Time 3D”

Ljubljana’s Presernov trg Square where the Franciscan Church of the Annunciation(commonly called the pink church) Built between 1646 and 1660 (the bell towers followed
later) replaced an older Gothic church on the same site. Much of the original frescos wereruined by the cracks in the ceiling caused by an earthquake in 1895. The new frescos werepainted by the Slovene
impressionist painterMatej Sternen. In theforeground is “Triple
Bridge,” three separate
picturesque bridges
located next to one
another leading to andfrom the square with thestatue of poet France
Preseren (center) a common meeting point. (Allstereos by the author.)

The meeting place for manyof the ISU outings was theground floor lobby of the
Mestno Gledalisce Ljubljansko(MGL – Ljubljana City Theatre.) MGL is one of thelargest theatres in Ljubljana,
the 327 seat auditorium hosted the Congress projections,with the ISU meetings, workshops and trade fair held in
additional rooms, theatresand hallways.

14

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Jan-Feb 2014 (v39#4) 12/31/13 10:26 PM Page 15

The tour guide for thewalking tour of Ljubljana
told many humorous stories of the city. One wasthat the local office workers spend their lunch timeat the “beach” (the common term for the canalarea of the city) with acup of coffee. Then they
return to their office witha snack or meal and eat
their lunch while back “onthe clock” at their desk.

To gain entrance into
Postojna Cave a shorttrain ride descends
into the cave as thethermometer reading
also descends. Herethe ISU tour boards thetrain armed withcameras and tripods.

Christopher Schneberger - “Glimmer: The
Haunting of the Graham House”

be found just south of the city center.
They could be viewed from the tour
buses leaving on outings. Originallysurrounding the town, the walls
were nearly uniformly almost 8 feet,21⁄2 inches thick and reached heights
of between 191⁄2 to 26 feet, with fourmain gates. Following the first World
War, the Ljubljana city council madethe decision to tear down the lastremaining section of the walls sothey could sell off the land for development and alleviate traffic congestion. However there was a public
outcry against the proposal, leading
the council to reverse its decisionand restore the walls. The design
blending of modern and classical elements are now considered one of the
Ljubljana’s top attractions. Someamazing histroy almost lost forever.

Takashi Sekitani - “Fireworks 3D Dancing Phoenix”

The Eight Outings:

Seçkin Tercan - “Little Organic Things”

1) Ljubljana – Walking tour of theold city and a ride up the funiculartrain to the Ljubljana Castle. Included was a stop for the Mayor’s proclamations and some quickly vanishingwine and appetizers.

Stefan Layer - “Bug Me!”
Günther Peschke, S. Cramer, D.Böhm “Ultra Macro Reel”
Verena Peschke, Günther Peschke, Gerd
Gügel - “Drops in Time/Splash”
Albert L. Sieg - “My 50 Years of
Exhibiting Stereo Images”

Recipients of the second prize (inalphabetical order):Kurt Bauer - “Mirror Road”
Peter Gedei - “Tunnel”
Job van de Groep - “Mathematical Object”
Helmut Hame - “Carnival of Venice”
Hermann Miller - “Horse Freedom”
Hermine Raab - “3D Glasses Fashion
Show”
Tom Rywick - “Masters of War”

Thomas Unterholzner - “South Korea,
from Tradition to High-Tech”
Csanad Varallyay - “I Love Oregon”
Damir Vrancic - “Impressions from
Iceland”
Gert-Jan Wolkers - “Sagrada Familia”

The Congress also featured several
workshops, a small trade fair andeight daily memorable outings to allparts of Slovenia. The outings were
truly the highlight of the Congress.
While not a part of any formal outing, the former Roman city walls can2) Predjama Castle and Postojna
Cave – Predjama Castle is one of themost scenic in Slovenia. Middle age
builders integrated it with a natural
cave system of hidden supply routes.
Our exclusive visit allowed photography in this grandeous cave after theusual opening hours. Many of us

were more involved in photographing than travelling fast enough tostay ahead of the light being turned
off behind us. Unlike the show cavesin the United States, there seemed tobe very few restrictions on what
could be touched.
3) Bled, Vintgar and Radovljica –Vintgar gorge is almost a mile of
rapids, pools, waterfalls and wooden
walkways & bridges. Slovenia’s jewel
is Lake Bled, located in the Julian
Alps. The lake is situated in a picturesque environment, surrounded by
mountains and forests. The
medieval-era Bled Castle stands
above the lake on the north shore.
The lake surrounds Bled Island, theonly natural island in Slovenia. The
island’s main building is the pilgrimage church, built in its current form
near the end of the 17th century.
The church has a 171 ft tower andthere is a stairway with 99 steps leading up to the building. The church isfrequently visited and weddings areheld there regularly. Traditionally it
is considered good luck for thegroom to carry his bride up the 99
steps on the day of their wedding
before ringing the bell and making awish inside the church (that sounds
a little more difficult than carrying
your bride over the threshold.) The
lake is also well known among rowers; it hosted the World RowingChampionships in 1966, 1979, 1989

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Thanks to a system ofnarrow wooden bridges,
first constructed in
1893, the ISU tour’s visit
to Vintgar gorge wasable to follow the rapids,
pools and waterfalls of
the Radovna river, battering its way through anarrow, 55 -110 yard
high gap in the hills.

Peter Weiler stops tophotograph a statue
during the walking tourof Skofja Loka, Bishop’s
Meadow.

and 2011. Motor boats are bannedon the lake.
4) Velika planina – The Great Alp or
Pasturage is reached only by cablecar. One of the biggest settlements ofthis kind in Europe provides summer
grazing for cattle. Shepherd’s cottages are a unique oval architecture
and are covered with pine shingles.
Many are now week-end retrats forcity dwellers. We enjoyed photographing grazing cattle and wideviews over the valley on our hilly
walk to the chapel of Saint Mary of
the Snows, which culminated (asmany of the outings did) with a typical local cuisine meal.
5) Bistra and Kuren – Bistra is oneof the sources of river Ljubljanica.
Built on the site of a Roman shrine
dedicated to Neptune, a 13th century Carthusian monastery now houses
the museum of Slovenian technical
heritage, including a collection dedicated to hunting, fishing and automobiles. The tour ended with a dinner that might not have been in
Kuren. There had been some concerns about the weather, but where
ever it was, it was an enjoyable meal
none the less.
6) Skofja Loka – Nacetova hisa in
Pustal is an example of an 18th century farmer’s house, with original
furniture and two operational smok-

16

January/February 2014

ing rooms, were a traditional
Carniolan snack was served. The
nearby city of Skofja Loka, Bishop’s
Meadow, is a Middle Age town thatis very well preserved, with a linden,or lime tree, one of the symbols ofSlovenia, growing in the middle ofthe main square. Afterward a lunch
was served at a farm in the hills
above the city.
7) Seaside – A day-long outing, withtravel to the seaside to enjoy theMediterranean in all its richness ofsun, water, salt, food, and wine. A
boat ride along the coast from Koper,
Slovenia’s main port, included somefree-flowing wine tasting and aseafood lunch. Followed by a visit to
Piran, an old Venetian city, withsome great old architecture. Its saltpans, an example of traditional salt
extraction process, are still fully
functional. The evening hosted thefarewell Congress dinner back at
Ljubljana Castle and another ride up
and down the funicular train.
8) Venice – This add-on to the Congress was organized mainly withoverseas attendees in mind. A threehour bus ride followed by a vaporetto (water bus) that took us from
Tronchetto along the canals to St.
Mark’s square, where a visit to the
Murano glass factory was arranged,
and then free time for ourselves.
Unfortunately the lines were hours

long and the crowds were sometimes
overwhelming. It might not havebeen the best way to see Venice, but
at least it wasn’t the wet season,
when it would have been flooded.

2015 and 2017
The ISU bylaws require the president to be from the country hosting
the next Congress and the vice president from the next future Congresscountry. During the ISU council
meeting Damir Vrancic’s term as ISU
president ended and SeungHyun Lee
was elevated from vice president topresident. There was some interest
from the DGS in Germany to hostthe 2017 Congress, but the only formal offer came from the National
Stereoscopic Association and the LA
3-D Club in Southern California. The
ISU Council accepted the 2017 inSouthern California plan and voted
for yours truly, Lawrence Kaufman asvice president. Alexander Klein continues as Treasurer and Gert-Jan
Wolkers will contniue as Secretary,
only recently filling this position
after Shab Levy had stepped down.
The ISU Council is rounded out with
the new Stereoscopy editor David
Kuntz and the 2015 Congress Manager Sungwoo Benjamin Cho.
The 20th ISU Congress is being
planned for Busan, Korea and it(Continued on page 25)

Jan-Feb 2014 (v39#4) 12/31/13 10:26 PM Page 17

The Pirates! Band of Misfits

Ilove the films from Aardman Animations, especially the Wallace
and Gromit series, so when I heardthat they were making a pirate
movie in 3-D I was ecstatic. The
story is taken from the first book in
author Gideon Defoe’s series The
Pirates! in an Adventure with Scientists(2004). The title was altered to Bandof Misfits for the North American
release but retains it’s original title in
the UK where it was already wellknown. The cast features the voicetalents of Hugh Grant, Martin Freeman, David Tennant and Salma
Hayek.
Pirate Captain is a sad yet loveablebuffoon of a pirate who’s hopes of
winning “Pirate Captain of the Year”
are squashedwhen three
more dashingand successful
captains
descend on asmall Caribbean
bar to announce
their candidacy as well. After one too
many taunts Pirate Captain rises tothe challenge to loot and plunder forthe contest’s sake but only manages
to make a series of botched attempts
to loot various ships at sea. When heunexpectedly attacks the ship carrying Charles Darwin’s expedition backto England the story finally starts to
get under way. I have to admit thatthe film seemed a little slow at thestart and it took me a bit to warm up
to these new characters. It does however build momentum. As soon as
the captain meets up with Darwin it
is quickly discovered that the Captain’s “big-boned” parrot is in fact
the last surviving Dodo bird. The

Captain sets his eyes on a new goal,
to be crowned “Scientist of the Year”.
Off to London-town they go but
incognito for fear of being imprisoned for piracy on the orders of
Queen Victoria who despises pirates.
Yes, as it turns out Queen Victoria
plays a crucial role in this swashbuckling tale and let’s just say she
isn’t a benign queen. She secretly
hosts a “Rare Creature Dining Club”
and serving Dodo would certainly be
the pièce de résistance for her up-coming soirée. The story takes place in
1837, the actual year Victoria at thetender age of 18 was crowned Queen
and Charles Darwin made a triumphant return from his global voyage aboard The Beagle. Obviously
this story takes a few liberties toincorporate these characters intosuch a tale but I
was surprised to
discover thehistorical accuracy and therefore potential
possibility ofsuch characters actually coming incontact with each other. Who knew
you could learn history from an animated comedy about pirates!
The Oscar nominated production
offers very creative and detailed sets,
and there are a few expected“through the window” gags involving
swords flying pies and googly eyes.
Watching the behind the scenes features on the disc made me skeptical
about whether this film was actually
imaged in 3-D but some digging
revealed that each frame was shot
twice using 50 top end Canon 1DC
DSLR cameras mounted on a sliding
bar to capture the left and rightviews.
Peter Lord, the director of this film
and founder of Aardman Animations
previously co-directed “Chicken Run”
with Nick Park. This outing lacks
some of the inventiveness of Nick
Park’s Wallace and Gromit films, but
it does feature a memorable bathtubchase sequence that is very reminiscent of the model train chasesequence at the end of “The Wrong
Trousers”. While I wouldn’t say thatthe stereo imaging is spectacular, it ispleasing to see claymation models in
3-D and the film requires multiple
viewings to catch all the visual gags
and references.
Will Pirate Captain be crowned“Scientist of the Year” or even “Pirate

Captain of the Year”? Pick this discup for those answers and some lighthearted fun.
Now on to our second review, yetanother sea-faring adventure.

Life of Pi
What do you get when you tosselements from movies like Forest
Gump, The Princess Bride, The Black
Stallion, Lifeboat, Castaway and What
Dreams May Come into a blender andask Ang Lee to direct a fantasticaltale of a shipwrecked Indian boy?
You get a four time Academy Award
winning spectacle that may be oneof the most novel 3-D films yet.
Although I’d heard other peopleraving about this film I knew very
little about it prior to pressing playon the disc. The Life of Pi is adaptedfrom the 2001 novel by Yann Martel
which was considered to be
unfilmable. Director Ang Lee andcrew took four years to prove themwrong. Immediately as the credits
began I could tell that this was going
to be a cinematic feast. The film
immediately sets its tone with aplayful credit sequence. The titles are
set in the shots themselves and theyinteract with the objects in eachframe.
Just like Hitchcock’s foray into 3-D
filmmaking, Ang Lee separates himself from other Directors by using
the 3-D story telling tools with theskill of a true craftsman and not justthe latest cinematic trick to fill theatre seats. The pace of the images
allow you to look around andexplore the layers of each shot.
Many images are composed and feel
reminiscent of an IMAX 3D film. The
exotic locales and culture of India(Continued on page 32)

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3D-Con 2014
July 8-14 Murfreesboro, TennesseeThis is the first time in many
years that the NSA convention
has been anywhere near theSoutheast. The convention was in
Atlanta in 1995, Charleston in 2003,
Miami in 2006 and Cincinnati in
1988. So if you live in the region,
this is your easiest convention toattend. If you live further away, thisis your chance to experience themid-south and great 3-D at the sametime.
Getting there is easy. The
Murfreesboro Embassy Suites is at
Exit 76 on I-24 about 25 miles southof Nashville, which is at the junctionof I-40, I-65 and I-24. The Nashvilleairport is 26 miles away and is servedby all major airlines. Shuttle service
to the Embassy suites is available for$32.
By the time that you get this issueof Stereo World, all of the convention
forms will be on
http://stereoworld.org/2014/. Since

most people download the forms, weare not including them as inserts in
SW this year. If you don’t have accessto download and print the forms
you need, please contact me at theaddress below for the forms.
The tours include signature attractions of Nashville—Broadway and its
live music at every bar, the Hermitage and the Country Music Hallof Fame plus the Mayday Brewery.
The high-priced banquets (no, I
don’t know why hotel meals are so
expensive) have bonuses that makethem a good deal. The SSA dinner
will feature projection of a selectionof SSA members’ film slides. The NSA
Banquet has Phil “Captain 3D”
McNally as the speaker. Since we last
heard from him, he has given us
quality 3-D in some of the best animated features ever (Meet the Robinsons, Puss in Boots, How to Train Your
Dragon, etc.).

Stones River National Battlefield, Murfreesboro, Tennessee near graves of Union troops.
(Stereo by Lee Pratt)Nashville’s Broadway at night, just one of the attractions to be toured during 3D-Con 2014.
(Stereo by Larry Moor)

If you don’t have a show ready forthis year’s Stereo Theater, don’t
despair. We will have the member
showcase for six of your slides plus
the on-site competition. If you dohave a show, we will be projectingwith our new projectors, computerand screen.
We plan to have an expanded
workshop program. To help upgrade
your conversion from film to digital,
Wednesday will feature two tracks ofworkshops—basic digital skills andan intermediate topic curriculum.
Plan to be there.
For the first time in many years,
we will have a hospitality suite open
on the first days of the convention.
This is a chance for informal conversations and gatherings during theafternoons and after the Manager’s
Reception.
In Miami, we held a spirited panel
discussion on “3D—The Rodney
Dangerfield of Photography and Art”.
This year we will have a panel discussion on “Is 3D Dead Yet: 3D the
Zombie of Photography and Art”.
Don’t miss it!
The “we” that I keep referring to is
actually “you”. Putting on a good
convention means that a lot of NSA
members share their work andknowledge. To get the most content
and to keep the work load on any
one member to a reasonable level,
we want to have at least two people
coordinating each activity and many
more contributing.
Please contact me if you would
like to be a coordinator. See the website for the lead person each area andthe forms for submitting entries. To
remind you these include: Stereo
Theater, Workshops, Special Interest
Groups, Art Gallery, Trade Fair,
Onsite Slide and Vintage & Modern
Stereocard Competitions, Member’s
Showcase, Printed Program andAdvertising.
Bill Moll
4018 Marlow Drive
Red Bank, TN 37415(423) 702-5779
WHMoll@aol.com

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January/February 201419

Jan-Feb 2014 (v39#4) 12/31/13 10:26 PM Page 20

The

Seven Deadly
Retinal Rivalries
by Jeff Boller

S

tereoscopic imagery is based on a
deceptively simple concept. Twoslightly different pictures are displayed: one intended to be viewed
solely by the left eye, the other by
the right. The eyes view the pictures,
the brain fuses the images, and weperceive the picture as being threedimensional.
But what happens when the differences between the pictures are too
great? The brain then has trouble
fusing the images. The most extreme
differences between the two pictures
will appear to flash rapidly between
each eye. This effect is called retinal
rivalry.
At 3D-Con 2013, I became fascinated with retinal rivalry for all thewrong reasons. While there weremany superb stills projected in the

Stereo Theater, a surprising number
were marred by a disconcerting formof retinal rivalry. I naively assumed
that this very distinctive—andannoying—form of retinal rivalry
had a name. After researching the
subject and discussing it with several
experienced stereo photographers, I
discovered that, not only is there noname for this particular effect, butthere’s very little written information
about retinal rivalry in general. This
article is a step toward rectifying
both of these issues.

Retinal Rivalry in Real Life
Retinal rivalry occurs hundreds oftimes a day in real life and goes byunnoticed. That’s because real life isalways in motion. For example, if
the viewer is looking at a bird justbefore it flies behind a tree, the bird
will be seen briefly with one eye but
not the other. Since this retinal rivalry occurs so quickly, the brain
doesn’t register any discomfort.
Even when objects are at rest, ourbodies are not. If the viewer is looking at a chair poking out frombehind a doorway and it’s seen by
only one eye, all it takes is a slightturn of the head or a shift of the
body to change the view. Then theviewer can see the chair with botheyes.
However, stereoscopic images
aren’t real life; they are an illusion oflife frozen from a particular point ofview. In a stereoscopic image, if partof a chair is visible through a doorway with only one eye, no amountof moving around will allow the

Example A.
Try as you might, there’s
no way to view the chairwith both eyes.

Example B.
It’s impossible to fuse
the hole inside the front
chair (obtrusive retinal
rivalry), but the
woman’s white shoes
are fine (unobtrusive
retinal rivalry) The holeinside the front chairalso demonstrates thedeadly retinal rivalry
effect called keyholing.
[And yes, thanks to thehole shape, this is alsoa unique case of
keystoning!]

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Example C:
The flower pot andfoliage on the left that’s
closest to the viewer
demonstrates awindow violation.

Example D.
The shadow behind myclose-up demonstrates
an edge annoyance.

viewer to see the chair with botheyes (Example A).
Most descriptions of retinal rivalry
suggest that it’s an undesirable effectthat should be avoided at all costs.
However, if stereo photographersavoided all retinal rivalry, it would
severely limit their compositional
palette. Not every instance of retinal
rivalry that occurs in real life or instereoscopic images causes discomfort. Therefore, it would be more
helpful to split retinal rivalry into
two categories: obtrusive and unobtrusive.

Obtrusive vs. Unobtrusive
Obtrusive retinal rivalry is impossible for a viewer’s brain to fuse. It
takes the viewer out of the stereoscopic experience and calls attention
to the fact that there’s somethinguncomfortably wrong with theimage. In extreme cases, obtrusive
retinal rivalry can cause eye strain
and headaches. This is the kind of
retinal rivalry that should be avoided
at all costs.
Unobtrusive retinal rivalry, on theother hand, is retinal rivalry that
doesn’t call attention to itself. In fact,
the viewer might not even noticethat it exists.
Example B demonstrates both
obtrusive and unobtrusive retinal
rivalry. The hole inside the front
chair demonstrates a case of obtru-

sive retinal rivalry. There’s almost
nothing in common between the left
and right images in that area of thepicture, so there’s very little for theeyes to latch onto. When viewed
stereoscopically, the hole inside thefront chair flashes uncomfortably
between the left and right eyes.
The woman’s white shoes are an
example of unobtrusive retinal rivalry. Even though I shot this picture todemonstrate obtrusive retinal rivalry,
I didn’t notice that the shoes
appeared only in the left image until
someone pointed it out.
Except in the most extreme cases,classifying retinal rivalries as obtrusive or unobtrusive is a subjective
judgment, not a scientific one. One
viewer’s unobtrusive retinal rivalry
might be another viewer’s headache.

Movies vs. Stills
When it comes to retinal rivalry,stereoscopic movies have it easierthan stereoscopic stills. If there’s aquick bit of retinal rivalry in astereoscopic movie—such as theexample with the bird flying behind
the tree—it’s often unnoticeable.
Stereoscopic movies only run into
problems when a shot lingers on afeature with some sort of retinal
rivalry. Otherwise, if the retinal rivalry is fleeting and painless, a filmmaker can get away with it.

Stereoscopic stills are another matter. Stills—by their very definition—cannot be fleeting. Anything that’s
perceived as annoying or distracting
will exist for as long as the image isdisplayed to the viewer.
Now that we’ve established what
retinal rivalry is, let’s examine what I
call the seven deadly retinal rivalries.
Each of these rivalries can be obtrusive or unobtrusive, depending on
degree.

Deadly Retinal Rivalry #1:
Window Violations
If an object is partially visible near
the edge of a stereo picture and islocated in front of the stereo window (in other words, the object issticking out at the viewer), you’ve
got a deadly retinal rivalry called awindow violation.
Window violations are the bane of
the conservative stereo photographer’s existence. It’s also the type of
retinal rivalry that’s discussed mostoften online and in print. Example C
shows a typical window violation.
The large flower pot on the left that’s
closest to the viewer flashes uncomfortably because it’s located in frontof the stereo window and is partiallycut off.
There’s some debate among stereographers on whether window violations should be completely avoided
on all four sides of the window.

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From a purely technical perspective,
the only sort of window violations
that have the potential to inflictvisual pain are violations on the left
and right sides. Window violations
on the top or bottom edges aren’t
actually a retinal rivalry, but they
have the potential to look unnaturaland break the suspension of disbelief.
On the 3-D movie side of theequation, I deliberately violate thebottom edge of the window in myfilms, especially for closeups. Whena filmmaker keeps absolutely everything behind the stereo window,
viewers invariably complain that thefilm didn’t feel “3-D” enough. In my
experience, window violations on
the bottom edge of the window arealmost always acceptable, and thattechnique is becoming a part of thestill-evolving 3-D cinema vocabulary.

Deadly Retinal Rivalry #2: Keyholing
When there’s a hole or openingthat the viewer can peer through,and the viewer finds it difficult or
impossible to fuse what is shown inthat area, I call this deadly retinal
rivalry keyholing.
Keyholing is the effect of looking
through a keyhole with both eyes—
the viewer is never able to see a complete stereo picture when a hole isextremely small. Remember when I
mentioned that I saw a particular
type of retinal rivalry at 3D-Con
which had no name? Look again at
Example B. The hole in the front
chair demonstrates a keyholing
effect. There’s not enough common
visual information between the left
and right images in that part of thepicture, so the brain finds it difficult
to fuse the area inside of the hole.
Keyholing can happen in any
enclosed space—it can happen
underneath someone’s arm, within
the center of a flower, or, yes, evenwhen looking through a keyhole.

Deadly Retinal Rivalry #3:
Edge Annoyances
When there is something behind a
subject that is visible with one eye
but not the other, the viewer may besubjected to a deadly retinal rivalry
called an edge annoyance.
Example D is an outtake from ananimated music video I made called“A Geek Like Me.” If you look at my
mug on the left half of the screen,
there’s a hard shadow to the right of
my body that is visible only in theright eye image. Likewise, there’s ahard shadow behind my right shoulder that is only visible with the left
eye image. These discrepancies leadto an annoying, flashing effect along
those edges.
Keyholing and edge annoyances
occur for the same reason—there is
too much parallax (horizontal difference between the left and right eyes).
However, keyholing and edge annoyances are not the same thing. Keyholing features a hole that provides
nothing for the eyes to latch onto.
An edge annoyance still allows theviewer to fuse what’s behind a particular feature, but has some sort ofretinal rivalry along the edge.
Although edge annoyances happen most frequently with shadows,
the chair behind the edge of thedoor frame in Example A could also
be classified as an edge annoyance. It
wouldn’t be considered keyholingbecause, despite the partially-visible
chair, the viewer’s brain can easily
fuse the room inside the doorway.

Deadly Retinal Rivalry #4:
Anomalous Reflections
Anomalous reflections are lightreflections that look different in eacheye. The sparkles from ocean waves
are an example of anomalous reflections—almost certainly a pleasantand unobtrusive form of the effect.
In other cases, they may be a deadly
retinal rivalry to avoid.

Example E.
The flashing effect in the
top figure is an example
of an anomalous reflection. While the effect can
add sparkle to waterand snow stereos, it canruin others.

Example F.
A Fuji W3 camera with
its flash on [like any
with the flash locateddirectly between thelenses] creates some
unpleasant shadow
effects in this example ofunbalanced light.

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Example G.
The top part of thesplash demonstrates
mis-sync, where twocameras have taken
their pictures at slightly
different instants in time.

Example H.
A demonstration of an
unobtrusive color shift.

Notice how the light reflects off ofthe magnetic desk toy in Example E.
The top figure has the flashing effectassociated with anomalous reflections, while the bottom figures arereflecting light consistently between
both eyes. The anomalous reflection
effect on the top figure disappears
when moving the camera horizontally just a fraction of an inch. In otherwords, the camera must be in the“sweet spot” to pick up this deadly
retinal rivalry.
Anomalous reflections can be
more prominent with dark backgrounds, which can emphasize thedifference between the angle showing a reflection compared to anangle with no reflection. Christmas
tree ornaments can be problematic,
but flat jewelry can be worse, picking
up dazzling light in one image but
blending into clothing or hair in theother.

Deadly Retinal Rivalry #5:
Unbalanced Light
If you use a Fuji W3 camera—turnthat flash off! Otherwise, you’re inserious danger of experiencing adeadly retinal rivalry called
unbalanced light.

The Fuji W3 is a wonderful camera.
However, one of its design compromises was to place the flash between
the left and right lenses. That means
the left image has the flash hitting
the subject from the right, and theright image has the flash hitting the
subject from the left. Check out the
shadows behind Ro-Man (the title
character from the 1953 movie Robot
Monster) in Example F. There areshadows on the opposite sides of thesubject for each eye because the lightfrom the flash is being projected in
opposite directions. Even worse casesof unbalanced light can be caused bysynchronized dual camera rigs inwhich two flashes fired.

Deadly Retinal Rivalry #6: Mis-sync
Mis-sync is a deadly retinal rivalry
which occurs when the left and rightimages aren’t captured simultaneously while the subject is in motion.
Look carefully at the top part of thesplash in Example G. Somethingappears “off” because each eye islooking at the subject at a slightly
different instant in time.
If you use a Fuji W3 or another allin-one 3-D camera, you don’t need
to worry about this deadly retinal
rivalry. Mis-sync can only afflict

those who are using a two camera
setup.

Deadly Retinal Rivalry #7: Color Shift
If you’re using two cameras toshoot stereo pictures and the cameras aren’t color balanced with eachother, you run the risk of creating adeadly retinal rivalry called color shift.
It’s also possible to capture a color
shift when there is unbalanced light.
Look at Example H—the left image
has a slight reddish tint compared to
the right. The color difference
between the two pictures doesn’tdraw attention to itself when viewing the image stereoscopically, so
this would be classified as an unobtrusive color shift.

Conclusion
In one of my past lives as a professional audio engineer, when something wasn’t recorded or played well,someone would mutter that we
could “fix it in the mix.” While fixing something “in the mix” wassometimes possible, usually the lesstime-consuming option (which often
achieved a better end result) was toget a good sound or performance atthe source.
(Continued on page 25)

January/February 201423

Jan-Feb 2014 (v39#4) 12/31/13 10:26 PM Page 24

When Stereo
Zeal Outpaced
Photography
review by John DennisIf stereo imaging’s Big Bang event
was Wheatstone’s reflecting stereoscope, David Brewster’s lenticularstereoscope is analogous to the formation of galaxies, and the mass
production of views equates to theappearance of habitable planets. The
story of that first commercially pro-Brewster, Duboscq & the Early
Printed Stereoview, 1851-1853
by Janice G. Schimmelman,
The Collodion Press, 2013,
ISBN-978-0-9829456-6-7. Full
stereoview illustrations, monochromeand color,102 pages. $48 softcover,$58 hardcover from www.blurb.com(search using the author’sname or see
www.facebook.com/TheCollodionPress.)

24

January/February 2014

duced stereoscope, conceived by Sir
David Brewster and made by LouisJules Duboscq in Paris has been
repeated in the opening paragraphsof numerous books and articles covering the history of stereo photography. But never have the details been
so well told and lavishly illustrated
as in Janice G. Schimmelman’s
Brewster, Duboscq & the Early Printed
Stereoview, 1851-1853.
Although it provided an instantly
popular “proof of concept” forstereoscopic images with its 1850
introduction, the images were initially in the form of daguerreotypes,
one-of-a-kind and very expensive.
With public awareness of this new
wonder enhanced by its appearance

at the 1851 Crystal Palace Exhibition
and Queen Victoria’s enthusiastic
response to receiving one, the needfor a means of mass production ofstereo images was evident. The firsttwo commercial solutions were geometric drawings reproduced asengravings and lithographs based onstereo daguerreotype pairs, both
introduced by Duboscq in 1851.
Many readers will be familiar with
two or three of these groundbreaking
images, but the book includes 29
engraved stereo figures and 41 stereo
lithographs, most reproduced fullsize and centered one to a page. The
engravings range from a simple cube
to far more complex geometric figures and even some architectural
drawings, shown as white-on-black
pairs that remained on the market

Duboscq stereo engraving No. 34 from the “Parisian Set” reproduced on page 43. See also
SW Vol. 25 No. 1, page 26 for the “European Gems” column by Denis Pellerin & Pierre
Tavlitzki, credited on the first page of the book.

Jan-Feb 2014 (v39#4) 12/31/13 10:26 PM Page 25

for several years and can be foundillustrating explanations of stereoscopic concepts to this day.
Most of the lithographs are oftable top subjects, the original
daguerreotypes for which were often
photographed at absurdly wide separations in these early experimentswith stereography. The resulting lithographs, even when completely
faithful to the photos, are sometimes
painful to fuse but lose none of theirvalue as rare artifacts from the introduction of stereoscopic images to amass market.
Frederick Scott Archer’s collodion
wet plate process for glass negatives,
as well as the introduction of salt
prints and albumen prints, would
quickly replace the complex
daguerreotype-to-lithograph concept
for the mass marketing of stereoviews. But what the images so beautifully presented here make clear isthe excitement surrounding that firstwave of printed views, whether capturing geometric forms, small statuary or scenes from life in 3-D for the
first time. Waiting even a few
months for photography itself tocatch up with viewer technology
obviously wasn’t an option, andtheir uncontained enthusiasm left us
some memorable images preservedin ink. Schimmelman’s book repeats
both that preservation and enthusiasm, sharing more of these gems in
one place than seen since the 19th
century.

Lithography made possible color stereos as well as monochrome reproduction. Some color
views involved experiments with retinal rivalry, as in this Duboscq lithograph on page 55 ofa mastiff statue made from an only mildly hyper stereo daguerreotype. Collection of Paula
Fleming.

Retinal Rivalries(Continued from page 23)

All of the seven deadly retinal
rivalries can be fixed “in the mix”
with programs like StereoPhoto
Maker or Photoshop. When you
don’t have total control over every
aspect of a shot, fixing it “in the mix”
may be your only option. However,
if you suspect that you captured adeadly retinal rivalry, a quicker solution—sometimes—is to nudge thecamera horizontally and take a second picture as a safety measure. At
the very least, being aware of the different types of retinal rivalry will
help you achieve better stereo
images when post-processing. The
end result will have your audience
reaching out to grab your images,
rather than reaching over to grab
some aspirin.

ISU 2013

ThanksThanks to John Dennis,“California” John Hart, Lawrence
Kaufman, David Kesner, David Kuntz,
and Barry Rothstein for their invaluable opinions, ideas, and suggestionsin preparing this article. Special
thanks to David Kuntz for supplying
the mis-sync’d photograph.
Jeff Boller is Pittsburgh-based 3-D
filmmaker/musician who is creating an
animated music video movie called
Smitten 3D. And yes, he made his own
Ro-Man Halloween costume. You
can see and hear his work at
www.simplecarnival.com.

(Continued from page 16)

promises to be an event not to be
missed. Busan is the second largest
city in Korea and is called the City ofCinema or the City of Film, wellknown for its Busan InternationalFilm Festival, the most prestigious
film festival in Asia, which attracts
more than 230,000 attendees fromaround the world. The site search iscurrently going on for the 21st ISU
Congress in Southern California in
2017, co-sponsored by the LA 3-D
Club, the International Stereoscopic
Union and the National Stereoscopic
Association as 3D-Con 2017.

January/February 201425

Jan-Feb 2014 (v39#4) 12/31/13 10:26 PM Page 26

Seeing DoubleThere are certain topics of discussion which are perennial
favorites amongst stereographers, and are always guaranteed tocreate controversy and heated discussion when they arise. One ofthese is how to determine the maximum parallax, or deviation, that canbe comfortably viewed in a stereo
image. Some people advocate theemploymentof formulas
which relate
the distance tothe nearest
and farthest
objects in thecomposition,
the lens separation, lens focal length and otherfactors, while others go by “tried andtrue” rules, such as the 1/30 or 1/50
rule. And, some people just don’t
worry about it at all!
The topic was brought home to
me recently when I reviewed thecomments made regarding my stereoview “Paint Splatter” which circulated in one of the Speedy Alphafolios. This image contains a verylarge amount of deviation. The closest object has substantial negative
parallax, while the farthest point in
the composition has a deviation ofaround 1/15 of the image width,
which is more than twice amountpermitted by the venerable 1/30 rule.

26

January/February 2014

There’s no question that viewing
this image gives the eyes a bit of aworkout. Indeed, in his commentson the card sleeve, Brandt Rowles
noted that the “excessive parallax
makes the background viewing hard.”
Similarly, Tom Moore said the stereogram was “a little hard for me toview.” But, this viewpoint wasn’t
universal. For example, Betty
Drinkut replied
to these earlier
comments bystating, “I did
not have any
problems viewing.” David
and Linda
Thompsonechoed this same sentiment.
The disparity in people’s reactions
to this stereoview made me realizethat there are clearly individual variances in our tolerance to total image
parallax. But, it also got me wondering if there are image specific factorsthat come into play as well. In particular, I wanted to know if the waythat parallax is distributed throughout an image is a factor in viewing
ease.
To test that theory, I made twostereo drawings. The first shows aseries of circles which get progressively farther away. The second

shows just two circles, having thesame parallax difference as the closest and farthest objects in the firstview, but without any intervening
objects. To my eyes, the first of thesestereoviews is easy to view, while thesecond causes me some discomfort.
Again, the total deviation in these
two stereograms is identical; it’s only
the way that it is distributed that haschanged. This tells me that no formula or single value for maximum
deviation (such as 1/30 of the image
width) can suffice to always guarantee easily viewable results. Plus, I still
hadn’t addressed the issue of individual differences.
At this point, I decided to seek
professional help. Specifically, I
enlisted the aid of SSA member andDoctor of Optometry Donna
Matthews. Besides being an expert in
the general workings of the humanvisual system, Donna has madesomething of a study of stereo vision,in particular. I showed Donna theseviews, and she provided the following comments:
Views that are pleasing or easy to look athave objects laying along the z axis just far
enough apart so that, when looking at thenear subject, the background subjects(which are seen as doubled) are not too distracting. And vice versa, the doubled foreground object should not distract from

“Paint Splatter” by David Kuntz, Speedy Alpha folio.

Jan-Feb 2014 (v39#4) 12/31/13 10:26 PM Page 27

Parallax example 1.

Parallax sample 2.

looking at a distant subject. This is calledphysiologic diplopia. In real life, physiologic
diplopia is present all the time, everywhere
we look. When we look directly at an object
in space we see it as clear and single. What
our brain ignores is the reality that all
objects in front of, and behind, the object
in focus are doubled.
To test this, hold both index fingers infront of your nose at distances of 10” and15”. When you focus on the near finger,
the more distant finger is seen double. Likewise, when looking at the distant finger, thecloser finger appears doubled.
People who frequently view stereo andenjoy looking at numerous types of 3D presentations would seem to be self selected tohave “normal” binocular vision. Then, there
are seemingly normal people don’t like 3D.
What puts them off 3D is usually a result of
imbalances in their binocular vision system.
The major factors involved are the ability toaccommodate (sustain clear focus on a near
object) and to converge (cross the eyes wellenough so that the near object is seen as
single). It is certain that the interaction
between how the eyes focus (or accommodate) on a target and how they cross or
uncross (converge or diverge) to keep a target from doubling is complex. The systems
are inter-related. When one is engaged theother is affected.
To view a stereo image, our eyes either
converge or diverge to overlay a pair ofsimilar images one atop the other. Thesevergence eye movements are voluntary, and,with practice, most individuals get better atcontrolling them. People vary in their ability
to converge and diverge their eyes at will.
The norms for vergence eye movements

were established and published by
optometrists and vision science researchers
by the 1980s.
Just as filmmakers acknowledge a “depth
budget” when scripting depth as a creative
element, still images also have a range
along the z axis at which to place near andfar objects for comfortable viewing. Look at
the first stereo drawing where the eye
glides easily from the near to far circles. Thisis a “step vergence” eye movement. Theeye and brain easily “make sense” of the
progression of depth as the circles are“stepped” from near to far. The second
drawing is an example of a “jump” vergence eye movement. The eye position
cannot glide easily from near to far in order
to interpret the targets.
In both figures, the depths of the nearand far circles are identical. However, in thesecond, it is the superimposition of the neartarget over the far target that causes visual
confusion and discomfort. Our eyes ever
only see one thing at a time as clear andsingle. Everything else surrounding theobject of attention is doubled and is frequently blurred.
When looking at “Paint Splatter,” thesame rules apply. If attending to the closest
leaf, everything behind it is doubled. For
some viewers this poses no difficulty. Others
find the disparity of the background elements of the left and right images too great
to fuse. The range of vergence eye movements required to focus from far to near
likely falls within established norms. It is thearrangement of the near and far objects inrelation to each other that introduces challenges to viewing.

I think the examples and analysis
presented here prove that there issimply no single formula or rule
which can be universally applied to
all instances, and will always guarantee stereo images which maximize
the use of 3-D, yet are still comfortable for everyone to view. Thus, theassorted schemes proposed by various 3-D photographers are somewhat like the pirate’s code—that is,more what you’d call “guidelines”
than actual rules. But, I also doubtthat this will end the discussion on
this topic.

T

he Stereoscopic Society of America
is a group of currently active stereo
photographers who circulate their workby means of postal folios. Both print andtransparency formats are used, andseveral groups are operating folio circuits
to met the needs in each format. When afolio arrives, a member views and makescomments on each of the entries of theother participants. His or her own view,which has traveled the circuit and has
been examined and commented upon by
the other members, is removed andreplaced with a new entry. The folio thencontinues its endless travels around thecircuit. Many long distance friendships
have formed among the participants inthis manner over the years.
Stereo photographers who may beinterested in Society membership should
contact the Membership Secretary, Dan
Shelley, 4366 Morning Glory Rd., Colorado
Springs, CO 80920, (719) 209-2799,
dshelley@dddesign.com

January/February 201427

Jan-Feb 2014 (v39#4) 12/31/13 10:26 PM Page 28

The Great War
in 3D
review by Ralph ReileyJohn Dennis asked that I review
The Great War in 3D by Jean
Pierre Verney. How could I
refuse? The book comes in a very
attractive and sturdy red case withsilver lettering. There are 35 reproduction views, and a folding viewer,very much like the kind found in
the German [Raumbild] stereo booksof the 1930s. The viewer is very wellmade, and the lenses are more thanadequate for viewing the photos.
The reproduction photos are
smaller than the originals, and while
they are much better than thehalftone reproductions I have seen,
they are not as sharp as the originals
but still have very strong and clear
images. The book is an English version of La Grand Guerre en Relief,
which was published in France a few
years ago.

The Great War in 3D,1914 – 1918
by By Jean-Pierre Verney;
Consultant editor Michael
Stephenson, Black Dog & Leventhal
2013, ISBN: 9781579129538. Softbound, 176 pages with boxed set of
35 stereoview reproductions in 6 x 13
cm format plus metal folding viewer,www.blackdogandleventhal.com/
the-great-war-in-3d.

28January/February 2014

With 35
views, one
only gets a
glimpse of themagnitude of
the war. Mostof the views
included can be found in the Keystone, Underwood and Realistic Travels sets of war views. The views arein no order, leaving it to the viewer
to put them into context. This is afaithful reproduction of the kind ofviews one would have bought rightafter the end of the war, with little
to no organization.
All of the views have a caption on
the back. Some of the captions areunchanged from the original stereo
cards and some have been updated,
although mostly with inaccurate
information about the photo—again,a tradition with photos of WW1.
Some of the views in the set wereused by Keystone in 1915, and were
portrayed as current war views. They

were actually taken during the
Russo/Japanese War in 1905. Theseviews have either their old inaccurate 1915 caption, or a new one, also
inaccurate, as they still describe
WW1 and not the Russo/Japanese
War image of 1905.
There are a few photos of “battlefield action” from the Realistic Travels sets. These have new captions
that still portray them as actual frontline action. The battle was staged by
the photographer, H.D. Girdwood,
well behind the front lines. The“German” soldiers were actually
British soldiers in captured uniforms.
Girdwood produced a film of the“battle”, but only the stereoviews survive. There are few French views in
the group, and they mostly show
medical personnel and wounded soldiers. These were not staged, andshow the grim and dirty businessthat war is.
All in all, it is good group of photos. They do give one a taste of what

The folding viewer supplied with The Great War in 3D with a view from the set (left)
compared with an original German Raumbild book set viewer (right) holding a World War
Two view. See Stereo World Vol. 12 No. 5, page 4. (Photo by David Starkman)

Jan-Feb 2014 (v39#4) 12/31/13 10:26 PM Page 29

The viewer included withThe Great War in 3D
works well for most
6 x 13 cm pairs, and isitself worth the priceof the book set.
(Stereo by David Starkman)

WW1 was like. It is a personal obsession with me that the captions forthe photos be correct. For the rest of
the world, the captions do what they
were intended to do, tell a shortstory about the photos. Few seem tocare that most of the photos werestaged. The captions are all I have tocomplain about, the photos and thebook are very well done.
The book that comes with theviews, The Album of the Great War
1914-1918, has little to do with thestereoviews that accompany it, andmakes no reference to the views at
all. It is very well done, and while
not a comprehensive history of thewar, it gives one an excellent
overview of the 1914-1918 period.
The Album is very impressive, andcould actually be sold on its own.
A number of firsthand accounts
from German, British, and Frenchsoldiers are found in the book, andthere are hundreds of very good
photos, drawings, and period cartoons. A number of the photos inthe book are half stereos, but none
are referenced as such. Most of thephotos are not found in other photohistory books of WW1.
In conclusion, I would recommend the book for one’s 3-D library.
I have to return the copy that John
Dennis sent me to review, and if I
did not know that Santa was bringing me a copy in a couple of weeks, I
would be tempted to have the bookbecome “lost in the mail”, andblame it on the postman. I definitely
want a copy of my own!

This view from The Great War in 3D is titled on the back “Dead German found in the wire after
a futile night raid on the British lines at Givenchy, December 1914.” Like all 35 views reproduced for the set, no number or credit is provided, but this is in fact No. 153 by Realistic Travelsof London. The original, staged yet iconic war view appears on page 21 of Stereo World Vol. 36
No. 1 as well as on the cover.

On the back of this view from The Great War in 3D set the title reads “Imperial Russian troops
rest on the banks of a river, having crossed by pontoon bridge…” This repeats the misleading
title information on the Keystone view from which the image was copied (probably No. 18688
from a 1920 WW1 set). These are indeed Russian troops, but the view shows the 1904-1905
Russo-Japanese War. Right army, wrong war!

January/February 201429

Jan-Feb 2014 (v39#4) 12/31/13 10:26 PM Page 30

10th Annual LA 3-D Movie Festival Winners

A

wards following the Dec 13-15
LA 3-D Movie Festival at the
Downtown Independent
theater in Los Angeles were presented by festival director and LA 3-D
Club president Eric Kurland. Topfilms were selected by audience ballot, and a special award, named forthe late 3-D filmmaker and historian
Ray Zone was also announced.
Award winners
were presented
with thetraditional“Ro-Man”
trophy of the
LA 3-D Cluband an assortment of valuable prizes from festival
sponsors Sony Creative Software,
Dashwood Cinema Solutions, andBerezin Stereo Photography Products.
Grand Prize Award winner was
Flight of the Butterflies, the true andcompelling story of a scientist’s 40year search to find the secret winterA single Monarch rests on a milkweed
plant in Flight of the Butterflies. The
film by Mike Slee was the Grand Prizewinner at the 2013 LA 3-D Movie
Festival.

hideaway of the Monarch butterflies.
The film was directed, produced andco-written by Mike Slee and executive produced by Jonathan Barker of
SK Films Inc., the Toronto-based,
multi-platform content provider
and leader in 3-D film production
and distribution, with an emphasison the natural world. See
www.flightofthebutterflies.com forphotos andlocal release
dates.
Second Place
went to themartial arts
comedy The
Hot Shaolin
Cook, the story of a Chinese fooddelivery guy in Seoul, Korea, who
has an adventure after witnessing a
hit-and-run accident. The film wasproduced by South Korean stereoscopic production company 2i
Digital. See www.2idigital.com.
Third Place went to Lapse of Timeby director Céline Tricart and produced by Kafard Film of Paris, France.
Shot in a series of still images
inspired by Chris Marker’s La Jetée,the film tells the story of a boy who
discovers the secret of the hugeastronomically-tuned clock in thecity’s cathedral, and of time itself.
See www.alapseoftime.com.
This year marked the inauguralpresentation of the Ray Zone Award
for Excellence in 3-DIY. Named forfestival co-founder Ray “3-D” Zone,
who passed away in 2012, the award
celebrates what Zone described as

Director Jeff Boller, left, receives theFestival’s first Ray Zone 3-DIY Awardfor “The Simple Carnival – A Geek LikeMe” from LA 3-D Movie Festival
Director Eric Kurland.
(Photo by Lawrence Kaufman)“fiercely independent do-it-yourself
3-D filmmaking”.
Animator/musician Jeff Boller
received the Ray Zone Award for his
hand-drawn music video The Simple
Carnival – A Geek Like Me. See
www.simplecarnival.com.
The LA 3-D Club was establishedin the Greater Los Angeles area in
1955 by a dedicated group of 3-D
stereo photographers to further theart and science of stereoscopic imaging. Throughout the year, the organization presents regular monthly 3-Devents, culminating with the LA 3-D
Movie Festival, held every December,and curated by LA 3-D Club
president and festival director Eric
Kurland, lead stereographer for the2013 Oscar nominated animatedshort The Longest Daycare.

Billion Pixel Camera to
Stereograph a Billion StarsT

he most sensitive and precise
stereo camera ever made waslaunched into space in December with the European Space
Agency’s Gaia mission. Its goals are
to provide more accurate information about the distance, position,
movement, chemical composition
and brightness of a billion stars in
our galaxy, producing in the process,as the ESA explains, a 3-D map of the30

January/February 2014

galaxy. (See http://sci.esa.int/gaia/ forseveral pages of details.)
Two optical telescopes share a 106
CCD focal plane array with nearly 1
billion pixels—1,000 times larger insize than a typical smart phone—making them the largest digital cameras ever used in space. As Gaia circles the sun (in a Lissajous-type orbit
at the L2 Lagrangian point), thesmall base (in terms of astronomical
distances) will provide just enough

ESA has dubbed Gaia (seen here in an

artist’s concept) the “ultimate discovery machine” because its sophisticatedinstruments will reveal small wobbles
in stars’ movements that indicate thepresence of nearby planets, as well as
produce a 3-D map of the galaxy.

Jan-Feb 2014 (v39#4) 12/31/13 10:26 PM Page 31

parallax effect to calculate the distances of about a billion stars, many
far fainter than an unaided eye cansee. The positions of objects of magnitude 15 or more will be detectedwith a precision of 24 microarcseconds or better, comparable to gauging the diameter of a human hair at
a distance of 1,000 km.
Gaia’s two telescopes will monitor
each of its target stars about 70 times
over a five-year period, spinning
slowly to sweep the entire celestial
sphere. All this precise 3-D mapping
imagery won’t of course be instantly
viewable as effective stereoscopic
image pairs, but the data could eventually allow CGI technology to generate some exciting stereos by digitally stretching the effective basefrom millions of miles up to hundreds of light years.
Using computer technology andstellar distance estimates of the day,that’s what David Chandler did in1978 when he produced his “DeepSpace 3-D” stereo atlas of the stars—
a 14 card set of black and white
views generated using existing star
chart information about relative
brightness and distance. Those fig-

Card number 7 from David Chandler’s 1978 “DEEP SPACE 3-D, A Stereo Atlas of the Stars” showing the bright star Altair (center bottom) through the window. Each card includes a traditionalstar chart of the same section of sky above the stereo pair, and each boxed set of 14 included
a viewer.

ures were translated into an imaginary, huge stereo base with the mostvisible stars positioned in 3-D andtheir relative brightness indicated by
the size of the white dots representing them. His company later produced computer software along
the same lines, some version ofwhich may remain available atwww.davidchandler.com/dspace.htm.

(Both of the above subjects werecovered in Stereo World Vol. 14
No. 2, page 23.)T

his column depends on readers for
information. (We don’t know everything!) Please send information orquestions to David Starkman, NewViews
Editor, 4049 Coogan Circle, Culver City, CA
90232. Email: reel3d@aol.com.

January/February 201431

Jan-Feb 2014 (v39#4) 12/31/13 10:26 PM Page 32

Ferrier in Print Again
1852-53 scaffolding and ladder covered restoration by Viollet-le-Duc. A
view down a steep hill, possibly inMontmartre, is wonderfully devoidof people or horses clear down to theend of a street lined by ordinary
buildings that spur the imagination
as to what stories may be hidden
behind their windows more thanany views of massive public structures. A similar view of a tree lined

Blu-ray 3D

January/February 2014

street in a Paris suburb crossed by arailway viaduct seems as perfectly
planned and vacated for a hyper
shoot as if Ferrier had maintained acrew of assistants at his call.
Whether your interest is in Ferrier,his stereos or the subjects, this won-

derful expansion of a Stereo World
article is a must for any complete
stereo library. I just wish more of thebest feature articles from past issues
could evolve into books of thisquality.

Claude-Marie Ferrier, “View of the Ill River, taken from the drawbridge, Strasbourg.” This
1854-55 salt print is similar to several industrial and construction views taken on thebanks of the Seine and included in the book. In the distance behind the sidewheel steamer
is a tower from Strasbourg’s 13th century fortifications.

(Continued from page 17)

makes for engaging imagery that
we have all enjoyed when viewing 3D stereo images from around theworld.
Told from the perspective of anolder Indian man living in Montreal
by the name of Pissine “Pi” Patel
who reflects on the incredible tale of
his youth and his family’s doomed
ocean voyage to Canada. Pi, the solehuman survivor, endures 227 days
shipwrecked at sea.
Early on as Pi sets up the backstory leading to his ocean adventure,
Director Ang Lee uses 3-D to interesting effect by creating layered wipes
between the scene transitions. In
another sequence that conveys thepassage of time while adrift at sea,
Lee layers different 3-D shots on topof each other allowing each image tooccupy it’s own depth plane. I foundthis effect reminiscent of how View-

32(Continued from page 3)

Master used to build 3-D images outof 2-D stills when creating popular
movie/TV reels from stills that were
not shot originally in 3-D. But Lee
never uses the same trick or technique twice, he is always discovering
new ways to keep the the film visually appealing. The Director did his
homework to storyboard this complicated film, the production spent a
year in pre-production planning andmany of the sequences were previsualized in CGI before the actual
filming began. The filmmakerachieves a constantly progressing
momentum that never wastes anangle, composition or opportunity touse 3-D to it fullest effect. At one
point he switches the camera to Pi’s
point of view perspective for motivated 3-D effect while he attempts totrain the tiger to accept his presenceon the boat. Lee even changes the

aspect ratio of the film during two
sequences to enhance foregroundaction and place objects over thematte lines in front of the stereo
window.
When Pi initially begins his journey stranded on a lifeboat he isaccompanied by a zebra, hyena, anorangutan and a 450 pound Bengal
tiger by the peculiar name of Richard
Parker. Later as his journey continues
he encounters thousands of flying
fish, dolphins a sperm whale and an
island of meerkats. Most of theseanimals are convincingly createdusing CGI. There are in fact only 27
shots of a real tiger used in the final
film.
With a total of four Oscars underit’s belt you can expect to bethoroughly entertained. This masterfulwork was conceived to make full use(Continued on next page)Jan-Feb 2014 (v39#4) 12/31/13 10:26 PM Page 33

Shimooka Renjo
It seems very likely that all of theoutdoor scenes were photographedin Shimoda and they give us a
detailed view of the town just a few
years after it had been devastated by
the earthquake and subsequenttsunami of December 1854. Prior tothese, only four known surviving
photographic images taken in thetown, all daguerreotypes, have beenrecorded. Two of these were produced by the American daguerreotype artist, Eliphalet Brown Jr., during his February-March 1854 visit
with the Commodore Perry Expedition: one was taken by the Russian
artist Aleksandr Mozhaiskii in April
1854, and one is attributed to theAmerican Edward Edgerton sometime in 1855.
In the past, the task of identifying
the location and photographer ofthese images has been greatly complicated by the erroneous printed
captions referring to Kanagawa andShimonoseki and the photographer
as “G.A.B.” It is still far from clear
what caused these geographicalerrors, and the initials still remain amystery. Perhaps Gulick And Brown,
Gulick American Board or even Goble
American Baptists really do provide
the answer, but it is at least as likelythat we will never know for sure.

Blu-ray 3D(Continued from previous page)of stereo image to tell an incredible
tale and Lee uses every tool in a filmmaker’s kit to portray this story. The
film was shot digitally with twin Arri
Alexa cameras. It is very clean, colorful and shows beautifully in 1080P
plus the tonal values of the 3-D print
are perfectly balanced for the loss oflight caused by the use of lightobstructing glasses. The sound isequally impressive as is the Oscar
winning score. The ambiguity of thetale should spark some post screening discussion and while deeper
themes are explored like Pi’s spiritualquest to find God it is the efforts ofall the talent involved that definitely
makes Life of Pi worth multiple viewings to take in the spectacle of thishighly entertaining film.

(Continued from page 13)

Notes
1. Terry Bennett, Photography in Japan(2006, pp.47-8)
2. Terry Bennett, Old Japanese Photographs(2006, pp.98-109); Rob Oechsle,
Stereoviews -Index of Japan-Related Stereoview Photographers and Publishers (2006,
p.161-222)
3. Stereos from the G.A.B. stereos can befound in the authors’ collections andin that of the JCCI Camera Museum,Tokyo
4. For background on John Wilson, see
Terry Bennett, Old Japanese Photographs(2006, pp.82-4); Sebastian Dobson, Jon
Wiruson –arata-na-shiry? kara kaimy?
sareta kare to nakama no shashinkatachi (2007, pp.5-20); and Old Japan
Catalogue 34 (August 2007, pp.58-62)
5. W.S. Clark, Illustrated History (1870)
6. Treadwell, T.K. The Stereoscopic Views
Issued by the Anthony Company (2002)
7. Sebastian Dobson, Photography and thePrussian Expedition to Japan, 1860-61(2009)
8. Thomas C. Pitkin, manuscript papers,
Washington, DC: Library of Congress,
Pitkin, folder 2, fragment 14
9. S.R. Brown’s Letters (1859-1880), heldby the New Brunswick TheologicalSeminary, New Jersey. Facsimiles areheld by the Meiji Gakuin Daigaku,Tokyo
10. New York Passenger Lists 1820-1957,
National Archives: Microfilm Serial:
M237; Microfilm Roll: M237_222;
Line: 11; List Number: 836A
11. Saito Takio, Shimooka Renjo (18231914) (1997, pp.173-7); Terry Bennett,
Photography in Japan (1996, pp.69-72);
Terry Bennett, Old Japanese Photographs (1996, pp.26-37)
12. Terry Bennett, John Thomas Gulick(1832-1923) - Pioneer Photographer inJapan (2011)13. S.R. Brown’s Letters (1859-1880)
14. Terry Bennett, Photography in Japan(2006, p.57)
15. Archives de l’Etat, Neuchâtel, Fonds
Aimé Humbert, Copies de lettres,
Volume 8, Pages 467 à 469. The
authors would like to thank art
historian Ariane Maradan for pointing out this important letter.

Bibliography
Bennett, Terry. Old Japanese Photographs
Collectors’ Data Guide, London:
Quaritch, 2006.
Bennett, Terry. John Thomas Gulick(1832-1923) - “Pioneer Photographer inJapan,” in Trans-Asia Photography Review,
vol. 1, no. 2, Spring 2011.
Bennett, Terry. Early Japanese Images,
Rutland, Vermont: Charles E. Tuttle Company, 1996.
Bennett, Terry. Photography in Japan 18531912, Singapore: Tuttle Publishing, 2006.

Clark, W.S. Illustrated History, Rockford:
J.H. Clark & Co., 1870.
Dobson, Sebastian. “Photography and thePrussian Expedition to Japan, 1860-61” inHistory of Photography, Vol. 33, Issue 2(May 2009), pp. 112 – 131.
Dobson, Sebastian. “Jon Wiruson –aratana-shiry? kara kaimy? sareta kare to nakama no shashinka tachi”, in Nihon shashin
geijutsu gakkaishi 16:1 (June 2007), pp.520.
Estebe, Claude. “Le premier âge d’or de laphotographie au Japon, 1848-1883,” doctoral thesis (INALCO, January 2006).
Griffis, William Elliot. A Maker of the New
Orient, New York: Fleming H. Revell Co.,
1902.
Gulick, Addison. Evolutionist and Missionary: John Thomas Gulick, Chicago:
University of Chicago Press, 1932.
Gulick Manuscripts: The Hawaiian
Mission Children’s Society Library, Honolulu, Hawaii holds a number of largely
undated miscellaneous notes, journals
and manuscripts relating to John Gulick.
These include: 1862 Journal; “In the Eastand the West” (c.1906); “How I ReachedJapan and my Experiences there before
1880”and “Outline of My Life” (c.1912).
Hawks, Francis L. Narrative of the Expedition of an American Squadron to the China
Seas and Japan: Performed in the Years 1852,
1853, and 1854, Washington: A. O. P.
Nicholson, 1856.
Humbert, Aimé. Japan and the Japanese
Illustrated, London: Richard Bentley &Son, 1874.
Ishiguro Keisho. Shimooka Renjô Shashinshû, Tokyo: Shinchôsha, 1999.
Notehelfer, F. G., (ed.). Japan throughAmerican Eyes: The Journal of Francis Hall,
Kanagawa and Yokohama 1859-1866,
Princeton: Princeton University Press,
1992.
Oechsle, Rob. “Stereoviews - Index ofJapan-Related Stereoview Photographersand Publishers, 1859-1912,” in Bennett,
Terry. Old Japanese Photographs, London:
Quaritch, 2006, (pp.161-222).
Old Japan Catalogue 34, Commemorating
150 Years of Japanese Photography (August2007).
Saito Takio.
“Shimooka Renjo (1823-1914),” in The
Advent of Photography in Japan, exhibition
catalogue, Tokyo: Tokyo Metropolitan
Museum of Photography, 1997,(pp.173-7).
Treadwell, T.K. The Stereoscopic Views
Issued by the Anthony Company, Texas,
USA: The Institute for Photographic
Research Monograph #6, 5th Edition,
January 2002.
Whitaker, Robert. A Freeman of the Frontier.
The Story of a Modern Ministry. An Accountof the Life of Dr. John T. Gulick, Missionary,
Scientist, and Sociologist, Honolulu: Hawaiian Mission Children’s Society Library,
1936.
January/February 201433

Jan-Feb 2014 (v39#4) 12/31/13 10:26 PM Page 34

For Sale

WantedWantedARCHITECTURE and Design Classics in ViewMaster® 3D including works by Antonio Gaudi,
Frank Gehry, Bruce Goff and others. For full listing, visit viewproductions.com

ALABAMA STEREOVIEWS. Michael McEachern,
711 South 3rd St., Hamilton, MT 59840. (406)363-7507. cave3D@msn.com.

COLLECT, TRADE, BUY & SELL: 19th Century
images (cased, stereo, Cdv, cabinet & large
paper) Bill Lee, 8658 Galdiator Way, Sandy, UT
84094. billleetle@juno.com Specialties: Western, Locomotives, Photographers, Indians, Mining, J. Carbutt, Expeditions, Ships, Utah andoccupational.

CENTRAL PACIFIC RAILROAD Photographic History Museum. Stereographs of the firsttranscontinental railroad are now on display at:
http://CPRR.org
D.C. ANTIQUE PHOTO SHOW. Thousands ofstereoviews from NSA member/dealers.
Also many types of other photographic images:
daguerreotypes, cdvs, cabinets, prints, lanternslides, postcards, etc. Holiday Inn Rosslyn,
Arlington, VA. Sunday, March 16, 2014. $25
Preview Admission, 8:30 AM; $10, 10AM-4PM.
Free Parking. Metro: 1 Block. Info: antiquephotoshow.com 703-534-8220.

ANY IMAGES of Nevada City or Grass Valley, California. Mautz, 329 Bridge Way, Nevada City, CA
95959, cmautz@nccn.net.

JASPER ENGINEERINGHEAVY DUTY dual
camera 18” slide bar.
Includes optional vertical mounts. All in
new condition. Paid
$335. Selling for$150. Emainetgeramy@therapps.NET.

BLACK HILLS DAKOTA. Want views to illustrate
book on early days by photographers such as
D.S. Mitchell, C.W. Stiff, Coules and McBride,
Clark Angell, Pollock and Boyden, Justus Fey,
F.J. Haynes, C.B.
Manville, Ben Oppenheimer, C. Hamilton, C.
Howard and others.
Will “rent” or buy.
Robert Kolbe, 1301 S
Duluth Ave., Sioux
Falls, SD 57105, (605)360-0031.

JOIN THE INTERNET’S fastest growing, mostactive and progressive 3D forum, atwww.3dphoto.net/forum. Learn, share andexpand tour 3D knowledge, keep abreast of new
developments and join talented enthusiasts
from around the world.

CANADIAN VIEWS: Montreal and Quebec City
stereos, larger formats and photo albums
wanted! Taken before 1910. Especially Vallee,
Ellisson, Notman, Parks, or other fine
photographers. Email Pierre Lavoie at
papiolavoie@hotmail.com or call (418)440-7698.

STEREOVIEW AUCTION PRICES-FREE for the
first 100 inquiries. A $10 Value. Great for people
buying from auctions and for collectors whowant to know the latest realized auction values.
Almost 15,000 views with value over $50 are
listed. Email us for your free Stereoview Price
List. info@iamdoc.com.
THE DETROIT Stereographic Society invites you
to attend our monthly meetings at the Livonia
Senior Center, on the second Wednesdays, September through June. Visit our website
www.Detroit3D.org or call Dennis Green at(248) 398-3591.
VISIT www.stereoscopy.com/3d-books and havea look into the three View-Master Collector’s
Guides: a total of 1,616 pages of View-Master
information, including 96 color pages showing
old V-M ads and 1,250 V-M packet covers.

As one of the benefits of membership,

NSA members are offered free use ofclassified advertising. Members may use
100 words per year, divided into three ads
with a maximum of 35 words per ad.
Additional words or additional ads may beinserted at the rate of 20¢ per word.
Please include payments with ads. We
cannot provide billings. Ads will be placedin the issue being assembled at the time of
their arrival unless a specific later issue isrequested.
Send all ads, with payment, to:
STEREO WORLD Classifieds,
5610 SE 71st, Portland, OR 97206.
(A rate sheet for display ads is available
from the same address. Please send SASE.)

34

ALASKA & KLONDIKE stereos needed, especially
Muybridge; Maynard; Brodeck; Hunt; Winter &Brown; Continent Stereoscopic. Also buying old
Alaska photographs, books, postcards,
ephemera, etc. Wood, PO Box 22165,
Juneau, AK 99802, (907) 789-8450,
dick@AlaskaWanted.com.

January/February 2014

CORTE-SCOPE VIEWS or sets, any subject orcondition. No viewers unless with views. John
Waldsmith, 302 Granger Rd., Medina, OH
44256.
F40 VERASCOPE for collection. Also need Iloca
Rapid with 2.8 lenses. G. Van Horn, PO Box
207, Llano, CA 93544, (661) 261-9207.
HECKLE & JECKLE 3-D comics, Foreign language
3-D comics, rare 3-D comics and original 3-D
comic artwork. Email Lawrence Kaufman kaufman3d@earthlink.net or call 951-642-0691.
HENSEL VIEWS wanted. He worked in Port Jervis
NY and Hawley PA. Send details to D. Wood, PO
Box 838, Milford PA 18337, cdwood@ptd.net.
I BUY ARIZONA PHOTOGRAPHS! Stereoviews,
cabinet cards, mounted photographs, RP postcards, albums and photographs taken before
1920. Also interested in Xeroxes of Arizonastereographs and photos for research. Will pay
postage and copy costs. Jeremy Rowe, 2120 S.
Las Palmas Cir., Mesa, AZ 85202.

Jan-Feb 2014 (v39#4) 12/31/13 10:26 PM Page 35

WantedMUYBRIDGE VIEWS - Top prices paid. Also
Michigan and Mining - the 3Ms. Many views
available for trade. Leonard Walle, 47530 Edinborough Lane, Novi, MI 48374.
NEUSCHWANSTEIN View-Master reel (1509 D)
in excellent to new condition. hornsth@frontier.com. State price and condition.
O.S. LEELAND. Writer seeks images and information on South Dakota photographer O.S. Leeland. He produced stereos mainly in 1904. The
mounts read “Leeland Art & Mfg. Co, Publishers, Mitchell, South Dakota.” Cynthia Elyce
Rubin, 8507 Giovana Court, Orlando, FL 32836,
cynthiaelyce@earthlink.net.
SEEKING ANY TYPE IMAGES by Joseph
Weekes/Weeks of NYC, Albany NY, Norwich CT,
possibly Illinois or Kansas, 1850-1875. Stereoviews, CDVs, daguerreotypes, etc. Rocketito,
PO Box 5540, Victoria TX 77903.
Rocketito@suddenlink.net.

Editor’s View

(Continued from page 2)

Proposals to apply “3-D” to stereoscopic situations and “3D” to nonstereoscopic are mentioned, but ofcourse who would enforce such arule? One real-world problem identified in the paper comes with terms
already including hyphens of theirown that would look awkward if
another hyphen were added, like 3DReady, 3D-Capable and (oops) 3DCon. Extended acronyms like 3DTV
also look awkward if a hyphen isinserted.
Andrew’s paper concludes (rather
gently, I thought) that statistics show

it’s time to lose the hyphen. See
www.ease.org.uk/sites/default/files/
3darticle.pdf#. I invite readers to let us

know their thoughts on the matter.
One possibility would involve allowing writers to follow their own passions regarding the hyphen, but an
editor’s job is no easier either way,since some people use both forms
within the same article and even
within the same paragraph!

SINGLE VIEWS, or complete sets of “Longfellow’s Wayside Inn” done by D. C. Osborn, Artist,
Assabet, Mass., Lawrence M. Rochette, 169
Woodland Drive, Marlborough, MA 01752.
STEREOVIEWS OF THE DANISH West Indies(DWI) of Virgin Islands (St. Thomas, St. Croix
or St. John/JAN). Also views by “Holt & Gray.”Contact: Michael Sheen, 6249 Frydenaoj - 49, St
Thomas, U.S.V.I. 00802-1403, (340) 714-1884
or mosheen@islands.vi.
THE DETROIT Stereographic Society invites you
to attend our monthly meetings at the Livonia
Senior Center, on the second Wednesdays, September through June. Visit our website
www.Detroit3D.org or call Dennis Green at(248) 398-3591.
WHITE MOUNTAINS: Early photographic views
and stereoviews of new Hampshire White
Mountain and northern NH regions, 1850s1890s wanted for my collection. Town views,
main streets, bridges, homes, occupational,
coaches, railroads, etc. E-mail images to dsundman@LittletonCoin.com, or send photocopies toDavid Sundman, President, Littleton Coin Company, 1309 Mt. Eustis Rd., Littleton, NH 035613735.
WHITE-ON-BLACK lithographic paper views ofgeometric shapes, objects, sculpture, etc., especially those with blue backs #1-20 for purchaseor publication. Email jpegs to Jan Schimmelman, schmmel@oakland.edu.
WILL PAY FOR LENTICULARS of any type. If you
have 3D pictures of any type I will pay cash forthem. William Boldyreff, 6677 E Bogardus St,
Pellston, MI 49769, (231) 539-3038, email
wmbold@yahoo.com.
WILLIAM ENGLAND/LSC: American views. Needscans of: Indian women at bead-work; A wayside scene/organ-grinders; The flume, White
Mountains (with WE blindstamp). Information
on boxed set of this series? Please contact Gerlind Lorch at william.england@web.de.

January/February 201435

Jan-Feb 2014 (v39#4) 12/31/13 10:26 PM Page 36

19th and
Early 20th
Century
Stereoviews
For SaleOver 10,000

all illustrated, graded& priced,(including glass
views), work by Bedford,
England, Sedgfield etc.
Especially strong on UK
and European views.

Only online at:www.worldofstereoviews.com

36

January/February 2014

Jan-Feb 2014 (v39#4) 12/31/13 10:26 PM Page 40

John Saddy 787 Barclay Road London, Ontario N6K 3H5 Canada

January/February 2014

Jan-Feb 2014 (v39#4) 12/31/13 10:26 PM Page 37

January/February 2014 • Volume 39, Number 4