Stereoscopic Technique: History of Photography

History Of Photography

Regardless of how beautiful photographs appear, they have one limitation. They always project a two-dimensional view (2D), as opposed to three-dimensional (3D) view of phenomena. In essence, therefore, stereoscopic photography has got to do with the presentation of two photographs of the same item so as to create a perception of depth (3D). The said photographs are presented from positions that slightly differ. It should be noted that stereo-photography, as some authors have in the past pointed out, is almost as old as photography itself. This text concerns itself with the stereoscopic technique. In so doing, it not only focuses on the introduction of the said techniques, but also defines how the technique correlates with the psychedelic movement.

Discussion

The stereoscope, its discovery as well as development, is closely associated with Sir David Brewster and Charles Wheatstone (Crary 104). These two figures had, as Crary points out, during this period done significant research on optical illusions and other visual phenomena such as afterimages (104). It should be noted that the stethoscopes' reality effect was significantly variable. This is particularly the case given that there are some kind of stethoscopes whose images have or leave little to no three dimensional effect.

It is important to note, from the onset, that stereoscopic photography essentially brings about the depth illusion via the utilization of the human vision's binocularity (Janson and Janson 94). According to Crary the binocularity of human vision was one of the issues that troubled those studying photography in the nineteenth century (104). In the words of the author, "binocular disparity, the self-evident fact that each eye sees a slightly different image, had been a familiar phenomenon since antiquity" (Crary 119). Most particularly, the issue that troubled researchers at the time was: how exactly could an observer experience an object as a unitary or single unit, whereas the said observer "perceives with each eye a different image?" (Crary 119). It should be noted that two explanations purporting to explain this anomaly had been offered previously. While one of the proposals, according to Crary "proposed that we never saw anything except with one eye at a time; the other was a projection theory articulated by Kepler, and proposed as late as 1950s" (119). The said projection theory proposed that each of the two human eyes projected the item being viewed to its actual location.

Stereographs present or capture two photographs that are largely similar, with each of the two photographs being presented for each of the two eyes (Janson and Janson 96). It is by 'seeing' the two images, presented side by side, that the human brain brings together the said images, effectively occasioning the spatial depth illusion. Between the years 1850 and 1930, there were numerous stereoscopic views produced by photographers from across the world.

It was Euclid who, in 280 A.D., discovered that the perception of depth is obtained once each of the two eyes receives, in a simultaneous manner, images that are dissimilar but belong to the same object (Janson and Janson 112). In essence, the popularity of three dimensional photography was further extended by Queen Victoria in 1851 after she paid a visit to the London World Fair where on display were various kinds of stethoscopes. Soon, the entertainment scene embraced three-dimensional photography, making it even more popular.

The idea of presenting images that were slightly different to the two human eyes was originally fronted by Sir Charles Wheatstone. To be able to do this, he invented what came to be referred to as the reflecting mirror stethoscope (Janson and Janson 2004). He made use of this particular device to demonstrate that when viewed stereoscopically, the said images were brought together by the human brain so as to develop the perception of 3D images. This may have set the ground for the invention of what came to be referred to as the Brewster Stethoscope -- named after its inventor, Sir David Brewster. It is important to note that invented sometimes in 1849, the Brewster effectively became a referral point for all the stethoscopes that were developed later on. At the turn of the century, the production of stereo photography peaked.

As Crary points out, it was not until the mid-1820s that "the experimental study of afterimages led to the invention of a number of related optical devices and techniques" (104). As the author further points out, the invented devices as well as techniques were meant for scientific inquiry or observation. However, they soon gained relevance as forms of popular entertainment. According to Crary, "the most significant form of visual imagery in the nineteenth century, with the exception of photographs, was the stethoscope" (116). As a matter of fact, this particular device, as the author further observes was fronted as being of great relevance as far as the mode of experiencing photographically produced images was concerned. The development of the stereoscope was preceded by intensive research and inquiry on the issue of subjective vision (Crary, 104).