Celebrating Stereo

You will need stereo viewing glasses for this one

There is much that makes the practice of macro photography unique. The very existence of this channel is testament to that fact. Specialized equipment, fascinating subjects, and technical challenges notwithstanding there is nothing that speaks to the magic of macro more eloquently than the sub-genre of stereo imaging.

Glasses here too - a synthetic stereo pair - portulaca seeds

Of course, stereo photography is not the exclusive domain of the macro enthusiast - many other clever applications for stereo imaging can be found in most photographic disciplines - but it has reached a level of sophistication in the photography of small subjects that you might be hard-pressed to find elsewhere. Why is this?

Much of what we photograph is, to photographers as well as to the consumers of their art, unusual and often only poorly understood. I encounter new structural and functional features in the insect species that I photograph on an almost daily basis, and it is often difficult, or even impossible, to  decipher the three-dimensional anatomical relationships of these parts on the basis of two dimensional images alone. This is undoubtably the most immediate and powerful benefit of stereo imaging, offering a plausible explanation for the value and utility of the observed macro/stereo relationship. But it is not the only one.

even some crystals look amazing in stereo

As many macro subjects are too small to fully appreciate with the unaided eye alone, the complex majesty of these creatures tends to be relatively inaccessible to the majority of potential admirers. The beauty in the wing of a Madagascan day-flying moth, for example, can only be suggested by an examination of the entire structure. It requires a moderately high magnification, focus-stacked image to really grasp the stunning beauty of the individual scales or the mesmerizing patterns of tiled scales spreading out across the wings. But even this imagery, produced with care and patience by a talented and experienced macro photographer, could do little to shed much light on the true shape of a wasp’s hamuli, the nature of the cleft splitting a soldier fly larva’s head segment, or the attachment mechanism of a fruit fly’s foot. To fully grasp the breathtaking beauty of an insect, it must be examined where form and function intersect, a place that is often inaccessible without the tools of stereo photography and the skill to use them.

Yikes!

Stereo photography at the macro level is a tool that is therefore as relevant and necessary for the macro photographer who’s images are used to delight and inspire, as they are to the macro photographer who is motivated to put his images to work in the service of curiosity and scientific inquiry. however you may be attracted to the fascinating work of macro photography, you owe it to yourself to develop a level of competence  in the capture and processing of stereo images. You will be glad you did!

my pet dragonfly

It is partly because of my confidence in the value of stereo photography that I arrange for our macro photography contest to test your skill and knowledge in this discipline every year or two. It is because of his tireless commitment to improving your understanding of stereo photography that I invite Mr. Rik Littlefield to judge the resulting images and share his wisdom by discussing the entries following the contest. And, I am delighted to say, he has once again agreed to do so for our May 2025 competition!

Get it?

As the channel has done in the past, I will use this first week of the competition month to turn attention to the theory and practice of stereo photography at the macro level, in the hopes that this will encourage you to enter the contest and share your stereo images with your fellow macro enthusiasts. To this end I am planning to use both of this week’s live events to promote the contest while also providing you will interesting and practical information on this topic, starting with Tuesday’s Macro Talk.

Your link to the stream - https://youtube.com/live/zkUDa8NbjjA?feature=share

Macro Talk, starting at 8PM on Tuesday evening, will be dedicated to a discussion of the origins and history of stereo imaging, as seen through the lens of macro photography. I will introduce you to the people and events that shaped the emergence of stereo imaging as we see it today, while also providing some useful background on the neuroscience governing the human perception of depth information. This promises to be an informative and entertaining hour and I hope you can make plans to join me on Tuesday evening as we lay the groundwork for the second live event of the week.

Your link - https://youtube.com/live/-tXTOdjvWwk?feature=share

On Thursday at 2PM, Macro Talk Too will focus entirely on the process of capturing and processing stereo images of macro and closeup subjects. Unlike similar content produced in the past, this session will offer some very practical pointers on how to create competitive stereo images using one of a number of different techniques. With the information presented in this stream I would expect to leave each of you with everything you should need to submit a competition entry (or two) good enough to secure stereo bragging rights for the year to come!

But if that is not enough of an advantage to satisfy your need to prevail in the May competition, please make plans to join me for a special edition of Pzoom on Saturday May 10th at 10AM and running until noon, during which I will be conducting a stereo workshop, exclusively for my Patreon supporters. This workshop will provide attendees with the opportunity to ask as many questions as they wish, get feedback on the photographic platform and equipment they intend to use, and share ideas with the other Patreon attendees. If this sounds like something you would like to attend but cannot because you are not a member of my Patreon group, there is an easy remedy - simply drop by Patreon  (https://www.patreon.com/allanwallsphotography) and sign up as a supporter before Saturday. I will be forever in your debt!

AfterStack #22 happened this last Saturday and the resulting recording will be posted in the next day!

It was a lot of fun and there was much to take home!

I have been working non-stop to complete all the orders that have come in for microscope conversion focus steppers - the hold-up is getting the stepper motors from China - I have been waiting for weeks. I am also waiting on a shipment of steel tubes from China to finish the repairs on three of the focus blocks that arrived damaged.

I finally got the massive print job for the crystal cross polarizing viewers started - I have 124 individual pieces to be printed for the first batch, have completed 12 pieces and have no filament remaining - more is on the way. If you are waiting on a crystal viewer, thank you for your patience and understanding - I am the only person working in this factory and I already have a full time job. The good news is that I have all the parts I need and the assembly should not take too long after the printing is done.

I hope you can make it to Tuesday’s stream and I look forward to seeing you  there!

All the best!

Allan