Introduction by Jim

For over 25 years I’ve enjoyed opening people’s eyes to the “Third Dimension” by using a variety of homemade twin-camera ‘stereo’ 3D rigs, enabling me to capture scenes of life all around. Upon viewing, the images spring to life in a way that only 3D can achieve. Ever since building my first stereo camera upon remembering how much I enjoyed View-Master reels as a kid, I’ve been combining ‘old’ principles of photography with ‘new’ digital technology to create 3D photographs that reveal details not possible to perceive with an ordinary 2D picture, offering an enhanced sense of reality and heightened emotional impact when seeing stereo photographs or videos. One of my favorite ways to share 3D with everyone has always been the “anaglyph” format, where glasses with red & cyan colored lenses are used to achieve the 3D effect by separating two images (one meant for each eye) from a single one. I find that these anaglyph versions have many advantages: they can easily be viewed by anyone with normal vision using inexpensive glasses, they can be viewed at any size and from any distance, and they can be printed at least twice as large as any side-by-side 3D format in the same amount of page space, allowing for a lot more detail to be enjoyed. Over the years I’ve worked to develop a method of producing anaglyphs in all their full-color glory, a feat which is difficult due to the existence of heavy color filtration (removal) in the standard red/cyan 3D glasses. For example, a blue object would appear bright in the right eye (blue lens) and dark in the left (red); this mismatch (or ‘rivalry’) causes visual confusion and discomfort for the viewer. The usual solution is to just throw out all the color, and create a black & white anaglyph instead, robbing the scene of much of its potential realism… I think that black & white is sometimes a great artistic choice, but our life is in color! Recently I needed to produce a fairly large amount of anaglyphs to submit for image approvals during a 3D project for Niagara Falls; our goal was to produce stereo side-by-side images (on film slides) for a permanent exhibit in the new Cave of the Winds visitor pavilion, but I was able to really refine my anaglyph creation process. Now I’m bringing all of my cumulative experience on the subject to this book, which represents a ‘first’ in terms of printed anaglyph quality… you are witnessing the debut of the “McManaglyph” process, retaining the image’s proper color hue & saturation when making into an anaglyph, while also eliminating the common problem of retinal rivalry. Thank you to my friend Barry Rothstein for getting me involved in this amazing project... I’ve always been a fan of his photos & techniques, and I’m honored to help him in this recent endeavor to bring beautiful 3D images to the world. Drop by my website - www.lifeis3d.com - for stereo discoveries, galleries and information, as well as custom items & services, or to contact me about 3D Jim McManus