Taking the Photos
First, you’ll need some pairs of stereo photographs. Stereo
pairs of any scene look best if they contain no moving objects such
as dogs, people, boats, or cars. Each picture will be like looking
at the scene first with one eye and then with the other eye. When
you look through the viewer of your home-made stereoscope, the two
photographs will combine to form a three-dimensional image.
1. Your first pair of stereo photographs could show some big trees
in a park. Looking through the camera viewfinder, pay attention
to and remember a single tree or branch in the very middle of your
scene. Take the first picture.
2. Now, take a “giant step” to your right. Find and center
that same detail (the tree or the branch) because it must appear
in the middle of the second photograph. Note: the distance that
you move exaggerates depth perception. If you want to photograph
a distant mountain scene, take five or six giant steps between the
two camera positions.
3. Have the pictures developed and then stack the prints in the
same order as the negatives. Flip through the pile of prints and
when you come to each stereo pair, mark the first print with a little
“L” ( for “left”) in one corner. Mark the second
print with a little “R” ( for “right”).
Making the Stereoscope
1. Cut off the box top. Save the left over cardboard.
2. Cut the box sides down until they are 16 cm tall. Save the left
over cardboard.
3. The bottom of the box must be flat and smooth. If necessary,
glue down the inside box flaps and fill the gap with some of the
extra cardboard.
4. Carefully run a strip of masking tape around each of the mirrors
to cover up the sharp edges.
5. Cut a 15 x 5 cm rectangular viewing hole in the centre of one
side of the box.
6. Cut four 15 x 15 cm squares out of the left-over scraps of cardboard.
7. Cut one of the squares in half, diagonally, to make two triangles.
Keep the best of the two triangles.
8. Draw a line down the middle of another square, then use the utility
knife to score (cut just part-way through) the cardboard along the
line. This will allow you to fold the cardboard in half easily.
9. Fold the bendable cardboard square until it forms a right triangle
then glue the outside edge of the right-angle corner of the triangular
piece to it as shown. This new cardboard piece will form a pedestal
on which to hang the small mirrors.
10. Put backward loops of masking tape on the backs of the small
mirrors and stick them to the cardboard pedestal as shown.
11. Draw vertical lines down the inside sides of the box to both
the left and right of the viewing hole. The lines should be 13 cm
from the inside box corners.
12. Glue one edge of a 15 x 15 cm cardboard square to one of the
vertical lines you just drew. The cardboard square should be glued
at about a 45 degree angle. (Later, after the mirror angles have
been adjusted, you can glue the bottom edge.)
13. Glue another 15 x 15 cm cardboard square to the remaining vertical
line you drew.
14. Put backward loops of masking tape on the backs of the big mirrors
and stick them to the corner cardboard squares.
15. Put the cardboard pedestal in the box, in front of the viewing
hole, so the small mirrors face the big mirrors. The corner of the
small mirror pedestal should be about five cm from the viewing hole.
Adjustments and Use
1. Put backward loops of masking tape on the photographs and stick
them to the back wall of the box. Put the left image on the left
side, put the right image on the right side.
2. Look at the two small mirrors through the viewing hole and twist
all the mirrors until the two photographs are easy to see. Note:
the small mirrors have to reflect what is reflected by each of the
big mirrors.
3. When you have everything lined up, glue the bottom edges of the
15 x 15 cm cardboard squares to the box bottom.
4. While looking at the photos reflected in the mirrors through
the viewing hole, carefully remove the two photographs and move
them either closer together or further apart until the central parts
of the images overlap. Note: you may find it easier to ask a friend
or parent to move the photos while you look through the viewing
hole.
5. Some further adjustment of the mirrors may be necessary, but
you should now be able to see your photographs in stereo! |
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