As some of you may know, one of my many hobbies is stereoscopy. That is, taking 3D pictures. The concept is simple. You have two eyes. Each eye sees things from a slightly different perspective, thus creating depth. This effect can be duplicated with cameras by taking a picture with two cameras (a few inches apart) at the same time. Then, if you put the two pictures side-by-side, and cross your eyes so that the images overlap, you get a 3D picture.
With a 'stereo pair', you can do all sorts of other things. You can make an animated "Time-Space Jiggle", where the animation flashes on image, then the other, then the first, etc. tricking the mind into seeing depth. You can use a computer program to create a depth map. You can make up one of those "red-blue" 3d glasses images. You can even make a magic eye.
So what's my point? Well. Yesterday, I finished setting up a server in my room. This would be the 3rd computer in my room: My laptop, my desktop, and now my server. I was explaining to a friend about how awesomely geeky I feel, now that I have 3 monitors closely surrounding me for no real reason. He told me to take a picture. So I did one better. I took a stereograph. And, for your viewing pleasure, I present to you... My desk setup in 3D:
- The Stereograph Just cross your eyes until the two images are on top of each other
- The Animation with Time Space Jiggle. No eye crossing required
One day, I'll trade in my cheapo home made stereo camera for something that takes decent pictures. Until then, I'll continue using this baby.
So, until next time.
~Ben