Just jumping into the 3d world. I not one to embrace the latest craze of 3d movies. Seems like everything is 3d these days. Even 3d TV’s. Last time I went to a 3d movie was Jaws 3d. I’m a simple 3d guy, old school Viewmaster style. Yes, Veiwmaster stereo view photography. I have an old bakelite model-d viewer and a few old reels. I’ve always wanted to get an old dual lens film camera. Nevertheless, I’m starting to see more twin lens digital 3d cameras hitting the markets. First camera that caught my eye was the FinePix REAL 3D W1. For the price I expected the image quality to be a lot finer. I sampled some images on flickr. What I saw was not something I wanted to pay to play. What I really wanted was to get started on the cheap. I contemplated syncing two point-and-shoot cameras together, or purchasing a Loreo Stereo Lens for my old D80. I also just saw that Sony has the 3D Bloggie® HD Camera and ViewSonic has the ViewFun 3D Snap Digital Camera.

Most camera seem to range from $150-$250. You’ve got to love the internet. I stumbled on a site that was selling the 3dinLife SDC820 for a fraction of what it sells for. I’ve seen it listed for as high as $249. So for $80 bucks I decided I can afford to play. ThinkGeek rocks.

I whipped out the plastic and dropped 80 bucks. Stay tuned! It may be a case of you get what you pay for.

Quick Review:

Had the camera for a little while and have put it through it’s paces. Simple summary, still not sure it’s worth even the 80-bucks. Think Geek may be selling it so cheap because mine takes right and left pictures out of vertical alignment. So, this may be why the 3d viewer looks so bad. I can correct this in Photoshop, so it’s not a total waste of my money. I have some good results but the camera doesn’t seem to handle extreme lighting. Basic outside sunny day kinda of stuff. Which is fine. These types of cameras have their limitations. Just think its back to researching. Maybe, just maybe I can get some pics that I can convert into a viewmaster reel. I’d be happy with that.

Went to a barn sale last weekend. Something you don’t see everyday when you live in a big city. But we got out of the SF Bay Area and spent the weekend in Nevada. I guess it might be more common in rural America to see a barn sale. The location was a cute little berry farm and a barn with a few antique venders. I was more interested in the tractor I saw off to the side of the driveway. I just love tractors. They are usually well used and left out in the elements. It was around noon time, not the best for dramatic lighting. The sky was clear blue, also a negative for creating any drama. Hey, that’s what they made Photoshop for… LOL. I know, some Photo Film Camera guy just cringed in disgust. Don’t get me wrong, I love old school photography. I just find it relaxing for me to be able to play with exposures and filters within PS. If it looks like crap, just hit command Z, and try something else. The goal for me is exploration. Find new techniques that I can carry over into my daily workflow as a Creative Director.

On a recent excursion to Halfmoon Bay, CA I took two interesting snap shoots. One was a reference texture photo of pealing paint for my stock photo texture file. You have to love textures. The more organic the better. The other photo was of a mailbox. Lots of colors. Alone, each photo lacked pizzazz. So I start to play in Photoshop. I approach it like a painting. I cut past, layer mask, and tweak things till I have something I like. Here is the finished photo

.