XYZ 3-D Photography

Brief
[Elaborate] [Even more elaborate] [Can’t do it?]
Imagine the screen as a stained-glass window. Let your eyes relax and focus through the pair of photos, as if looking beyond them. With patience, the pair of images will merge into a single three-dimensional picture.
For convenience, the gallery navigation buttons have been designed to merge in sync with the photos. The 3-D effect is working when they appear to form back-to-back arrows. (This feels similar to viewing a random dot stereogram.)
To the [Gallery] . . .
Elaborate
[Brief] [Even more elaborate] [Can’t do it?]
          If you’ve ever given a “Cyclopes kiss” — and even if you haven’t — you can do this. You know the kind. Kids are famous for it, that fun smooch where your faces are so close, it looks as if each person has a single eye. Even if you’re a hermit, you’ve probably looked out the window and noticed, between you and that tree in the distance, a reflection of your face in the glass. The nice part is, you already do Parallel viewing every day without paying attention to it. Let’s walk through the process.
          Take a gander out the window. Seriously, this will help. Stand up close and let a tree, car, or some other object catch your fancy.
     You’ll notice that while this object is in focus, your face seems to double, overlapping slightly. This gives the illusion of three eyes: the central “Cyclopes” and one more on either side. On the other hand, when your face is in focus, the object seems to double. This is part and parcel of having two eyes, thank goodness!
     Depending how your room is lit, you may see a reflection of yourself in the screen. If not, your imagination will do, in any case. With practice, you can gaze “through” the screen at some imagined object (as you did through the window), and the pair of photos will overlap as your face did. In the same way, you’ll see a central (the Cyclopes) image in three dimensions, and one more on either side. Ignore the outside ones, as they’ll only snap you into flatness again.
To the [Gallery] . . .
Even more elaborate
[Brief] [Elaborate] [Can’t do it?]
Don’t give up! The trick is to let your left eye see only the left photo, and your right eye only the right. If you’re still stuck, try one or both of the following.

Blinders method. Ever ride in an old-fashioned carriage? The horses that pull them often wear blinders — shields at either eye — to keep their focus straight ahead. In this case, a single blinder is all you need. While gazing at a pair of photos, hold an index card vertically between your eyes. The idea is to keep your left eye from looking at the right-hand photo, and vice versa.
Binoculars method. When I was younger (don’t laugh), I used to make imaginary binoculars out of toilet paper rolls. They come in handy now. If you have a pair, hold one up to each eye (again, to keep your left eye from looking at the right-hand photo, and vice versa). Slowly move the far ends closer and farther apart, alternately thinning and widening the “V” in front of your face . . . slowly . . . and eventually a single picture will emerge in three dimensions.
To the [Gallery] . . .
Can’t do it?
[Brief] [Elaborate] [Even more elaborate]
Try one of the other viewing techniques, [Anaglyph] or [Cross-Eyed].

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