Stereoscopy is Good For You: Life in 3-D

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A couple of images came from Russia too,’ Brian reveals, ‘and we debated whether to include them. In fact, the book had already gone to press by the time of the Ukraine invasion, but we wondered if we should have taken them out. But I thought, hey, these are images made by common people like us, and they have no influence on their government. The story begins in 1832, when Wheatstone, a true Victorian genius and polymath, discovered why creatures such as humans have two eyes instead of one, and how this enables them instantaneously to perceive their surroundings in depth – a massive evolutionary advantage. “STEREOSCOPY” for the very first time tells the full story of how this discovery became a world-wide sensation.”

Although May is best-known for playing arenas with the band he formed over 50 years ago, one of his numerous scientific hinterlands away from the stage is stereoscopy. For the uninitiated, it was an early way of looking at photographs via a special viewer that fused together two flat images to create a single 3D picture. Stereoscope machines entranced Victorian society for a short period in the 1850s and 1860s before being usurped by a different craze. Victorian Virtual Reality: Photographs from the Brian May Archive of Stereoscopy will present highlights from the Brian May Archive of Stereoscopy to explore the 19th-century photography craze that, for the first time, enabled pictures to appear in 3D.To be honest, yes, I didn’t realise how far the message had got. As I say in the introduction to the book, this is a kind of evangelical effort. I still believe we can properly put stereoscopy on the map. Then downstairs is Queen in 3-D, encompassing not just being with Queen on and off the road, but my history with 3-D. I can’t wait to see how people react to this. While getting books signed by Brian May, visitors will also have the opportunity to explore the wonders of the exhibition –“Stereoscopy Is Good For You: Life in 3-D”. For the next 5 months, the exhibition will offer visitors the chance to experience 3-D first-hand, using May’s patent OWL viewers, in three areas channeling the new SIGFY book, the Birth of Stereoscopy, and QUEEN in 3-D. Since 2012, Denis has also been the curator of Brian’s extensive collection of stereo photographs and has co-authored four book with Brian.

Later that day we see Brian and Denis in the grand chapel at Kings College ready to launch the book to the world with a live virtual 3-D presentation of the book. OSIRIS-Rex left Bennu in May 2021 with almost 9 ounces (250 grams) of asteroid dust and gravel stowed in its return capsule. That, Lauretta said, is four times more than the original goal, meaning the mission, despite the trials and tribulations, accomplished its aims with flying colors. The probe will drop off the capsule at Earth this September before heading to Apophis, another hazardous asteroid whose path might intersect with that of our planet in the centuries to come.Each copy of the new book comes with an OWL viewer to bring to life in fantastic 3-D the rare Victorian photographs from his extensive archive. The book credits Charles Wheatstone as the inventor of the stereoscope. “He was denied his proper place, other people claimed that they had invented it, and some of those falsehoods survived until quite recently,” said May. The book sets the record straight, he added. Still, stereoscopy is fascinating. May got hooked as a child when a stereo card of a hippopotamus fell out of a Weetabix box. “Suddenly the hippopotamus was real. I could smell its breath, I could fall into its mouth,” he recalls. Pellerin fell for stereos when he saw a picture of the Tuileries Palace in Paris. “For 10 seconds I was there,” he says. May says that the fad of 3D still falls in and out of fashion. “It’s very odd how stereoscopy becomes huge, then disappears, then becomes huge again,” he says. There was, for example, a revival in 1900 and then it disappeared again. “Even with the Avatar film. Suddenly stereoscopy was everywhere. Everyone was making films in 3D, and all TVs were ‘3D-ready’ only a couple of years ago. Try and find one now! It happens every time.” For the first time at Watts Gallery, discover an exhibition dedicated to a 19th century craze that saw the birth of 3D images. On Monday 3 July 2023 – Brian May attended / launched this new exhibition: Watts Gallery Watts Preview Evening for new exhibition:

Presents the entire history of the asteroid from formation over 4.5 billion years ago, right the way through to today’s mission. Brian May says : This is a thrill, and a first, to do a book signing session in my own store. I’m hoping this will lead to stereoscopy having a permanent home in London for the first time since the 19th century. It is a dream come true! This publication should set a few things right about the history of the first thirty years of the medium and should put stereoscopy once more in the limelight, where it rightfully belongs.” Does Brian think that some would-be exponents are put off by the time involved in stereoscopic photography? Or have apps made it much easier?

Proud Galleries, in collaboration with the London Stereoscopic Company, introduced a new audience to Stereoscopy with a talk by Sir Brian May and Denis Pellerin on the history of 3D photography, which started in Victorian times. Proud Galleries in collaboration with Brian May’s London Stereoscopic Company present STEREOSCOPY IS GOOD FOR YOU: LIFE IN 3-D