Stereo Vision, the Golden Gate Stereoscopic Society’s table at Maker Faire Bay Area 2023, was mobbed. Together, Steve Segal, Thor Klippert, and Mat Bergman staffed the table Friday through Saturday, October 13-15. The long days flew by, with scarcely any down time. I went hoarse answering questions about our exhibit.
Held at Mare Island, our table was set up in a converted coal shed, roofed but open to the Napa River promenade and a view of Vallejo. Around us were other tables demonstrating robotics, drones, 3D printing, and electronics, with hands-on activities and art installations throughout the Faire. Think of a cross between a science fair and Burning Man. Hundreds of attendees, many families with children, stopped by our table.
A looping slideshow on our venerable 55 inch 3DTV highlighted our exhibit. Collected from Open division exhibitions from the last eighteen months, the slideshow represented all participating members of the GGSS. A strategic placement of Steve Segal’s large lenticular print of downtown San Jose’s “Sonic Runway” drew a surprising number of onlookers, and few needed encouragement to don polarized glasses and spend half a minute or more with the slideshow. Kids in particular were enthralled by the slideshow, and interacted with the 3DTV by moving around the table, reaching into space, touching the screen, and experimenting with the polarized glasses. Adults were also delighted by what they saw. In fact, our slideshow was such a draw that crowds blocked the aisle and encroached on other tables to get the best view of the 3DTV.
Cutting-edge 3D tech was also a draw to our table. Through the efforts of Jay Kusnetz, Leia, Inc. lent the GGSS three Lume Pad 2 tablets, remarkable devices with Leia’s proprietary Lightfield autostereo display. The Lume Pad 2 has powerful AI-assisted software that automatically converts 2D images and videos with uncanny accuracy, but also serves as an excellent viewer for traditional side-by-side stereo photos (my Lume Pad 2 review will be forthcoming). The tablets displayed the same GGSS stereo photos as our 3DTV, and we encouraged people to swipe through them. The tablets made a fine gallery for our stereo photography.
Our Oh Wow! popup card giveaway was equally popular. We distributed hundreds of these ingenious foldable stereoscopes, decorated with a custom-designed sticker with information about the GGSS. One visitor was so enamored with his Oh Wow! card that he returned the next day with a set of custom stereo cards, captured with his superb four-lens 35mm Nimslo lenticular camera from the 1980’s. They were much more appreciated than the flyers we distributed at past Maker Faires.
The overwhelmingly positive reaction to our slideshow affirms the joy stereo photography gives an audience. It’s encouraging to know that our work is well-received and appreciated. We are already planning for Maker Faire Bay Area 2024.