Our Spring Meeting was held at Stan White's in St. George, Ontario.

In attendance: Bob Wilson, Burke Brown, Simon Bell, Don Tait, Madolyn Tait, Mildred Barrie, Stan White, Mike Yatsula, David Cusimano, Peter Russell.

The meeting started off with 3D slide show generously put on by Stan. The views were collected from the best shows put on by the Photographic Society of America. The collection is a touring show and is made available to regional chapters for viewing. There were about 10 separate entries with topics ranging from Japan: Then and Now, Trees, Frogs, Unique Mailboxes & Dirt Bike Racing. Very entertaining.

Show & Tell

Simon shared more 35mm slide views from his "Eye to Eye" series of children's books. These dynamic animal shots were from his "Cats", "Night Creatures" and "Birds of Prey" collection. During our meeting a half dozen, or so slide viewers were passed around the room with continuously updated views. His two previous topics "Insects & Spiders" and "Snakes & Lizards" are currently available for $13.95 and published by Somerville House Publishing. Expect the next three to be available in Coles and other retail bookstores soon. In August Simon traveled to Africa to photograph elephants for his 6th book in the series.

Don Tait demonstrated his hand built side by side camera mount. It allows for horizontal or vertical camera framing. Currently he had two matched Pentax SLR's attached to the rig. Unfortunately his dual shutter release which he uses for synchronization was last seen on the road to Tipperary.

Madolyn Tait shared her panoramic views from their trip to Ireland which were shot with two single-use panoramic cameras. The prints were mounted under/over and were viewed with a "Magic Eye" viewer. The quality of these large prints were surprisingly good for these simple cameras.

Mildred Barrie attended as a guest of theirs. She belongs to the Brantford Camera Club and was captivated by the world of 3D.

Stan White had his Contemporary "Antique" stereo views on display. His newest addition was a 10 view "Leporello" style collection of views taken during his road trip to Bellvue, Washington. Bob Wilson joined him on the trip last August for the 1997 NSA Convention. Titled "The Golden Road to Samarkand" the views ranged from various road side stops at National Parks to the Convention Lobby itself. The back of the cards contained a humourous account of their trip. The accordion like, attached views are made from over 100 pieces, so they are truly one of a kind.

Stan's walls were adorned with mounted prints from his "Blue Period" circa. 1983 to 1993. These humourous views invited us into a world of mannequins , disjointed limbs and the adventures of "little" people who climb there way into a world larger than their own e.g. British soldiers conquer a brick of cheese while fending off a hungry mouse. One inspired view shows a empty eggshell that once contained a chick who had marked the days to freedom inside it's shell. Stan also handed out Jon Golden's "RBT Catalogue" as well as displaying his plastic mounts.

Mike Yatsula showed an interesting split lens attachment weighing well over 20 lbs. The grey metal unit has rotating periscope style reflectors which captures the split pair and sends the light down to the imaging area where a camera would mount. It seems that the device was used for aerial photography.

Yours truly, David Cusimano, brought a "new" stereoscopic viewer that was made as a limited collectors item for the Broadway cast and crew of "Ragtime". The viewer has the show, location and date engraved into the wood base. The card which has the Ragtime logo on its back shows an exterior view of the theatre while it was still undergoing renovations. It's too bad that the designers could not have taken more time to produce a stereoview rather than its current 2D image. The viewer is manufactured by the Lucas-Price Stereographic Co. and is available from Victorian Revival 209 Front St. Stratford, ON. Stan White believes that it may be selling for under $20. Another item of interest was the March issue of Astronomy Magazine. It contains 27 anaglyph views of Mars and other celestial objects. Two beautifully printed glasses come with the magazine which makes it a worthwhile collectible. The issue is available from Kalmbach Publishing Company P.O. Box 1612 Waukesua,WI 53187 (800) 446-5489 or http://db.kalmbach.com/catalog/catalog.html

Simon Bell has found an interesting web site. www.visualabs.com This Canadian inventor is on the verge of distributing a true 3D television system where no glasses etc. are required. What's the hold up? Some interesting essays and articles about the process are located at the site.

The Fall meeting is scheduled for October 18th ( the first Sunday after Thanksgiving ) at Mike Yatsula's in Belleville, Ontario. 1 12 to 2 hours east of Toronto. Items that Mike will share with us include a collection of antique and contemporary cameras and equipment including a Toshiba 3D video camera. A couple of Super 8mm 3D shorts will be shown and pieces from his hologram collection will be on view. Sounds exciting. Mark it on your calendar, It's worth the drive to Belleville.