How to see these in 3D

If you've ever gotten one of those Magic Eye posters to work, this will be a cakewalk. Below there are three images, side by side. The center one is the one your left eye should look at, and the outer ones are the images your right eye should see.

This method is knows as "Cross-viewing"

1. Try looking at the pair on the left first.
2. Hold a pencil tip or other non-distracing object in front of the seam between the left and center image, about half way between your eyes and the screen.
3. Look at the pencil tip. Behind the pencil tip, you should see a single, out of focus image.
4. Transfer your attention to the image, and put the pencil down. Keep looking at the image, and it should slowly pop into focus, and be in 3D.

If that didn't work, try the other pair.

This method is known as "Parallel-viewing".

1. Relax your eyes, as if you were daydreaming.
2. When you're relaxed, your eyes at rest will point in parallel lines. Bring your attention to the image on the screen, without moving your eyes.
3. After a short while, the image will come into focus, and be in 3D.

Throughout the collections on this site, I've used two cameras: an Argus Stereo for prints (which is currently availiable new as the Loreo MKII) and a Stereo Realist 3.5 for slide work. The Argus doesn't take very sharply-delimited images, so only parallel viewing techniques work without serious artifacts at the edge of the image. From slides, there's much more of an edge between the images and only a little cropping is needed to make usable images, and they're already separated, so I've presented them as above, with two right-eye images bracketing a left-eye image, so both viewing techniques are usable.

Mitchell Park Domes 2003 Model Railroad Exhibit