Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1996/08/27
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Hello all, I'm new to this list so please excuse my initial blunders in communicating. Until a couple of years ago I was the owner of the archive of Jerusalem's first resident photographer, M.J. Diness. Besides being the first resident photographer, he was also the first resident of the Middle East to do sterography (not the first person doing it there, just the first resident). Included in his archive of negatives, prints and diaries were twenty-some stereo negatives (colldion wet plates, all), mounted stereo cards and loose stereo prints. The cards, albumen; the loose prints, silver gelatin. It seems he used two or more different cameras to produce his stereo views: some are simple side-by-side pairs -- but the exposures were made at slightly different times. People move between one shot and the next. Was this typical of the times (late 1850's)? Was he using a camera with just one lens and either shifting the lens or shifting the plate holder between exposures? His other camera was an 8x10 that took six simultaneous exposures ( I think they were simultaneous). None of these have people in them, or any other means of judging movement between exposures, so I don't know if his camera was of a CDV design to allow mass production of six images per negative -- or if he was mass producing stereo views, in this case, three simultaneous stereo pairs. They are a bit smaller than typical CDV image size, yet not really close enough together for a good stereo effect (or maybe my eyes are getting older than I thought and I just couldn't focus on them correctly when viewed with a stereo viewer). Any thoughts or helpful hypotheses? Does anybody know where I can go to find info on collodion stereo photographers or their techniques? Even better, does anyone have samples or histories on early Middle East stereo photographers? I'm giving lectures this fall on Diness and I'd like to fill in some of these stereo gaps if possible. Unfortunately, stereography is not one of my familiarities. Help from anyone is greatly appreciated! Sincerely, John Barnier John Barnier 12560 Morris Trail North Marine on St. Croix, Minnesota 55047 USA jb@dgi.net