An interview with Neil Nathanson

7th October 2008 by Kai Chan Vong

Neil Nathanson has created this interesting image below. It’s quite special and you’ll find out why, if you follow the steps under it.

Step 1 – Cross your eyes until you see 4 images instead of 2.

Step 2 – Relax your view so the images move together and you see only 3 images.

Step 3 – When you see 3 images stop changing your focus and you will see the center image is 3D.

Optional – You can also raise your hands to the sides of your eyes to block out the 2 outer images so you only see the center one in 3D!

PS. You should be about 2 or 3 feet from the screen and if you are having trouble move closer or farther from the screen, sometimes that helps.

I caught up with neil.nathanson, this week to ask him a few questions about This is now and his photo…

Hi, can you tell us who you are and a bit about yourself?

I am a graphic designer who is now addicted to Stereophotography and Flickr. These two interests happened for me at the same time and feed each other. Seeing “This is now” interests me on the level that Flickr does. I like the dynamics of the project and how you are tapping into the whole social networking thing from the perspective of photography. I am also on other 3D stereo boards that start as text and then allow photos to enhance discussions and I love the way Flickr does the opposite. Starting with photos and adding dialog after.

Why are you interested in ‘This is now’ and what does it mean to you?

I am heavily into technology and communication so that is the part of “now” that I relate to. “This is now” is a new way of being/existing in a connected world.

Tell us about the selected photo, did you plan it out, what was involved in it?

I always liked playing with Lasers, when I saw you could get green ones, which are much more powerful than red, I had to get this new toy. I did plan the shot out, I setup a scene with mirrors so I could redirect the laser beam, I added some smoke so the beam could be more visible. A really neat side story was one of the Flickr friends who is a scientist commented on one of the shots in the series about a scientific point about the shot. He saw the “Laser speckle” near the handle of the little clamps. He had never seen it effectively photographed before, he had seen it live, but the 3D stereo image captured it in a way that flat 2D images could not. That was very surprising and satisfying, and a good example of why I enjoy interacting with people on Flickr who share my passion for stereophotography.

What do you think of the group on Flickr and do you have any other favourite photos?

The group is a great idea and well managed, I know how hard it is to please everyone and be fair. So far it looks to be a big success for the team behind it. I love color, so as that is a stated desire for the pool that appeals to me and makes for fun viewing. This image appeals to me www.flickr.com/photos/reggio/2591925393/in/pool-thisisnow. It is stereophonic by subject plus it is accidentally stereoscopic which is so cool! If you can do the cross view trick to see 3D you can do it to this image and the lower part actually gets depth! I would guess the artist had no idea of that and that makes it even more cool. Stereoscopic Stereophonic! And when you realize the concepts of stereo sound and stereo vision are so similar the whole science thing kicks in. Your ears feed your brain 2 slightly different inputs so it can triangulate and locate a sound in 3D space. That is exactly what your eyes do, they feed your brain 2 slightly different inputs so it can triangulate the location of an object in 3D space – I love that!

What is your best tip for creating a great photo or picture?

Look very carefully, then look again being as observant as you can, then shoot, then do the whole process over, trying for a different outcome. Repeat as necessary.

On behalf of the community at ‘This is Now’, thank you for the interview Neil. Keep up the great work and we hope to see much more great work from you!

tagged black green Interview lasers