Ian Ference's 3D blog on all things stereographic, from classic scopes & stereoviews to historical context & modern analysis
As I head out to what I often describe as "a snowbound hellhole" of a hometown to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family, I share an image of soldiers trudging through an *actual* snowbound hellhole on their way to battle.
A double exposure can be accidental. But this strange triple exposure - found in one of A. O. Fasser's "Belgium" boxes - was almost certainly made on purpose. The question is: to what end?
An extremely brief post, mainly showcasing a very lovely stereographic image of the scars left upon the fields of Flanders after the cessation of hostilities in the Great War.
The Great War was notorious for many things, and one of the most prominent among them was the use of gas warfare. Herein is explained the main gas weapons used in direct violation of the Hague Convention, their effects, and the reason they were not used much after the War.
While not as commonly represented in exciting sets of stereoviews, photographs and newsreels from the front - or any media really, standing around and shooting the breeze was as much a part of Great War life as ducking for cover during a bombardment or hastily fitting a gas mask. These were men at war, but foremost, they were men living their lives.
A developed negative of a simple path through a long-since-abandoned portion of No Man's Land causes me to question the meaning of such imagery.
Dr. Fasser's collection came with a twine-bound set of 8 slides marked "Rheims", a common alternate spelling of Reims. But given what's on the slides, he couldn't have made them all himself - so we must examine the evidence to try to suss out whether Fasser ever did photograph Reims.
A really great photographer took a really crappy penguin stereo photo, so now I take the piss - about 120 years later.
A Realistic Travels card featuring the legendary Sopwith Camels might not be so... realistic... but it's goshdarn cool, considering what these birds could do!
An extremely brief Great War post about some German soldiers throwing in the towel, as a result of some unforeseen issues revolving around my internet connection doing the same.