Stereographics

What's a stereographic image? Without getting too technical, it is a picture produced with a special camera that splits the image into two halves which, when viewed at once, produce a three-dimensional scene similar to what you get when you use a ViewMaster. There are entire sites on the Internet devoted to stereographs, so we won't get into the specifics of how to make them. But lacking a special camera there are other ways to create the effect using computer software. And lacking a stereoscope, you can still see the effect if you know what to do.

HOW TO VIEW THESE IMAGES:

With a picture pair centered on your monitor, cross your eyes slowly until the two images converge into one. You will probably have to practice a couple of times, but once you catch on it's easy. You should notice a 3-D effect if you've merged the left and right halves successfully. The farther away you sit from the screen, the more the image will appear to "float" in front of your computer if you move your head while staying focused on the 3-D picture. Try it!

Before you get all excited and scamper off to find more of these stereographs on the Web, remember to give your eyes a break every few frames; you don't want to wind up with a case of vertigo. Now, have at these pics we've provided.

This is Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, Nev., taken the night of March 21, 2006. If you look at the Planet Hollywood globe in the left center of the image you will see that it is rotated to different positions between the left and right hand pictures. These two snapshots were taken a few seconds apart, so the 3-D image you see won't be perfect, but it's still pretty good.

The Eiffel Tower of Paris, Las Vegas, taken March 21, 2006. Most of the 3-D effect is visible in the electronic billboard and sports ticker at right.