I see what you did there.

Some of you may be aware of what stereoscopy is, but for the uninformed: it is the three dimensional view created when viewing the same scene from two slightly different angles. Normally, your eyes perform this function, each retina taking in the view and melding so you are able to perceive depth.

Photographers are also able to recreate this effect by taking two photos of the same scene and by either using the anaglyph method (where the two images are overlayed, each with either high red or cyan values) or cross-viewing, the photograph can be viewed in 3D. I was browsing byMal’s Flickr gallery of *ahem* curvaceous three-dimensional goodness when it hit me.

I had already begun my descent into PVC idolatry thanks to tj_han’s amusing figure reviews and super rats’ superior photoshoots and fantastic lighting tutorial over at HappySoda, but I wanted to try something a little different. And I thought, if stereoscopy was designed for anything, it was to show off figures. Hell, Charles Wheatstone, the father of stereoscopy, was basically an otaku born 200 years too early. He assisted in the development of one of the first widely used telegraphs (clearly trying to win an Internet), encryption in the form of cyphers (doujinshi does not hide itself, you know), and unwavering and somewhat disconcerting fascination with his interests.

So I selected the flamboyant and feisty Reina, made famous by the new Queen’s Blade series of gamebooks, as the subject of my flight of fancy. Stereoscopy normally requires two identical cameras wired to take the photo with the same settings at the same time, but I was unable to afford such luxury. I compensated by using a tripod, patience and the most garishly coloured, jarring and retina-damaging wrapping paper I could find for the background.

I chose to go with cross-viewing because, while the method needed to see the image is a little more difficult, the resultant 3D image displays natural colour tones. In order to view, please follow the instructions located here.

Also, I host my images mainly on Flickr, but they have implemented a zero-tolerance policy in terms of photo-moderation. Please bear in mind that you will have to be logged in to view all the photos in the set. I will also provide links to the photos hosted on Imageshack (links to images can be found at the end of this post), but you will have to be content with one size.

Wandering Warrior Reina is, by far, one of the best figures I have purchased. The pose is vibrant, while the curved leather strap, bent knees and swinging pigtails give the impression of movement. The base colour and shading is spot on while the detailed (if somewhat lacking for a fighter… not that I’m complaining, of course) armour provides a good contrast.

One of my big issues, especially with figures that have removable limbs and accessories, is that the joins are often clearly visible. Not so with Reina, who has a number of removable pieces of which 90% of the join-lines are well-hidden, the only major one being the join just above her leather thong. Even this is very minor, and doesn’t detract from the figure at all. Megahouse also can stand tall as they did a fantastic job of conveying Hisayuki Hirokazu’s style.

Unfortunately, HLJ reports the line as being discontinued, but you may be able to get someone to part with theirs once you pry it from their dead, cold fingers.

Anyway, hope you liked my little foray into the realm of 3D photography. As this is a new blog, any comments, suggestions or criticisms are welcome. Later!

Full-sized ImageShack gallery:

Links:

• HLJ – Wandering Warrior Reina
• byMal’s page on Flickr
• My Flickr page
• Instructions to view 3D cross-view images

~ Almost A Hero

EDIT: Please forgive any layout faggotry, I am still getting to grips with editing the posts and making sure all the HTML tags are correct.