A century in focus: Stereo images at the Art Gallery of SA

Julie Robinson, Senior Curator of Prints, Drawings and Photographs, Art Gallery of SA
Maria Zagala, Associate Curator of Prints, Drawings and Photographs, Art Gallery of SA
Dr. Paddy McGee, eResearch SA

A Century in Focus was an exhibition at the Art Gallery of South Australia (9/11/07 – 28/1/08), covering a century of South Australian photography from the 1840s to the 1940s.

Part of the exhibition covered stereo photography taken by George Burnell and H. H. Tilbrook. Burnell's images document a trip along the Murray River in the 1860s, whilst Tilbrook's images are from a few decades later, and were taken in a variety of locations.

A selection of original card-mounted stereo pairs from the Gallery's collection was digitised for conversion to a format suitable for viewing on computer monitors in the exhibition space. Red/cyan anaglyph presentation was selected as the method for most convenient display in this context.

At eResearch SA, the image files were processed as follows:

• The left and right-hand side images were cut from the digitised originals, and saved separately.
• These images pairs were rotated and translated as necessary for good alignment, and to give an acceptable level of ghosting when viewed with anaglyph glasses. Some edge-of-field depth conflict was on occasion necessary in order to achieve this.
• Image pairs were saved as single red/cyan anaglyph images.
• Black, gamma and white levels were adjusted so as to improve the dynamic range of the images.
• Scratches, blemishes, etc, were removed in order to improve the quality of the images, in particular to reduce their presence in either just the right- or left-side image, which can have a significant detrimental effect on stereopsis.

For the exhibition, the final anaglyphs were assembled into a cycling PowerPoint presentation, and displayed on LCD monitors. Red/cyan anaglyph glasses were available at each monitor for viewing.

The siting of the displays within the exhibition space is in accordance with the progression of the original photography in its historical context. Thus, the display of Burnell's work is early in the exhibition, as he flourished early in the era under consideration; Tilbrook worked later, and that display is positioned accordingly.