Quezi

Three dimensional cat (photo by Paulo Ordoveza - CC-BY)

Wiggle stereographs (stereophotos) are composite images where two or more photos are presented in quick succession. If the photos are taken from slightly different angles, the eye and brain of the viewer interpret the wiggling image as three-dimensional.

The photos can be taken from cameras which are a short distance apart, to simulate human stereoscopic vision. Or, the photos may be taken from slightly different distances or at slightly different times. The images are then combined and presented for viewing, rapidly alternating.

There are several ways to combine the separate images for viewing:

• Image editing software such as GIMP may be used. If different images are stored on different “layers”, GIMP can convert the layers to an animation when the image is saved in GIF format.
• A Java or Flash applet can wiggle the images. You can use the wiggler applet online to create a wiggle animation from a pair of photos.
• Client-side JavaScript can be used to wiggle the images on the viewer’s browser.

The effect can get tiresome after a while, but is much improved if more than two photos are used. Here is a stunning six-photo three-dimensional image by Peter Murphy, a Sydney multimedia artist specialising in stereo3d.