The Story

Stereoscopic 3-Dimensional viewing is as old as photography itself. Dating back to the late1800's, the Stereopticon with it's sliding holder, large rectangular cards, and photographic pairs, was the high tech equivalent of the DVD. With the introduction of Roll Film the first viewers appeared. Tru-vue was the first to use roll film, it was fed through, from left to right. Then True-vue inroduced a rectangular card with 7-picture pairs that fed through from top to bottom. View-Master with the familiar seven picture reel was introduced at the 1939 New York Worlds Fair, and while it was slow to start, eventually it replaced True-Vue, buying them out, in the 1950's. Now, every person I meet either owns or used to own a View-Master Viewer and can still remember their favorite reels,and how much they loved to look at them.
From scenics like Yosemite, Yellowstone, Hoover Dam, to cartoon and TV favorites, everybody loved their View-Master. They are still sold in toy stores and at historic or scenic sites around the world.
In 1949 View-Master introduced the Personal Camera, Personal Cutter, and Personal Reel Mounts, they were produced until 1966, about 20,000 cameras were sold. Most people, including professional photographers, did not know such a system ever existed. Some people remember a family member had the camera, but don't know what happened to the reels.
In my opinion there is no other medium that can truly make you feel like you are really there. When you look into the viewer, your surroundings disappear, the views fill your visual field, and you are there, in the picture.
People are always making comments like: "It's like looking through a window", "It's so real", "You feel like you can reach out and touch them", "WOW", "Amazing"
I love the WOW, I feel like I have created something special. The couples whose weddings I have done, feel like they have found a treasure and plan on catching other moments in their life with more Amazing 3D Photography: Kids, Parties, Anniversaries.
Most people will want to hire a conventional photograper as well, so there are enough pictures that can be copied for family and friends. I can make more reels for more people by taking more pictures.
The limitations of the View-Master format are: no prints, no copies, no duplicates, and you need a viewer to see your pictures. If you want two pictures of a pose, I need to take two pictures of a pose. Those are also the things that make this so special. No prints, because the image is too small to be enlarged, each picture is the original, one of a kind, unique. Regular prints require the added expense of an album or they take up wall space, prints can cost $40-$80 each, enlargements even more. Each reel contains seven original pictures and averages $20 per picture. When you put the viewer up to your eyes, whatever surrounds you disappears, all you can see is the view, it transports you there.
According to the professionals, most wedding albums go onto a shelf after just two years, your vintage viewer and your reels will always be sitting out. It makes a great collectible, and conversation piece.