Digital Stereoview Exchange Club (DSEC)

You all know that I am interested in stereophotography. Most of you have had to endure looking at my views at one time or another. Several years ago I joined a group of other stereo photographers and once every three months we exchange stereo cards. From that group of collectors, another group emerged. The new group was based on a redesigned 3-D format that I specified the standard for. Basically, it is just two pictures on 4 x 6 inch photo print.

This was our 20th exchange so it is been going on for five years now. The participants in the group send me a stack of stereo photos once every three months. They send me the same number of views as the number of people who are participating, plus a couple of extras. As the view redistributor, it is my job to put the exchange together and return the views to the participants. I thought it might be interesting to let people know how I go about this.

After the deadline for the exchange, I receive the prints from the participants over a period of time. They are supposed to send them right in, but often it take couple of weeks for all of them to get here. Once they have all arrived I start putting the flip books together. The first step is to run out a list of everyone who has sent in views. Then I check off the names of the people that actually did send their views in. I also record whether or how much money they sent me towards mailing the views back.

I take each person’s views and put them in a stack on my dining room table, arranging them in alphabetical order. Then I take one person’s views, the one whose name comes last in the alphabet, and start making new piles with just their view in it. I take the next-to-last pile of views and stack those on top of the first ones. I do this with everyone’s views until I have stacks with one view each from everyone.

At the first part of each year I have enough cardboard covers made so I can use them for a whole year. I have the art store cut them to size, 4 1/2 x 7 inches. Then I punch holes for the spiral binding and round the outside corners. Then I have these whenever I need them. But the number of participants changes from exchange to exchange, so the number of sleeves to insert the views in can change dramatically. I wait till the time of the actual exchange to punch the sleeves. I do them three or four at a time for the 250 or so sleeves that I will need all told.

When I have enough punched and ready to go I put one of the covers on a little jig that I built, then count out the correct number of sleeves and insert them on the alignment pins too. Then last comes the back cover.

I run a plastic spiral through the holes that I punched for the spine. Then I clip off the excess binding.

Once the blank flip books have been assembled, I take a stack of the views and insert them into the sleeves. I put the first view in the first sleeve, flip it over, and put the second view in the second sleeve, and so forth until I arrive at the back cover. Then I flip the book over, and insert the rest of the views from the back to the front. That way when a person looks at the views in their stereoscope, they put the back cover into the viewing stage and flip through the views. Turn the book around, and flip all the way back.

The books are almost complete now. I have several sheets of sticky back labels. One with the cover title for that exchange’s stereo views. One with instructions on how to use the flip books. And one with the names of the participants for that exchange.

I have other sheets of sticky back mailing labels with the names and addresses of the participants on them and return address labels too. I fold up a Priority Mail box, stuff the flipbook and any extra views the participant may have sent into a baggy and put the whole works into the Priority Mail package. I seal them up and apply the labels and take the whole mess down to the post office. I have been doing this long enough now that when I come in with my garbage sack of boxes, the postman laughs and says, “oh, it’s that time again.”

In case you are interested in the standard that I specified or how to make these types of stereo views, I will save those topics for future entries in this blog.