John was the co-founder of what was once known as Ballou Financial Group. Playing the role of Chief Technology Officer (aka the person who kept Lynn from throwing her computer out the window during numerous moments of frustration and sheer disgust!) and General Handyman, he was the guy who told me I could do this --- go out on my own and succeed --- and never gave me a moment’s worry that we couldn’t survive the long hours and hard work launching one’s own firm really takes. So, in honor of the first anniversary of our Blog, I’d like to feature the firm’s very first client, my husband, John Ballou.
John and I actually met at UCLA, a story he often denies since he went on to graduate from Cal, but hey, I have pictures! He did leave UCLA after a couple of years, migrated to Cal, and graduated with a degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Going to college with John was pretty irritating in a lot of ways. Typical evening: I study my brains out, putting in long hours at the library etc; John thumbs through a book while partying and listening to Procol Harum (or some such group). Next day, we take the same test --- I do okay, John aces it. Sigh…..there isn’t much point in competing with someone for whom everything in school is both interesting as well as relatively easy, who has a photographic memory, perfect pitch, is a natural athlete, blah blah blah --- well, you get the point.
So as I launch into this Blog you’ll understand that there are many things about John that I could choose to feature. Since this is a Blog and not a novel, I decided to narrow this down to John’s passion of 3D photography (with a little bit of remote controlled airplanes thrown in --- you’ll see what I mean shortly) and his life-long love affair with music.
John with his remote control in hand. This photo was taken on 7/13/98. This was his first flight with a camera on board. He took the picture by activating a servo through the transmitter that he’s holding. The inset on the lower right is a self-portrait that he took during the flight. You were really early to the table with 3D photography, John --- seemingly one of the first of our contemporaries to embrace it. How did 3D come about?
Actually 3D vision was first described by the great geometer, Euclid, many centuries ago. (Editor’s note: I warned you, irritatingly bright….) The first person to build a viewing system was a physicist, Charles Wheatstone. The most popular viewer was made by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. in around 1860, and was immensely popular. Many 3D photographs from the Civil War to the present day are still in existence, and can be found on E-Bay. My introduction to 3D photography was through the “Viewmaster” with quite a few reels of 3D pictures. My maternal grandmother had a large collection of these reels, which are now in my possession.
One of John’s best aerial photographs taken from a remote controlled airplane. Not only are you a “normal” 3D photographer, but you also actually build remote controlled airplanes, strap 3D cameras to them, and fly them up, successfully snapping some amazing photographs from otherwise inaccessible locations. What made you think of that?
My path to becoming a 3D photographer was somewhat accidental. Around 1998 I started experimenting with R/C (remote controlled) gliders. After many crashes and repairs, I became proficient enough to control a glider and often land it without major damage. At that point, I decided to mount a point-and-shoot 35mm camera on a glider just to take aerial photographs. I began to become more proficient at flying such that I was able to use “thermals,” (rising columns of air) to gain enough altitude to get some pretty spectacular photographs. However I was limited in locations that I could launch to even have a chance to catch a thermal. At this time, electric powered R/C aircraft were becoming less expensive and lighter, so that it was practical to construct a platform on which to mount a digital camera, which saved a lot of money on developing 35mm film. I built about six different models until I found a combination that would provide the altitude, stability, maneuverability, and glide characteristics that would produce decent aerial photography. On these aircraft it was important to reduce drag. This made it necessary to mount the camera so that it pointed to the side and a little down.
After one particular flight in which I took pictures about every two seconds, I reviewed the pictures at a rate of about one a second. While doing this, I thought I saw two identical pictures in succession. After stopping the slideshow, reviewing the photos revealed that they were not identical, but covered roughly the same view. A light went on in my head, and I put both pictures on the screen next to each other, and crossed my eyes. I saw three images, but the one in the middle was 3D! This was so exciting that I stayed up until about 3:30 a.m. looking for other pairs of pictures from the archives.
Award winning photograph: Flags, Berkeley Kite Festival. To view this 3D picture, use the same technique that the “Magic Eye” books use. Relax your eyes, or look off into the distance until you see three images. The one in the middle will be 3D. If you feel eyestrain or a headache coming on, stop. Just enjoy the photo as it is.To view some of my 3D photography, check out: http://home.comcast.net/~jlballou/stereoaerial/
Not only are you a photographer in this medium, but you also are very active in the Oakland Camera Club. Tell us about your involvement with this art form: what type of equipment is needed, how you decide what to photograph, your connection with this organization, and your recent awards.
Actually, I was the Oakland Camera Club president for five years, but my responsibilities now are just as important: I’m the projectionist! As you can guess, projecting 3D images is a little different than just firing up a projector and a laptop and enjoying the show. The accomplishment that I’ll remember the most is bringing in new members to the club and getting them started on becoming 3D photographers, but another important one was putting together the club’s digital 3D projection system.
Barrie Bieler, a 3D photographer with over 50 years of experience, helped me in many ways to develop my skills in 3D photography. He encouraged me to enter Exhibitions recognized by the PSA (Photographic Society of America), and taught me what I needed to know to become the Chairman of the Oakland International 3D Exhibition. Since first competing in 2006, my entries have earned me a three-star rating, recognition for the Digital 3D Picture of the Year in 2008, four Gold Medals, and many other Medals and Honorable Mentions in Exhibitions around the world.
For equipment, many “newbie” 3D photographers are choosing the products offered by Fujifilm. Please see the following Wikipedia entry for links to information on these cameras: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fujifilm_FinePix_Real_3D_series
Currently, my camera bag has three pairs of cameras in it. First, a pair of 4MP Samsung cameras that I opened up and wired the shutters together. (Warning: flash units can deliver a nasty shock: only do this if you are an experienced electronics person). This camera is good for slow-moving things because it is not well synchronized. Second, I have a pair of Canon SD100IS cameras that are synchronized through a hack that is available as freeware from “Stereo Data Maker.” http://stereo.jpn.org/eng/sdm/index.htm
This website contains the information necessary to build yourself a system that is more flexible than the Fuji, but be aware that flexibility breeds complexity, which means your results will vary.
Lastly, I have a pair of Canon XTi 10MP DSLRs. They are heavy, difficult to set up in a hurry, but can take spectacular pictures. Oh, and none of these cameras go up in the airplanes. I use cheaper cameras for that!
Big Sur as taken from one of John’s remote controlled airplanes. Now we seem to see 3D this and 3D that--- everywhere, movies, TV, new game consoles, etc. Are you surprised at how prevalent and accepted 3D has become? What do you think is next for this particular viewing form?
The way I look at this market is this: When the studios started making 3D movies (starting with Chicken Little, I think), there was a little too much “waving stuff in the audience’s face.” While this gets a good reaction from kids (and adults too, for a few times), I see it as being rude. Since then, I think that the directors are trying to use 3D as a way of immersing the viewer into the story and drawing them more directly into the story being told. Examples of this are “UP,” “Coraline,” and “Avatar.” All three of those were box office successes, and did not rely on gimmicks for their success, but were built on solid storylines, character development, and compelling themes, while using 3D only to augment a strong story.
As far a display technology, everyone is looking for a passive system, which means one in which the viewer does not have to wear glasses. There are some systems that allow viewing without glasses (the Fuji cameras have such a display built-in), but current systems cannot be viewed by more than 2 or 3 people at once. I am sure that a lot of smart people are working on this, and I look forward to seeing what they can provide in the future.
Just one more comment: I am in favor of “active” systems. By this, I mean that the systems that they put together should be accessible to people who want to create their own content (pictures, movies, animation, etc.) and be able to share them. From what I’ve been able to learn about the current display systems, that has not started yet.
You are also an accomplished musician. How did your love of music start and how was it nurtured? Have you always been able to pursue your music? What instruments do you play?
My parents were both musical, and music played an important part in my early life. My dad built a “hi-fi” set from scratch, and used it to tune into classical and jazz music (KJAZ came on the air when I was 5, and my dad often tuned to it). So both those kinds of music were put deeply into my brain. I started playing piano when I was about 3 or 4, with piano lessons. When I stopped taking piano lessons, I played the trombone in the high school band and the local Junior College Jazz Band. By my sophomore year, I was playing lead trombone. As a senior, I received a trophy for an improvised Jazz Solo by Mundell Lowe, a jazz guitarist. I gave up playing the piano for a time during high school, but picked it up again, and I’m still playing it now. Rock and roll also came into the picture in high school, and the band I was part of performed at a rock concert as a warm-up group for Crabby Appleton.
John with his two littlest musical prodigies, Meredith and Nick! Whether we admit it or not, I think we each do have a kind of “bucket list” for our lives. I know that one of yours has always been to play in a top notch jazz band, have your own music played live, and also to perform at Yoshi’s. Last March, all of these things came true for you all in one night! Tell us about your current band, how you write original music and arrange music. What was it like for you to have all three dreams come true in one night?
Yes, that was a special night, the culmination of a lot of hard work and practice. What I’ll remember the most is how hard the rest of the band worked on performing my newest composition, “Tropic Breeze,” that night at Yoshi’s. What really topped it off is that our director used the song as the closer for our final concert of that semester, in which the band surpassed their performance at Yoshi’s.The band is the DVC Night Jazz Band, and we’re performing at Yoshi’s next Tuesday, March 29th, with two shows; 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. Phil Woods, an excellent alto saxophonist, will be our guest artist. Rory Snyder, our director, has scheduled my arrangement of “Lady Bird” as the second number in the second set. Here’s a link to a YouTube video of the band from last year: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYbCD9WdGTI
If someone reading this is interested in learning more about 3D photography, what should they do?
Come to a meeting of the Oakland Camera Club! See http://oaklandcameraclub.org for details.
So, as you can all see, life in my home is never boring! As one of my questions to John I asked him “So, what’s next in your basket of hobbies and interests?” He didn’t answer me, so maybe that’s just as well, right? I mean, why spoil the surprise!
So I hope you have enjoyed sharing a slice of our life and that you can now understand why I say I have three kids, and not two! If you can come by Yoshi’s next Tuesday night and listen to the fabulous band, come up and say hi to John between sets! And last but not least, be sure to check out the links he’s provided about 3D photography in this Blog. If you are interested in learning more, John’s agreed to be available at: http://www.blogger.com/jlballou@comcast.netWishing you much joy with all of YOUR passions and pursuits!
