George's stereograph struts the understated stuff of a classic: heavy stock, gracefully rounded corners, crisp black and white photography, front side captions somehow machine printed right on the card surface, and a graphic design butt-kicker of a back side label that all combine to convince you this thing came from a professional studio. It did. Gerald's stereo view of the New Orleans Imax doesn't have fancy machine lettering, but his photography is excellent, he mounted to the stereo window perfectly, and he took the time to label each of his twenty-six stereographs - by hand - with a paragraph that starts, "My first attempt at stereo photography." The Amateur Photographic Exchange Club, that famous institution from stereography's Cretaceus era, is now 137 years old and going strong. True to the ideals of the original, the reconstituted APEC we founded early in 1997 encourages learning, experimentation and innovation in print stereography. And collecting. And friendship. And fun.

History

The original organization came together in New York in 1861, in an age when stereography and photography were so indistinguishable that a stereograph trading club could be named the Amateur Photographic Exchange Club. Serious amateurs traded self made stereographs six times a year. During its ascendancy the club boasted more than twenty active members -- many illustrious in their century, none remembered in ours (Oliver Wendel Holmes was an honorary member who never traded stereoviews) -- until a certain Unpleasantness Between the States lead to a short supply of both photographic paraphernalia and club photographers. The group disbanded in 1863. APEC started up again in 1975, members exchanging views twenty-four times over the next six years. After the club broke up in 1981, Larry Wolfe donated his collection of about 300 APEC, 20th Century Version views to the NSA library, where they remain, along with a few views from the earlier club. The current incarnation got going in early 1997, among print stereograph buffs brought together by the internet's photo-3D email group. We had our first exchange in February 1997. A full set of each of our exchange's views is donated to the Oliver Wendell Holmes library.

How the club works

Every three months we each pick a stereograph good enough to share. Planners set aside time each evening to work on making multiple copies of the stereo card. Procrastinators put the work -- and it is a lot of work -- off till the last couple days. At any rate, we each make one copy of our stereograph for each of the club members, and one extra for the Oliver Wendel Holmes Stereo Research Library. Then we keep the stack around the house for a day or two, so we can pick it up over and over to admire our splendid work. Then we put all the stereographs in one box and ship them off to the APEC View Redistributor. All that's left is keeping your eye open for your returning package, crammed chock-a-block with stereographs from other APEC members. In contrast to other stereo circuits, APEC members keep and own the stereo views they receive with each exchange. Membership is free. We just cover our own production and mailing costs. We exchange print stereographs mounted in formats that can be viewed with a: * Holmes stereoscope (stereo cards 3 1/2 by 7 inches) * The modern PA 4000 View Magic viewer ( Cards about 7 inches wide and 9 tall, with 4 x 6 inch stereo-halves mounted over and under. These viewers are still made and sold.) * A lorgnette viewer (available for $4 from Reel 3D, useful for views in both Holmes and cabinet (7 inches wide and about 5 inches tall.) formats. In practice 80% of the submissions are Holmes format. Other members prefer the modern View-Magic format and lately some people have been making cabinet format views. We learn the most from each other when folks work with the format they do best. Innovation is good. Pin hole shots, black and white, macros, panoramas and other unusual work is welcomed - encouraged, celebrated! - but we do not exchange unmounted prints, Loreos (unless they're mounted in Holmes format), photocopies, antique views, or slides. Stereo photographic experience isn't on the must-have list for new members -- we'll teach them to make great stereographs. We just ask for their best effort. We work to keep the club friendly and informal. No presidents or club officers, no prizes, no rankings, no competitions. Friendly. Informal. Fun. And oodles of stereographs.

What APEC members say about the club

A few APEC members are new to the hobby, but others are skilled professional photographers or award winning stereographers. I've often wondered why the tip top people stay in a club where they trade their work for mine. So when I asked APEC members recently what they got out of belonging to the club, some of the answers that came back were a surprise. As I expected, relative newcomers mentioned techniques they'd learned: Carole Honingsfeld, "I had no idea there was more to this art than just popping monolith stereo prints into fold over Q Vu mounts. I learned about single camera sequential exposures, the use of a Jaspar slide bar for macros, trimming, aligning and dry mounting individual 3x5 prints." Juan Voutssas, in Mexico City "There's no one here to share my hobby. APEC becomes for me a laboratory where I can learn interactively....I shared a lot of email with Paul Talbot about the stereo window. I got formulas and a lot of information that would be very hard to get from a book." What I didn't expect were the expressions of bubbly enthusiasm for things learned coming from the very people I thought were coasting. I guess you get good by paying attention and staying interested: Ernie Riardin: The club "stimulates my thinking and gives me fresh ideas." "I appreciated seeing the way Shab Levy frames his prints. He gets the advantage of a black background for the window, but keeps the card looking fresh with the white mount." "George Freeman's story form notes on the reverse inspired me to add interest to mine." "Jim Norman's attached cover (greeting card appearance) in his Rockefeller Center view provided additional mounting ideas and possibilities. "All of this challenges me to produce high quality images." George Freeman: "I learned that a method for making one stereo card, perfectly, is not necessarily the best or most efficient for making many perfect stereo cards.... I had to change my methods, be more skillful, more efficient, and I think my cards are the better for it." APEC members also enjoy the club because they get to keep the stereographs they receive. By the end of the upcoming seventh exchange, full time members will have collected more than 150 new stereographs. Michael McEachern: "I was a member of one of the print circuits, but that only allowed me to enjoy the other members' work for a few days. As an avid collector of stereo views I was immediately excited about a new APEC. While I have a nice representative collection of antique views, my collection of contemporary views was quite small before I joined APEC." Ernie again: "Although the cost of participation in APEC is relatively high, getting to keep a print from David Lee is worth the price." Me again. Because my job as View Redistributor keeps me in close contact with all the APEC crew, I've made a number of friends. I'm not the only one. We encourage new members to include a stereo self portrait and a biography with their second exchange. Using email, APEC members often help each other with technical and artistic stereograph problems. We rely on a special members-only section of the APEC web page to share comments and suggestions about our stereographs, and we meet in an internet chat room to go over club scheduling and plans. Ernie "The best part is the kinship you develop for the group." Dan Shelley: "I especially enjoy the new friend I have made ." Mike McEachern, talking about the APEC get together scheduled for this year's NSA convention: "In the past I have looked forward to going to the NSA convention to see stereo views, now I am looking forward to seeing friends."

How to join APEC

We're always looking for new members. Membership is free. We do cover our own production and mailing costs. Join an old exchange Occasionally people drop out of an exchange after the sign up deadline -- after everyone else has made and mailed a view for them. I don't send views back to folks who don't send views in, instead I save the extra sets of views for trading with other folks. If you'd like to trade for a set of views from an earlier exchange, just contact me. I'll confirm the set hasn't been traded, I'll reserve the set for you, and I'll tell you how many views to send. Once your views arrive I'll send the return package back to you ASAP. Advantages: strongly encouraged for members who are new to print stereography flexible time limit low pressure way to get started Join the next exchange Have a look at the APEC calendar then just let me know you want in for the next exchange. Right after the signup deadline, which is the first time I know how many folks will be involved in the next exchange, I'll email you a note telling you how many cards to send. To join, just let me know you want in: pgwhacker@earthlink.net Greg Kane APEC View Redistributor 10785 East Crestline Place Englewood, Colorado 80111 (303) 741-4622 fax / voice-mail (anytime) (303) 741-4622 voice (evenings)

APEC calendar

We have four exchanges a year. Views are due at the View Redistributor's on the last day of February, May, August, November. The deadline for letting the View Redistributor know you are taking part falls roughly 6 weeks before each exchange. d j FEBRUARY (confirm by January 21st) m a MAY (confirm by April 21st) j j AUGUST (confirm by July 21st) s o NOVEMBER (confirm by October 21st)

Is APEC really free? Production & mailing costs.

APEC membership is free. No kidding. We do each cover our own production and mailing costs. For members in the US, round trip mailing costs $8. Production costs depend on how you make your stereocards -- figure on something between 75 cents and $1.50 per card, and on 25 - 30 cards per exchange. I myself count on spending $30 - 35 per exchange.

Contact us

Best pgwhacker@earthlink.net (Greg Kane) Alternative: Greg Kane APEC View Redistributor 10785 East Crestline Place Englewood, Colorado 80111 (303) 741-4622 fax / voice-mail (anytime) (303) 741-4622 voice (evenings) Don't forget to visit Dan Shelley's APEC web site.voice, where you'll find all of the modern APEC stereoviews.

Links to other 3D photo sites

The Amateur Photographic Exchange Club's main site , with side-by-side and analglyph copies of all the stereo views from all the modern APEC's exchanges. Rocky Mountain Memories, where you can see and buy an a ffordable, modern APEC-standard View Magic PA 4000 over-and-under 4 x 6" stereo viewer. How to make print stereographs, one of several excellent 3D web pages put together by APEC's own RJ Thorpe. The 3D Web's table of contents page. The best place anywhere to find important stereo photographic stuff on the web. The Oliver Wendel Holmes Research Library, museum of stereo photography. Reel-3D mail-order sales of NEW stereo equipment you can't get anywhere else-- stereocsopes, slide viewers, slide mounts, books, beam-splitter attachments, xeroxes of old stereo camera manuals, and much, much more.

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