Watts Carr, a 39-year-old real estate broker, uses the "cha-cha method" of taking one photo and then either moving the camera to his other eye or taking a step to the side. It is the cheapest way to make an anaglyph, but has a downside, since consistency can't be guaranteed. Johnson plans to use yet another method by rigging two cameras together and synchronizing their firing.
Today's anaglyph makers are a sprightly bunch, united by the Internet and inventing creative outlets to keep the art form from dying.
Three weeks ago Carr was inspired to try making an anaglyph after finding his daughter's Shrek glasses. "I just wanted to see if I could do the technique," he said. "I figured I already take pictures and the software is free, so I tried. And it actually worked!"
Since that first try, Carr has created more than a dozen other anaglyphs around his North Carolina home and can "spit one out" in as little as 10 to 15 minutes. Carr plans to use his new hobby to promote his real estate business, by providing glasses to clients so they can view 3-D images of homes online. "My wife thinks I am crazy," he said. "She keeps walking in on me in the home office and I have the glasses on."
Ha! I'm still doing the 3D anaglyph things and you can see my set here. And actually I've been using this rig more than the cha-cha method, but whatev...