Long-time SCSC member Abe Perlstein, currently a resident of the Central Coast  will be making a rare appearance April 21st at the SCSC monthly meeting with his 30-minute narrated 4-projector show, ”WINGS ON AND OVER MORRO BAY, selections from the 2003-2004 Morro Bay National Estuary Stereo Photo Survey.”

Morro Bay is one of just twenty-eight national estuaries and is widely considered by experts to be the most pristine and vital estuarine environment on the California coastline south of San Francisco Bay. 

  In the summer of 2003, Perlstein founded what he believes is the world’s first long-term (15-month) photographic overview study of an ecosystem using hyper stereo photography techniques.  This globally unprecedented environmental public outreach and education project was made possible through funds donated in part from a San Luis Obispo-based arts foundation and produced in cooperation with the Morro Bay National Estuary Program . 

  If you plan to be on the Central Coast and find yourself in the Morro Bay area, stop by the Estuary Visitor Center located on the water front at 601 Embarcadero. The Morro Bay National Estuary Program manages the center featuring it’s newest exhibit, Discover The Estuary In 3-D, a permanent binocular slide viewer display showcasing highlights from the Stereo Photo Survey.  

  The survey was designed as a loving tribute to the wide diversity of animals, plants, geological features, human activities, with special focus given to resident and migratory bird populations thriving on the life-giving force and rhythms of nature.

  Hyper stereoscopic photographic techniques provide fantastical perspectives as if gazing through high powered binoculars.  Left and right binocular perspectives are produced by engaging a single camera shooting a left and right-hand pair in sequence, or by employing two cameras mounted on a bar or on separate tripods.   Precision matching lens optics and twin-camera bar alignment (using a newly designed bar developed by Perlstein in conjunction with Really Right Stuff, Inc. and simultaneous shutter  release results in profound you-are-there viewer-perceived dimensionality from foreground to background and everything in between. 

  It is important to point out that 95% or more of California’s wetlands have been lost to development since the early 1900’s.   By sharing the marvels of Morro Bay and her many life forms through the magic of stop-action stereo photography, it is Perlstein’s hope that nature lovers everywhere may find inspiration by taking a proactive stance toward the conservation, preservation, and stewardship of our last vital remaining natural resources. 

  Included in the show is a masterful 2-D to 3-D stereo conversion of a vintage black & white aerial photo of Morro Bay provided by SCSC member, Jim Long.

  A short Q & A will follow the presentation.