Hello everyone
I think this is pretty good Bank Holiday fun activity and all you need is a camera and a way of lining up two photographs (that you take) side by side. If you have a smartphone there's an app called 3DSteroid (Android) or i3DSteroid (iPhone) which will help you do both.
Otherwise you'd either need to
(a) use some other editing 'thing' on your phone (iPhones have Keynote bundled but you may have Word or PowerPoint on yours if it's a work phone, or could use Google Docs / Google Slides), or
(b) transfer / export the photos to a laptop or computer and use the software there. Or you can print the photos and line them up on a table. Could probably do it in Canva too.
You're trying to recreate what your eyes see so you take two photos a few inches apart (left eye, right eye) then line them up. If you adjust your focus (if you can remember the Magic Eye photos of the 90s this is the same thing) then, thanks to your brain, a third 3D-effect image - that is a combination of the two but which 'exists' only in your brain - will emerge between your two photographs. It's weirdly and delightfully effective.
• This page tells you how to do it on an iPhone.
• This is a page I wrote for the work blog (hoping schools might try it next term, there are some ICT skills involved) which also includes some free example photographs that you can try lining up, plus ready-to-use pairs.
Note that some people focus with their eyes 'parallel' (so their left eye looks at the left pic, right eye at right pic). Others are 'cross-eyed' focusers (so their left eye looks at the right pic and right eye at left pic). Neither is better than the other but only one option will look 'correct' for you. The 3D effect is apparent in both but if it's the wrong way round for your eyes and brain then things that look like they should be stretching into the distance look like they're coming out of the picture. Also not everyone's eyes can do this.
You don't need any special equipment to view the images but some people find that stereoviewers can help (this example costs £5).
Happy stereoviewing :)
Jo
The attached image of cherry trees in Greenwich Park is set up for parallel focusers.