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The National Stereoscopic Association 25th Annual Convention July 8-12 1999
1999 Celebrates the 25th year since the beginning of the NSA, and it seems appropriate that the 25th annual convention in Green Bay, Wisconsin, was one of the best ones that we have attended since our first NSA convention in San Jose, CA in 1982.
The schedule for the convention followed the same pattern that has been used for many years. Unofficial "Room Hopping" (definition for newcomers: buying and selling of stereo cards, 3-D cameras, equipment and any other stereo items in the rooms of attendees, before the official Trade Show begins) began as early as Monday, and continued to pick up steam until Thursday, the official first day of the convention.
Thursday was mostly a setup day, with lots of room-hopping. Registration began at 1:00 PM, and there was a View-Master Meeting from 2:30 to 4:30 and an Internet Meeting from 4:30 to 5:30.
This is a special year for View-Master, as it is their 60th anniversary. Several representatives from Fisher-Price, the relatively new owners of View-Master, were there to tell us about "what's new" and what the future holds in store for View-Master. The best news is that they indicated that Fisher-Price is taking the View-Master product quite seriously. They have many plans to turn around a product that was neglected for many years by the previous owners.
To demonstrate their commitment to a revival of the View-Master image, they demonstrated two new products: The Virtual Viewer, and the Super Show Projector. (Earlier in the year they launched the new Discovery Combination View-Master Viewer and binoculars, which has turned out to be a great seller, and a positive sign for Fisher-Price!).
The Virtual Viewer is an all new viewer design that features modern styling, and 50% larger magnification than the previous toy store models. It features double element plastic lenses. The only other model to feature double lenses was the Model D focusing viewer.
The new projector features ergonomic design, and a much brighter and sharper image than the previous hand-held model. The side-by-side comparison they demonstrated was staggering!.
Of interest to collectors, and representing a "dip in the water" by View-Master to create collectable items, was a new boxed set featuring a reprint of a Popeye 3-reel packet from 1962. The packet comes in a unique "retro" box, printed with the 1950's style View-Master lettering. It also comes with a unique 3-color model L viewer, with special stickers on the viewer and box. The set is limited to 2000 units, and is sold only by The Toy Museum, 636 Girard Ave., P.O. Box 238, East Aurora, NY 14052. Price is a reasonable $14.95, plus shipping. The order forms that were handed out disappeared in seconds!
The Internet Meeting was hosted by Dan Shelley, and was basically to provide an introduction to "newbies" and to let us know what resources are available on the Internet. For those wanting more information on "Photo 3-D" go to the www.stereoscopy.com/services page, and then click on the "Photo 3-D" link for more information.
On Friday the Opening Ceremony of the convention began at 8:30 am, with 3-D slide programs in the "NSA Stereo Theater" running from 9am to 5pm with a two hour break for lunch.
All of the programs were top-notch this year. Sadly, only one slide show was made from copies of antique black-and-white stereo view cards: "Immigrant Photographer - Andrew L. Dahl" by Tim & Karen White. This outstanding show featured more images with groups of people and families than I have ever seen in a group of antique images. The musical background from the era provided a perfect accompaniment to these historical images.
Other shows (color slides, projected in Realist Format with either a Brackett Fader, an RBT 3-D projector, or with multiple Ektagraphic projectors) included:
- "3-D Travels" by Charley Van Pelt
- "A Tourist at Home" by Gary Schacker
- "Orcas Island" by Lawrence Haines
- "Travel Quiz" (Panoramic Stereos) by Manley and Lois Koehler
- "Anamorphics from Switzerland", by Ernst Lips
- "Macro & Computer" by Ernst Lipps
- "Beneath the Sea in 3-D" by Mark Blum
- "3-D For A Living", by Hugo de Wijs of The Netherlands
- "The View-Master Sequence Exhibition" of the Stereo Club of Southern California
- "Barbie!" by Eugene Mitofsky
- "Day of the Dead, Mexico's Livliest Celebration" by Robert Bloomberg
- "Fur Coats are Not Needed Here", by Al Sieg
- "Mesa Arizona, NSA in Y2K" by Thomas Dory
- "Inside China in 3-D" by Ron Labbe & Ed Shaw
- "It's not a Flat World" by Rich Dubnow and Ron Panfilio
- "Nocturnal Moments, Dream Sequence / Horse Vision" by Lynn Butler.
There is not enough space to describe each of these shows here, but definitely each one was interesting, entertaining, enjoyable and a good example of the art of stereography.
Since we are dealers we did not have the time to attend the workshops on Saturday & Sunday (they were at the same time as the Trade Show) but they included: "Getting Started in 3-D with a Manual Stereo Camera", "The Ins & Outs of Stereo Slide Viewers", and "Stereo Slide Mounting" all by George Themelis (a.k.a. Dr. T). There was also "How to Publish a 3D Book" by Stuart Stiles, "Restitching a Camera Case" by Bill Davis, "Medium Format Magic" and Digital Photo Manipulation" both by Tom Deering.
Saturday and Sunday were the days of the Trade Show -- probably the biggest reason that most members attend the convention. With over 100 tables with dealers from all over the country one can find everything from antique stereo graphiscopes, wooden stereo cardholders, stereocards, viewers, to Tru-Vue, View-Master, 3-D collectibles of all sorts, and modern 3-D supplies and equipment. On these two days of the year there is possibly more 3-D "stuff" for sale in one location than anywhere on the entire planet!
The dealers that we talked to all seemed to feel that it was a very good show, and very well attended. We were told that the NSA had blocked out and filled 205 out of the 225 rooms of the hotel, and arrangements had to be made to put more members at two adjacent hotels!
The hotel itself turned out to be one of the most ideal venues that we have had for this type of convention. First, all of the rooms were suites, each including a bedroom, living room, kitchenette with refrigerator, coffeemaker and microwave, which left much more room for sellers to set out their wares for "room-hopping" talking and relaxing with 3-D friends. Included in the cost of the room were a buffet breakfast from 6:30 to 9:30am and a free drinks "happy hour" in the enclosed atrium courtyard in the center of the hotel from 5 to 7pm. Since the majority of the hotel guests were NSA members, both of these daily events turned into easy, casual social events as well. We could not recall ANY previous NSA convention that we have been to, which had so much quality time for just meeting other members and having a chance to chat with them! This idea should be taken into consideration for future NSA conventions.
Many attendees left on Sunday evening, however, many also stayed for a bus tour of Door County -- a part of Wisconsin that more resembles New England, with lighthouses, fishing villages and coastline. Most of the people on the Tour said that they had a great time, and a highlight was a lunch stop for a local "Fish Boil" that is unique to the area. They all said it was delicious!
The convention ended unofficially on a quiet note, with those of us still remaining attending the Monday night Happy Hour, and a small group of us going to dinner at a nearby restaurant located in an old train depot.
This convention was extremely well organized and beautifully planned, with every tiny detail thought out ahead of time. Someone was always on hand to pleasantly help out when there was any question or need. Our kudos to the impressive planning committee, who extended so much time, energy and helpfulness to creating a memorable, purely enjoyable time for so many people.
If you have not yet been to an NSA convention we invite you to consider going to the next one (in Mesa, Arizona, July 6-10, 2000). There is no other place where you will meet so many friendly 3-D people, or find so many 3-D goodies to purchase!
David Starkman & Susan Pinsky
July 13, 1999
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