My name is Shahrokh Dabiri, I live in Tehran, Iran one of the largest cities in the world with a population of nearly 20
million. Within our region, it is the most progressive country with the most educated people. Our large cities would remind you of American cities around 1980.
I am 49 years old (1957) and a dentist in Tehran with a private practice in my own clinic.
I have been involved in photography for 30 years, but nearly 10 years ago, I fell in love with 3D.
I cannot forget my first look at a stereo picture. My high school Physics Lab teacher showed us a hand made viewer with a single stereo of our high school landscape. I was so excited gazing at the picture that I couldn't pass it to other students! Our teacher told us, "You need two pictures with 6 cm distance & a viewer." That was all that I knew about 3D!!
I thought about that picture frequently until 10 years ago when I decided to produce my first stereo photograph. I bought two lenses from an eye glass shop and made a viewer by
myself. I used a single SLR to take the pictures.
When I saw the first stereo image that I had created, it was so wonderful to me that I continued taking more and more stereo pictures to this very day.
In Iran, you can't find anything
regarding stereoscopy; no stereo cameras; no 3D equipment; nothing.
I felt very alone at the beginning. Two years ago, I was in a camera shop and I met a man with a Nimslo around his neck!! This was my first glimpse of a stereo camera. The man was the ISU Representative for Iran. What a coincidence for both of us. It was the first time that I realized that there was another 3D man in Iran & that there are many 3D people around the world. I got an ISU membership. Currently I am the second member of the ISU in Iran. There are no others in my country yet.
The 3D man told me that there was is a great deal of information regarding 3D on the Net, that there were many people with whom I could communicate, and that there were 3d exhibitions
around the world. And so, I began to learn many things regarding 3D from other stereographers and groups on the Internet.
I have a deep passion for 3D and stereoscopic images. I bought
a used Realist 3.5 from a fellow in the USA and had a passenger bring it into the country for me. I have received a few acceptances in digital competitions and my image “Engrave” was awarded a red
ribbon for best human interest by CSC (my favorite stereo organization) in their last digital exhibition. I won a pair of shutter glasses for third prize in the www.DDD.com competition last year.
Shortage of 3D equipment is the major problem here. Each of the things that I have now, even my Realist, have been brought by my American friends when they have traveled to Iran.
When I take stereo pictures, I like a calculated "through the window" effect very much and I try to find something logical for extraction through my pictures' windows when I mount
stereo pairs. Through the window effect increases the depth and helps to eliminate the ghosts in anaglyphs.
The many Americans and Europeans who visit here enjoy the 5000 year old history of
Iran, formerly Persia, and the many historical structures from 2500 years ago. We have some very old churches here. One of them, Wong Church, in Esfehan has many big murals like the ones
painted by Michel Angelo in Italy.
The only limitation for women traveling to Iran is that they must cover their hair with a soft scarf (not the face, only Arabs cover the face ) and
they should not wear tight clothes. In short, a woman must cover her skin except face and hands when she is in public.
This clothing law was instituted 23 years ago, after our revolution, and our women hope to change it again.
We speak in Farsi ( we aren't Arabs) and our legal religion is Islam, but
Iran has many Christians and Jews that easily live and work in our society. There are five members of our parliament who are Christian or Jewish.
Shahrokh Dabiri.
dabiri58(-at-)yahoo.com |
