Update on Douglas Winnek 3D Camera from WWII

Email Todd Gustavson @ The George Eastman House. He can be reached at todd@geh.org. He's the technology curator and I'm sure he would be interested in this gem! If you have trouble reaching him, I have a few contacts at GEH who I can contact as well.
 
Considering it was the Japanese that brought about the martial circumstances that led to the need for the bombs in the Pacfic the first place, a donation to the aggressors and authors of Rape and Massacre of Nanking as well as the invasions and murders of so many other nations and peoples, any gift that would contribute to the popular but false notion of the Japanese as hapless victims of the Atomic Bomb is wildly inappropriate, IMO.

As an atomic vet, I worked as a Dust-Off medic on the Enewetak Clean-up Project, I have lost comrades as well as suffered myself, the result of radiation injuries, I know what it is like to have been poisoned for life by this Nations abysmal and, often times criminal, atomic and nuclear policies.

However, the World War being what it was, those bombs were the right tool at the right time and by all counts, saved many, many more lives, Japanese, American and Allied, than those souls lost in those two attacks.

I suggest you either sell it outright to whomever will compensate you fairly or considering making it available as a loaned display to schools and museums that need help explaining what the war time demands, plans and technology were that went into the ending of the war, the way it did, without all the political spin we tend to attach to all such artifacts and events these days.
 
War has many different sorts of victims...technology developed during war also benefits many people. I suppose killing all of the buffalo seemed like the right thing to do at the time too nevertheless I think it worked. But this thread is about a special camera so please let's not debate the rape of Nanking. Besides the west had already savagely subdued that place long before that happened with a poppy flower and a few ships.
 
not by "all counts"

not by "all counts"

Read "Hiroshima in America" which releases data de-classified in 1989 which includes reports from the US Govt. at the time that indicated the Japanese were ready to surrender without the bombs, which at the time they were dropped, the nuclear aspects were not disclosed, and were classified at the time.


eli griggs said:
Considering it was the Japanese that brought about the martial circumstances that led to the need for the bombs in the Pacfic the first place, a donation to the aggressors and authors of Rape and Massacre of Nanking as well as the invasions and murders of so many other nations and peoples, any gift that would contribute to the popular but false notion of the Japanese as hapless victims of the Atomic Bomb is wildly inappropriate, IMO.

As an atomic vet, I worked as a Dust-Off medic on the Enewetak Clean-up Project, I have lost comrades as well as suffered myself, the result of radiation injuries, I know what it is like to have been poisoned for life by this Nations abysmal and, often times criminal, atomic and nuclear policies.

However, the World War being what it was, those bombs were the right tool at the right time and by all counts, saved many, many more lives, Japanese, American and Allied, than those souls lost in those two attacks.

I suggest you either sell it outright to whomever will compensate you fairly or considering making it available as a loaned display to schools and museums that need help explaining what the war time demands, plans and technology were that went into the ending of the war, the way it did, without all the political spin we tend to attach to all such artifacts and events these days.
Click to expand...
 
I never said anything about giving away the camera for free to Japan. I am asking a few museums here and there about their wish to get my camera (not for free).
 
I have contacted Westlicht two days ago, and I am waiting for their reply. I may have to do a better job in documenting in a compact format whatever information I have on the camera.
 
@Raid

I just stumbled on this topic. So I don't know if it has been discussed before.
But, are there plans to publish your findings in a book? Could make a interesting read.
 
I would need access to the diary and also to some photos that were taken with the camera to be able to write up an article. A book would need lots of material to write about. Who would think of buying such a book?
 
raid said:
...Who would think of buying such a book?
Click to expand...

Anybody interested in Photography, WWII, 3D-Photography, American inventors....
Since this is probably the only surviving camera of the 15 made. The only way to share this info, would be by book or internet site.

There's a lot of interesting stuff in this story, even if you don't get access to the diary. A example of a photo taken with the camera would be awesome though.

And a book could also be used in dealing with a museum.
You can display the camera, if you buy x copies of my book (just a idea).
And today with online publishing like blurb, and other printing-on-demand services, Publishing a book is not that hard.


In this topic there was/is a lot a discussion on selling the camera. And I totally understand, if you want to sell it. But I feel that it is more important, to keep the info on such a historic piece available too the public.
 
Agree, WWII Japanese army were no different from Nazis. For what they did, they deserve A-Bomb.
Reid you should not too greedy to have to deal with devils.

eli griggs said:
Considering it was the Japanese that brought about the martial circumstances that led to the need for the bombs in the Pacfic the first place, a donation to the aggressors and authors of Rape and Massacre of Nanking as well as the invasions and murders of so many other nations and peoples, any gift that would contribute to the popular but false notion of the Japanese as hapless victims of the Atomic Bomb is wildly inappropriate, IMO.

As an atomic vet, I worked as a Dust-Off medic on the Enewetak Clean-up Project, I have lost comrades as well as suffered myself, the result of radiation injuries, I know what it is like to have been poisoned for life by this Nations abysmal and, often times criminal, atomic and nuclear policies.

However, the World War being what it was, those bombs were the right tool at the right time and by all counts, saved many, many more lives, Japanese, American and Allied, than those souls lost in those two attacks.

I suggest you either sell it outright to whomever will compensate you fairly or considering making it available as a loaned display to schools and museums that need help explaining what the war time demands, plans and technology were that went into the ending of the war, the way it did, without all the political spin we tend to attach to all such artifacts and events these days.
Click to expand...
 
Harold Birdwhistle

Harold Birdwhistle

Contarama said:
http://www.largeformatphotography.i...hp?37986-Sinar-Winnek-8x10-3D-Scanning-Camera

My bad this one is a Winnek camera but not like the Naval camera. It is a Sinar.
Click to expand...

Harold Birdwhistle recently emailed me an interview video with Douglas Winnek. Winnek built many cameras, but only 15 were made like mine.



Harold posted online:
"This is my camera - It was willed to me after the inventors death. Doug Winnek is well known in the history and development of Autostereoscopy - 3D with the unaided eye.
I worked with him, his wife and this camera and its predecessor, an 11x14 scanning camera, for 15 years in the Carmel Valley, CA.
Its a Sinar P 8x10 back and bellows with a Burke & James Lensboard with a Packard shutter. A 12 inch Kodak Ektar Commercial Lens. The Back and lens travel on a track, offset from each other according to the focus plane of the subject. A screen is imposed on the film during exposure, also travelling.
I am in the final stages of restoration and am ready to shoot soon. It produces amazingly detailed 3D images right out of the camera. I have done portaiture, architecture, landscape, product and computer graphics, including MRI in 3D with this camera.
Is anyone familiar with this process, or any large format 3D applications?
Thanks,
Harold"
 
The Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola sent me this email this morning about my camera:

"Upon receipt of the camera, our radiation safety officers conducted a test of it and determined that an interior component had high enough radium readings to warrant that the camera be secured in a specialized and isolated storage area that also includes instruments from aircraft that also contain high levels of radium.

At this juncture, the Navy is engaged in outlining procedures for its museums with respect to items containing radium and we are awaiting guidance on the camera."

I hope that the radiation levels are not dangerous to humans. I onced used a Geiger counter to measure the radiation levels, and what I found were low levels.
 
I guess you could sterilized yourself and increase your opportunistic of getting cancer.


raid said:
The Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola sent me this email this morning about my camera:

"Upon receipt of the camera, our radiation safety officers conducted a test of it and determined that an interior component had high enough radium readings to warrant that the camera be secured in a specialized and isolated storage area that also includes instruments from aircraft that also contain high levels of radium.
Click to expand...
 
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