Contains previously unseen stereoscopic (3-D) images of Bennu that provided vital information for the current OSIRIS-REx mission. The book credits Charles Wheatstone as the inventor of the stereoscope. “He was denied his proper place, other people claimed that they had invented it, and some of those falsehoods survived until quite recently,” said May. The book sets the record straight, he added. Returning to image making, Brian strongly believes that exploring stereo photography can benefit more conventional photographers, too. ‘This may sound corny, but taking stereo pictures does open your eyes. You see in a different way, as you need to imagine that you can see depth as well as everything else. A wondrous immersive exhibition celebrating the magic of stereoscopic 3-D photography in the 21st Century – 3rd November 2022 to 25th March 2023

To be honest, yes, I didn’t realise how far the message had got. As I say in the introduction to the book, this is a kind of evangelical effort. I still believe we can properly put stereoscopy on the map. Edited by Brian, the book contains the work of over 100 21st-century stereoscopic photographers from around the world during the COVID years Queen star Brian May and Denis Pellerin are releasing Stereoscopy: The Dawn of 3D in November through The London Stereoscopic Company.Brian’s next highly anticipated book – Bennu 3-D: Anatomy of an Asteroid – is coming very soon! To launch the title he and The London Stereoscopy Company are collaborating with one of the UK’s most magnificent institutions, the Natural History Museum…. Brian May and Professor Dante Lauretta

Charles Wheatstone, a Professor at Kings College, discovered stereoscopy and invented the stereoscope in the 1830s and this was to be the start of 3-D. As we’ve been talking about social media, I ask May what he thinks Mercury would have made of the modern world. Because with the openness and instant gratification of social media also comes cancel culture. The upside and the downside. They are, in a way, two sides of the same coin. The instruments were advertised in the Times “at unprecedented low prices”, starting at sixpence, under the heading “No home without a stereoscope”. Cards were given away with magazines and circulated through special libraries. The “ghost in the stereoscope” refers to a craze within the craze for phantoms to appear in photos. They were a sort of spooky novelty. Global landmarks, such as the pyramids at Giza, were also popular. “You are in Egypt, you are in China, you are in Japan. By 1859 you could see the whole world in 3D,” says Pellerin. But it was pictures of famous people that the public really wanted to see.Brian and Denis pose with the antique stereoscope which has never been seen by the public before: Photo credit: Paul Harmer While getting books signed by Brian May, visitors will also have the opportunity to explore the wonders of the exhibition - Stereoscopy Is Good For You: Life in 3-D. For the next 5 months, the exhibition will offer visitors the chance to experience 3-D first-hand, using May’s patent OWL viewers, in three areas channelling the new SIGFY book, the Birth of Stereoscopy, and Queen in 3-D.’

He told The Sun, “For instance, Freddie wasn't white but nobody cared. He was a musician. He was our friend, our brother. We didn't have to stop and think, ‘Oh should we work with him? Is he the right colour or the right sex?’ It's frightening that people have to be so calculated about things. To me it is dangerous.” Presents the entire history of the asteroid from formation over 4.5 billion years ago, right the way through to today’s mission.

Capturing Women’s football on film

I now have an indelible disposition to look at scenes and see them “properly” in stereo. A lot of people go through almost their whole lives without realising they have this wonderful depth of perception. My job as the stereoscopic evangelist is to go, “No, there is a way you can transform your pictures into a format that will enable you to enjoy them forever as you did at the time of capture.”’ Mercury knew all about May’s fascination with stereoscopy. The guitarist would take a stereo camera on the road (there is even a stereo book of Queen photos). “Oh yeah, Freddie saw me with my stereo camera. In fact, in the Queen book there is a stereoscopic picture of him taking a picture of me with his Polaroid. That was his passion. Taking Polaroids and instantly having pictures that he could share with his friends.” EXCITING NEWS – Brian and the LSC finally announce that the highly anticipated title STEREOSCOPY IS GOOD FOR YOU: LIFE IN 3-D

The majority of LSC’s books have been historical,’ he says, ‘but this book is about photography for the common person, just as AP has set out its own agenda over the years. These are all amateurs who took part. They take stereoscopic pictures because they get a thrill, or a feeling of comfort or connection, or want to capture something that will evoke very strong emotions when they look at it later in life.’ It’s a hard life Stereoscopy turned out to be a “rollercoaster ride with peaks and periods of total oblivion and neglect”, he added. After the Victorians, it enjoyed a revival during the first world war, and again in the 1950s when the young May became enraptured. Visitors will view the visuals in the splendour of 3-D through the stereoscopic OWL viewer designed by Brian May himself.

It’s a hard life

Later that day we see Brian and Denis in the grand chapel at Kings College ready to launch the book to the world with a live virtual 3-D presentation of the book. This show exhibits 3-D photography from Brian May’s latest publication ‘Stereoscopy Is Good For You: Life in 3-D’, capturing life, beauty and joy from 3-D photographers across the world, during our challenging times on Earth. It also includes a dazzling array of historical images communicating the excitement of stereoscopy in Victorian times, and a selection of Brian May’s own stereoscopic work depicting Queen from the inside. Discover the 19th-century art of stereoscopy, which saw a second wave of popularity in the mid-20th century. It was at that time that the young Sir Brian May – later the lead guitarist for Queen – began his passion for this photographic phenomenon and formed his world-leading collection of stereoscopy. While getting books signed by Brian May, visitors will also have the opportunity to explore the wonders of the exhibition –“Stereoscopy Is Good For You: Life in 3-D”. For the next 5 months, the exhibition will offer visitors the chance to experience 3-D first-hand, using May’s patent OWL viewers, in three areas channeling the new SIGFY book, the Birth of Stereoscopy, and QUEEN in 3-D.