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Nearly sixty years ago, I was born in Romania.


At the age of eighteen I moved to Germany. At that time I was already infected with the virus of photography, but it was going to last nearly ten more years before I first saw stereo pictures taken by my old school friend Nelu - and I was immediately hooked on this wonderful medium! - My friend Nelu also was the one who custom-built my first stereo camera based on two simple Russian “Smena 8” plastic cameras.


From that day back in 1988 I was getting more and more involved into stereo photography. Wherever I was, I enjoyed the adventure of seeing, of spatial vision. I could capture what I saw on slides and wanted to share this joy of seeing with everybody.


Over the years I extended the range of cameras I worked with. There was the excellent stereo dual Yashica FX-D built by the late Fritz O., then came a "Stereo Realist." A "Super Duplex", a "Belplasca" and a "Sputnik", which made my outfit complete. Still, one thing was missing: a device for photographing in the vicinity: a portrait of a person, a flower or a butterfly were virtually impossible to photograph with the cameras readily available at that time. When Fritz O. finally resolved to build such a device to attach to his Yashica, I was no longer among his clients - he built only a handful of them before he died in August 2006.

The lack of a camera for close-ups did not prevent me however to take thousands of stereo shots over the years, be it during my travels or while at home. I was always captivated by the beauty of landscapes, wildlife, and nature, but also by the beauty of woman.

When digital cameras appeared and became affordable, a new age began. Shortly afterwards, I was the owner of a twin Sony DSC-V1 rig and could manipulate the camera separation in a wide range. Taking the first shots of flowers and other small items was like a revelation! The first Sony close-up rig, however, was a bulky “monster”.


Late in 2009, as the first "real" stereo digital compact cameras by Fuji and others became available, I built the prototype of a compact, travel-compatible external device to be attached to the Fuji W1. The concept worked more than well, I found the limits of the camera widely extended - and the plywood prototype became a priceless and reliable helper during different travels, including backpacking in South America and the Galápagos Islands. Some of those pictures are shown in the Sample Pictures of this website.


This initial success led me to start developing a product apt for small series production in early 2010. Still, no one should underestimate the amount of work involved! The principle is simple, but then again there are huge amounts of detail work, there are considerations to be made as to function, appearance, reliability, robustness, assemlability, adjustment, availability of materials, vendors, administration, scheduling, strategy, advertising, packaging and shipping etc. - and as we know, everything is linked to everything :-)

At the same time, new ideas of how to improve the existing MArCEL Close-up Adaptor keep on coming up.


 
All this would certainly not have been possible without the patience and encouragement of my sweetheart.

 

Thank you, my darling!