PETERIS SMITS. STEREO PHOTOGRAPHY

From the June 5th at the Latvian Museum of Photography exhibition of stereo photography made by Pēteris Šmits will be presented. Stereo photography is an image with an illusion of depth. It presents two offset images separately to the right and left eye of the viewer. Because of the features of vision and by using stereoscope, the viewer can see them as one image. Stereo photography is an image which is taken by photo camera with two objectives or a photography of one object taken from two different angles.

Latvian Museum of Photography has a collection of more than 700 stereo photography taken by Pēteris Šmits. Mārtiņš Buclers, one of the founders of Latvian photography, in the year 1925 said that in our country stereoscopic photography was not used enough. As a good example he mentioned the purpose of Pēteris Šmits who wanted to spend all his spare time to make stereo photography. In these images Pēteris Šmits has captured everything: landscapes of Latvia, historical places, architecture, monuments, ethnographic materials, well known people, events. This systematic collection of stereo photography was used in Latvian schools as a visual material and was sold for private use as well.

Pēteris Šmits (1882 – 1973) was born in district of Valka. From the beginning of Latvian Photography union which was founded in 1906 he was its member. In 1920s he was chairman of this union. He took part in national and international photo exhibitions mostly exhibiting stereo photography or ethnographical images. The union popularised the ethnographic photography. During World War I Pēteris Šmits got mobilized in the army. At the end of World War II he went in to banishment and after the war lived in USA.

WE WOULD LIKE TO EXPRESS OUR GRATITUDE TO THE STATE CULTURE CAPITAL FOUNDATION, ĒRIKS SĻUSARS AND RIGA SCHOOL OF ARTS AND CRAFT, JĀNIS JANSONS AND ”PASAULES OTIKA”, DESIGN AGENCY ”PIECI EZERI” AND OUR INFORMATIVE SUPPORTERS.