During his long, extremely productive, and fascinating life, Al Sieg has been a dear friend to the thousands of us who knew him. He had friends in many countries and was widely recognized for many achievements.

 

Dr. Albert Louis Sieg, with degrees in chemistry, was a veteran of the Army Medical Corps, and later served as a director, manager, and then Vice President of the Eastman Kodak Corporation. For seven years he was President and CEO of Kodak Japan in Tokyo.

But to most of us, Al is best known for his 60 years of amateur photography and his favorite format: stereoscopic (3D) photography. Starting around 1960, Al was photographing travel, landscape, nature, wildlife, scenic, and table-top images. His images have often included his wife Irma, his three daughters (Karen, Diane, and Susan), and most likely his grandchildren.

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Al's first stereo film camera was a Kodak 35mm stereo camera, followed by a Stereo Realist f/2.8 camera fitted with Seton Rochwite's polarizing filter system. The running joke was that Al was able to take so many photographs because he received a big discount when he bought film in a yellow box!

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Al's images are always popular, and he competed in many local and international stereo competitions. He also provided photographic presentations for other activities. Al holds the world record for the highest ranking in amateur 3D photography in the Photographic Society of America (PSA) of Master Level 27. With about 2,400 image acceptances and 400 awards in exhibitions, he has over 40 images in the PSA 3D Hall of Fame series of programs.

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Al was an Honorary Fellow of PSA (HonFPSA) and a Grand Master of PSA (GMPSA). He held the positions of Executive Vice President of PSA from 1995 to 1999, and President of PSA from 1999 to 2003, and was a past chairman of the Stereo (now 3D) Division of PSA.

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Al was a member of the National Stereoscopic Association (NSA) Board of Directors from 2007 to 2020, and was the NSA Board Chair from 2009 to 2013. He received the 2011 "Fellow of the NSA" Darrah Award, named for 3D collector and author William C. Darrah. In 2021 Al received a Special Recognition Award for his dedication to NSA and Stereo Photography.

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Al was a member and Fellow of the Third Dimension Society (based in Great Britain) and a Past President of the International Stereoscopic Union (ISU). He was a founding member of the Japan 3D Society. He was also involved in other photographic clubs and organizations, for both 3D and 2D (flattie) images.

After returning from Japan to his home area in Rochester, New York, Al authored the book "The Tokyo Chronicles" in 1994. He shared many of his experiences while living, working, and competing in business in Japan. Rather than having the typical format with "chapters," the book is a series of fascinating short stories. In one of these stories, Al tells about having to play golf with business executives, even though he could not play golf!

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Al received the top two awards that PSA bestows. In 1995, Al was awarded the PSA Progress Award for his many patents contributing to photographic science in the area of graphic arts. Al was later honored as recipient of the 2013 PSA Lifetime Achievement Award. As part of the PSA ceremony, Al prepared a special program titled "My 50 Years of Exhibiting Stereo Images," which at that time was in slide (transparency) film format with a live narration by Al (I was the projectionist!). Since then, the program has been converted to digital format by other friends and is narrated by Al himself.

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Al has always been active in several facets of his church (including handbell ringing), as well as charities in his Rochester area. Born in Chicago, Illinois, on March 25, 1930, he passed peacefully to a new life on July 30, 2022. I count on seeing him again!