Tempted to immerse yourself in a 3D world after one-too-many viewings of James Cameron’s Avatar? Forget the glowing foliage of Pandora.

For one Malaysian, reality is exciting enough — at least when viewed with a 3D twist. Meet Raymond Teu, 3D enthusiast, full-time content creator and teacher.

The 44-year-old former marketing consultant had his first taste of 3D when tasked to find out the feasibility of 3D commercials for a client.

After researching the market and three futile weeks searching for a supplier of 3D glasses, Raymond turned to making the glasses himself and has never looked back since.

“It started as a hobby but ended up as a business thing ,” chuckled Raymond during a recent interview with The Malay Mail, having quit his job to pursue his new-found passion full-time.

As with many labours of love, Raymond has had his fair share of skepticism and predictions of failure.

Especially since to date, he and his group of enthusiasts seem to be the only active practitioners in the country.

“Whenever I explain to people what it is I do, I always get laughed at and responses such as ‘there’s no way you can do this, you’re crazy!', so you just had to endure it.It's human nature, you have to see it to believe it but now it’s not as bad as before,” he recalled, noting that the recent and ongoing phenomenon of Avatar has helped spark an interest in all things 3D.

The first mission is to dispel the misconceptions surrounding 3D content. According to Raymond, there’s no need for expensive gadgetry and software to make good quality 3D images.

“All you need is a digital camera, I use one of the cheapest from Panasonic that costs RM299! Of course the end result will not be as stunning as what you see in Avatar but then again, most of us don’t have that kind of budget.

"With what we’ve done, I would say that the quality is about 80 per cent similar to that ,” noted Raymond, adding that old photos can also be converted into 3D but the process is more time consuming.

In fact Fujifilm released the FinePix REAL 3D W1 last year, the first consumer camera with built-in 3D photo capabilities.

However, that comes with a hefty price tag of USD$600 (RM2,070). It appears that the process is surprisingly simple.

All one needs to create 3D image is to take two photos of the same scene, with the second shot approximately 10cm to the left or right of the first.

Then load up the pictures to the software which does the work of adjusting and merging the images together to create the 3D effect.

“The software does all the work and you can download it for free!”

Raymond now heads a group of like-minded individuals, mostly youths, who are keen to explore all the possibilities of do-it-yourself 3D content.

It's early days yet for the group, who call themselves SOB 3D World, having been in existence for three months and currently boasting about 30 members. It's an informal group, with the name in Mandarin translating to ‘3D Commandoes’.

Wong Kean Hwa, a member of the group who meet regularly for phototaking excursions around the Klang Valley, first heard about the hobby from Raymond himself.

“It was a new thing to learn for me, and as a hobby it seems more real than just playing video games all the time. You get to create,” said the 25-year-old marketing executive.

Another member, Ting Huat Sing, echoed the same sentiment.

“It’s a healthy hobby and you get to have fun and learn a new skill at the same time,” said the 25-year-old who has a day job working with Hewlett Packard on their Help Desk.

Raymond is adamant that Malaysia can take centre stage in the emerging 3D scene, believing that widespread acceptance for 3D content consumption is well underway and that it is the century of 3D content, not just the year.

“We’re always saying ‘Malaysia Boleh’ but in the end, we end up following what other countries are doing. Why can’t it be the other way around? We have the talent and the technology is readily available. We just have to take the lead,” said Raymond, who added that his own forays into 3D content creation have been quite fruitful.

After creating a profile on a 3D website and forum called China 3D (www.china3-d.com), he shot up the ranks by the second month as one of the most viewed photographers.

“I remember one guy from China contacted me about a photo I took of Bukit Tinggi, he wanted to get permission to use it and I told him ‘go ahead, there’s no copyright for my photos!’” he recalled with a laugh.

No copyright? He admitted that it may sound crazy in this day and age but insisted that the potential for widespread awareness outweighs any potential loss of income — at least for now.

“Anyone can make 3D a part of their life. In fact, I hardly look at 2D websites these days. Why should I when I can see it in 3D?” he said, advising newcomers to a 3D world to take it slow with the glasses.

“When you first start off, don’t wear them for too long. Ten minutes max or else you’ll get dizzy. Over time, you will build up a tolerance to it.”

What’s in store for the future? For now, the group is working on holding the first 3D photo exhibit in Malaysia, with a tentative launch date in March.

Raymond hopes to publish a magazine entirely in 3D but has put such plans on hold to raise awareness about the hobby.

Yet the even bigger picture, for Raymond anyway, may sound fanciful to most:

“One day, we can pick up a newspaper and the photos will jump out at you, just like the ones in Harry Potter!”

For more 3D images, click here