James Harp, E James Smith, Max Clarke
Virtual Reality and Musical Journeys: Jim Harp’s Presentation
The club’s latest meeting commenced with a presentation by Jim Harp, a theater musician and consultant renowned for his enthusiasm for virtual reality (VR) equipment. Harp, a regular attendee who brings his VR gear to every meeting, shared his experiences from a recent international tour with the Broadway musical Dreamgirls. His segment detailed his travels across China and Japan during late 2019 and early 2020, offering a firsthand perspective on the early stages of the global pandemic.
Harp recounted his time in Shanghai, where the Dreamgirls production ran from December 27, 2019, to January 15, 2020. He noted an email from his wife warning about a pneumonia outbreak in Wuhan, advising him to avoid pork—a challenging task given its prevalence in Chinese cuisine. He shared a photo from the opening night party in Shanghai, capturing Chinese fans recording the event as cast members performed R&B songs with a local top 40 band.
Following Shanghai, Harp took a side trip to Xi’an, approximately 380 miles west of Shanghai, visiting the historic Wild Goose Pagoda and the famous Terracotta Warriors. He provided historical context about the warriors, built for Emperor Qin Shi Huang around 210 BC to guard him in the afterlife. Harp explained how these figures, discovered as pottery shards in the 1970s, were painstakingly reassembled—an ongoing project revealing only a third of the estimated total. He also highlighted Xi’an’s Muslim Quarter, showcasing its Afghan-influenced cuisine, including squid on a stick.
Back in Shanghai, Harp explored Qibao, a 1,500-year-old canal town reachable by subway, emphasizing its ancient charm contrasting with Shanghai’s modernity. After the show closed on January 15, he departed China on January 20—just days before travel restrictions were imposed on January 23, 2020. He then traveled to Tokyo, where the Dreamgirls tour continued, visiting the bustling Sensoji Temple in Asakusa and capturing a serene, long-exposure night shot of a temple in Kyoto’s Gion district using Samsung NX1000 cameras. Harp also noted Japan’s cultural trends, such as teenagers in vintage kimonos taking selfies at historical sites, and concluded with a visit to an owl café outside Tokyo, where he photographed a real owl promoting the business.
New York in Transition: E. James Smith’s Photographic Journey
Next, video editor and musician E. James Smith presented a series of slides contrasting New York City’s vibrancy with its stillness during the early pandemic. Known for his work at 3D conventions and editing club videos available on YouTube, Smith began with a pre-pandemic shot of Times Square, featuring his friend Joel Hinman learning to use a W3 camera in front of Madame Tussauds.
Smith then shifted to images taken weeks later, capturing a transformed city under lockdown. He showcased his local movie theater on Second Avenue displaying a “stay safe” message, its usually busy street eerily empty. Continuing along the East River Park, he photographed the Williamsburg Bridge with an unoccupied bench, noting joggers practicing social distancing. Further south, he captured the Brooklyn Bridge from a typically crowded selfie spot, now deserted, and Broad Street near Wall Street—usually teeming with activity—silent during a stock market surge tied to a stimulus package.
Smith’s walk included the Oculus, the World Trade Center transportation hub, typically bustling with kiosks but now vacant, reminiscent of its opening day. He also photographed the PATH station to New Jersey, empty despite its architectural grandeur, which he often captures with wide-angle lenses. In Little Italy and Chinatown, Hester Street’s usually packed sidewalks were barren. His final image depicted a tribute in Tompkins Square Park for a friend’s brother who passed away from a stroke during lockdown, unable to have a traditional memorial. The interactive display, updated by artists Jim and his wife, invited community contributions, offering a poignant close to Smith’s segment.
Stereoscopic Mischief and Artistic Ventures: John Zelenka’s Showcase
John Zelenka, club president and co-founder, followed with a diverse presentation reflecting his multifaceted career as an electronic engineer, composer, and satellite engineer. Describing himself as a “stereoscopic mischief maker,” Zelenka shared images spanning New York landmarks, music tours, and technical installations.
He began with a striking photo of a statue from the Waldorf Astoria, crafted in 1931 by Icelandic artist Nina Saemundsson. Normally perched above Park Avenue, the nickel-bronze figure was photographed at roof level during a video project, revealing intricate details possibly enhanced by a protective coating. Cena also captured a penthouse view of a crane damaged during Hurricane Sandy in 2012, dangling over a 90-story apartment building on 57th Street, where units sold for $90 million.
Shifting to music, Zelenka presented a prop from Lady Gaga’s 2014 ArtRave: The ARTPOP Ball tour at Madison Square Garden—a structure doubling as a performance seat and King Kong backdrop. He also showcased a Maybelline shoot using lasers, capturing a model in motion amidst hazardous beams, and a Journey concert at Jones Beach Theater, noting its historical moat once used by bandleader Guy Lombardo. A Coldplay rehearsal set in Long Island City featured dramatic sunlight, while a zombie-themed wedding shoot for Glam Fairies blended spooky imagery with candid catering moments.
Zelenka concluded with technical images: an antenna installation he engineered for CBS Sports on Manhattan’s West Side, explaining its amplification process, and a hyper-stereo shot from 32 Avenue of the Americas, the former AT&T building. This site, with its muraled lobby and vacuum tube network, once terminated the transatlantic cable, offering a historical communications hub.
Exploring the Coronavirus in 3D: Max Clark’s Multimedia Art
Multimedia artist and stereo photographer Max Clark closed the meeting with an educational exploration of the coronavirus in 3D. Known for work exhibited nationally and internationally, Clark uses stereoscopic techniques to probe visual perception and imagination. He began with a computer-generated image of the virus, created by capturing frames from a rotating animation to form a stereo pair.
Clark explained his “found stereo” method, stopping a YouTube video to screenshot two slightly offset frames, producing a 3D effect. He highlighted the virus’s spike proteins—depicted in red for distinction—noting their role as the “corona” (Latin for crown) and their function as a key unlocking cell receptors. A close-up of a spike protein followed, illustrating its molecular accuracy based on available animations.
Next, Clark presented a fragment of RNA, the virus’s genetic payload injected into cells to replicate new viruses. His final image, a cutaway view, revealed multiple RNA copies spiraling within the virus, emphasizing its efficiency in hijacking cells. While not a virologist, Clark aimed to educate through his art, acknowledging the subject’s gravity while offering a visually compelling perspective.
Conclusion
The meeting, hosted by club president John Cena, showcased a rich tapestry of experiences—from Jim Harp’s global travels and E. James Smith’s lockdown reflections to Cena’s eclectic portfolio and Max Clark’s scientific artistry. High attendance underscored the club’s success in engaging members virtually, blending personal narratives, historical insights, and innovative stereoscopic techniques.
Preceding summary was generated by Grok AI, and vetted by organic wetware