PHOTOGRAPHER IN 3D
“No matter how cheap or expensive the equipment, how simple or complex the features, I quickly learned that every photo, every video is there to simply tell our story.”
Matt Scobel’s art has an otherworldly quality to it – literally. ‘Eyes on Earth’ is one of his signature pieces and is a 24-hour simulation of the 3,000+ satellites that orbit and observe our planet every day.
It is not only his 3d creations Matt is renowned for. It is his enthralling photography too.
“For most of my life, I’ve been curious about photography,” Matt says. “From the disposable cameras my parents used to buy me as a child, to my first DSLR that I took to the Masai Mara in 2006, I’ve always been fascinated with how a single piece of equipment has told the world’s stories for the last century.”
In 2014, he started to take photography seriously when he joined Canon to open an innovation lab in Waterloo, Canada. Since then he’s had the chance to experiment with almost all kinds of cameras. “No matter how cheap or expensive the equipment, how simple or complex the features, I quickly learned that every photo, every video is there to simply tell our story.”
He officially started his web3 journey at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Clubhouse was the place to be at the time, especially for artists. Maiden voyages into uncharted territory can be nerve-wracking. Fortunately, Matt had a friend by his side to soften the blow. When blockchain artist Cath Simard released her genesis drop, ‘LUMIÈRE DU NOIR,’ he assisted her with her promo and marketing.
Receiving a nudge or two from Cath, Matt minted his own genesis piece ‘Three Sisters’ in June 2021. Ironically, it was picked up by the same person who swooped up Cath’s genesis drop – NorCal.
It is impossible to deny the profound impact AI art has on the collective creative space. Matt shares: “I think Photoshop is a good example of how it can be used as a beautiful tool or a too-easy shortcut. I think in the long run, it will encourage more crazy experimentation.”
Essentially retiring from photography to take up 3d creation, Matt ‘Eyes on Earth’ cemented his place in the 3d art field too. Thanks to some bullish marketing tactics which included a 24-hour Twitter space, the animation was scooped up by one of the biggest names on the NFT block, 6529.
Always looking for a new adventure, Matt continues to hone his 3d skills, excited about the future of the blockchain.