The AE-1 (SN 3557201)

My cameras are an extension of myself. Appendages for creativity, tools to capture moments in life. It all started when I was around 6 or 7 years old, and my grandfather brought me to his darkroom to show me how to develop photos. It was there that I learned just how important photography is, and how much fun it can be. Over 25 years later, I now regularly shoot on around 20-25 cameras, both film and digital, at any given time. And I’m never without at least one. // Earlier this year (2021), I found myself lying in bed wondering how I could merge my love of photography with my love of Web3 and CryptoArt, in a way that nobody else has. And then it hit me: I would bring my cameras, my tools, into the metaverse. MetaObscura is the expansion of that idea. Bringing analog technology into the digital realm. It has three main parts. // The first: We are going to bring these exact 3D .glb renderings of my cameras—which we captured using photogrammetry to include every scratch, dent, and nuance—into the AR/VR world. A functional wearable that allows the camera owner to shoot photos in the metaverse. Photos captured in the metaverse will have the same film emulation and aesthetic as the film of the physical world. // The second: Each MetaObscura camera will establish a unique connection between me and my collectors. Take this AE-1 for example. Every photo that was taken with the physical AE-1 will be connected to its MetaObscura twin. When a photo sells on either the primary or secondary market, the proceeds of that sale and all secondary artist royalties will be automatically split between myself and the photo’s respective MetaObscura camera. Automatically via a secondary contract, forever. So long as the internet and Ethereum exist. // The third: Owners of the MetaObscura cameras will have the opportunity to help me curate the photos that I mint from their respective cameras. How that will look is still TBD, but I want my collectors to have a more direct relationship with me and my art. And I hope that, as my grandfather did for me, I can do for them. To show them what it means to turn any camera into an extension of themselves. /// “The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera.” – Dorothea Lange /// Love, Nathan Beer (beercandid), Max Nicklas (mxnickls), Zach Kolodny (koloz)