[Interview] How Photographer Cody Cobb Brings Users to Remote Corners of the World Through The Frame

Samsung Electronics’ award-winning lifestyle TV The Frame continuously transforms the space it’s in by offering users access to over 1,500 pieces of virtual art from some of the world’s most renowned artists, museums and industry tastemakers.

This month, the Art Store is highlighting those masterpieces that bring the most beautiful scenery found around the planet straight to your living room with its World Environment Day spotlight, a curated set of art pieces that feature breathtaking scenes from all over the world. One artist whose work is featured in this spotlight is Cody Cobb, a photographer who travels to some of the most remote places known to man to capture nature the way he believes it should remain: untouched.

Figure 1. In my “studio” which is in the landscape itself

Bringing the Beauty of Our Planet to More People

Cobb has worked in photography for the past 20 years, first as an artistic pursuit that began as a part of his digital illustration projects and subsequently developing to be his primary medium. He travels to remote places including the vast American West in order to find unique landscapes, natural formations and stand-out moments to capture. He spends much of his time working alone in order to allow for serendipity to lead him to the discovery of the exceptional scenes captured in his work.

▲ Death Valley (2015)

“I am not sure that I can turn off the part of my brain that is engaged when I am photographing,” noted Cobb of the ways he harnesses his camera to capture his unique view of the world. “I observe the world in a specific way, obsessively finding details and patterns. Sometimes I will happen to have a camera with me, and that’s when I am able to capture those observations. Photography is a natural extension of my way of experiencing the world.”

By bringing his works to the selection available to users on The Frame, Cobb hopes that people will be able to experience the world in the way that he is able to when he is taking photographs. “I would love for those who view my work to be transported somewhere else for a moment,” he noted. “I hope that they can experience the sense of stillness that I myself enjoy while shooting.”

Cobb also hopes that when a user takes in the incredible scenes he has been lucky enough to see firsthand, they are able to stop for a moment and appreciate the beauty of what they are seeing. “I hope that my artwork offers a nuanced way of experiencing nature,” he said. “I want these places to come across as mysterious and I hope that people are able to get lost in them.”

Experiencing the World Through The Frame

On The Frame, Cobb’s photos are displayed using nano-sized Quantum Dots which offer 100% color volume and bring over a billion shades of precise colors to users so that users can enjoy the artworks with the original color, detailing and texture intended by the artist. Users are able to experience the natural beauty of our planet just as it is, for what feels like a firsthand view of these amazing scenes.

▲ Parallel World (2017)

“The Frame is such a perfect expression of the cinematic visuals running through my head when I’m creating art,” noted Cobb. “I want my photos to feel alive and the technology powering The Frame allows for that. I also love that my fine art prints can exist on the same wall alongside the work I have available on the Art Store.”

Putting Nature First Thanks to Transformative Technologies

Having collaborated with The Frame’s Art Store since its early days, Cobb understands how important it is to bring art into peoples’ homes and how technology plays a pivotal role in doing so. He is grateful for transformative experiences The Frame offers as a digital platform for displaying art; “Thanks to The Frame, I now have a new audience and a whole new way of sharing my work,” he noted. “It is incredibly motivating.”

An ardent advocate for the environment and the protection of the spaces he captures, Cobb is now selling his work via NFTs (non-fungible tokens) on platforms such as Hic et Nunc as the form of digital currency they employ consumes much less energy than other platforms. For each NFT sale he makes, he is donating a portion of the proceeds to environmental preservation organizations.

Fifteen of Cody’s pieces are available on The Frame’s Art Store now, and two of his photographs are being featured as part of this June’s Environmental Day spotlight.