About

Cath Simard is a Canadian-born photographer, digital artist and a central figure in the NFT community. One of the most prominent artists in NFT photography, she’s now almost entirely focused on NFTs.

Simard blends reality and imagination in her landscape composites. Collectors instantly recognize her aesthetic – surreal, cold, blue, mountain nights.

Her innovative style and willingness to take bold risks are a result of her desire to be unique and the freedom she enjoys in the backcountry.

A self-professed introvert, Cath feels she produces her best work when she’s alone in the mountains.

To create a single image, she’s walked as much as 250 kilometers, trekked 18 days in the mountains and shot at an elevation as high as 5,900 meters. (About 186 miles and 19,356 feet.). Due to her lengthy creative process, Cath only creates and releases 5-7 images a year.

‘‘I don’t capture what my eyes see, I capture what my mind imagines.’’

NFT Artist Cath Simard’s Unique Process

Through mental and physical exhaustion on her expeditions, in isolated areas, Cath elevates her consciousness and quiets her mind, allowing her to get into a deep flow state that can last days.

Depending on the weather and how she feels about a particular location, she may spend days hiking and camping, only to return without taking a single photo. It’s important to Cath to capture each scene and its elements in the way she’s imagined it for her art.

Cath views and captures the landscape as little pieces of the puzzle, often visiting the same location multiple times. ‘‘I collect little fragments of reality to make it my own.’’ Sometimes she shoots the same scene at different times of day or different years. On other occasions, she combines multiple locations into an image. She recognizes there are questions and misconceptions about composite photography. But it’s a style that came naturally to her even early in her journey as an artist. Through combining elements, her goal is to reflect her experience through her art and to elevate the landscape to match the vision within her imagination.

She scouts and conceptualizes her work in advance. Simard also sets aside her photos after shooting – sometimes for months or years. By the time she begins editing, she’s viewing the shots with fresh eyes. This allows her to rediscover the feelings she experienced at a location and convey those feelings through her art.

As a result of her process, she releases a limited number of new images annually.

Cath Simard’s Iconic NFT Works Accomplishments

In October 2017, Cath captured a photo of a remote road in Hawaii. It became a viral sensation. The downside? Social media pages, news organizations and websites leveraged Cath’s photo without credit or consent.

Having never received a dollar from her most viral image, Cath decided to release the rights to the image under the hashtag #freehawaiiphoto, making it free to use.

Collector @gmoneyNFT purchased the image minted on SuperRare for 100 ETH ($301,894). This watershed moment in the NFT photography community, media rights and photography at large sparked nationwide interest and media coverage.

In another example of Simard pushing boundaries in the midst of doubt and criticism, she minted “Le Départ” as part of her genesis NFT collection.

Among other things, the piece included a personalized five-day trip in the Canadian Rockies, including a canoe trip to Spirit Island. Unique at the time for the “IRL” experience attached to the NFT, it sold for 30 ETH ($68,554).

She also auctioned “Continuum” at Sotheby’s in 2022.

Cath was also one of the first renowned NFT photographers to release an edition (“Trillion Star Hotel”).

Her other ventures in the NFT community include a unique edition drop on Nifty Gateway, the A.I.-generated landscape collection Metascapes and fractionalized gallery collaboration FOTO Vault.

From Fashion Model To Dirtbag: A Story of Risk and Transformation

Scouted by an agency at 15 years old, Cath worked as a model for a decade and as an art director and fashion stylist for four years.

In a stunning move – one that reflects her philosophy on life – she traded her closet full of high fashion for a job as a banana farmer.

Cath broke her lease early, sold all her possessions and bought a one-way ticket to Australia in 2014. With little money in the bank, she began exploring on weekends, documenting her adventures on an iPhone 3.

Those early photos, with no formal training, attracted a brand deal. Cath used her pay to buy her first camera.

After a formative solo photography trip that included stops in Indonesia, Hawaii and western Canada, she moved back to her native country in 2016. Completing her journey from fashion model to full-fledged mountaineering dirtbag, even living on the road or out of her car for months. Traveling abroad is still a big part of her life as she continues to perfect her craft.

Catherine Simard: Biography and Personality

Before the onset of COVID-19, Cath led photography workshops and expeditions in locations like Patagonia, The Andes, Iceland and the Canadian Rockies.

A proud Sony Alpha Universe Ambassador, some of her other sponsors and publications that have featured her work include The North Face, DP Review, Art of Visuals, Open Skies Magazine and Outdoor Photography Magazine.

“If you’ve met me in the city you’ve only seen 5% of my personality,” Simard said.

Known for her humble, confident demeanor and strong sense of humor, she finds inspiration in wild places and feels an incessant need for physical movement.

Born in 1989 in Québec, Canada, Simard now resides in Canmore, Alberta, in the Canadian Rocky Mountains.