November 24th, 2021 | Posted by: Grace Kim
If you’ve been following the news and have been reading about people making millions of dollars from digitalized art, you’re probably as confused as I was when I first heard about a 3-letter acronym a few months ago.
Maybe you’re in disbelief that Crypto Punks are selling for no lower than $350,000? Or confused as to how Jack Dorsey, founder of Twitter, sold a screenshot of his first tweet for $2.9 million? Yup.
NFTs.
But before moving forward, here’s what you will expect in this post:
- Intro to NFTs
- Are NFTs good for creators?
- My NFT journey
- Twitter Spaces
- Dominance & Expectations
- What it’s like being an Asian photographer?
- Women in NFTs
- Should you get into NFTs?
Still interested? Let’s get started!
What is an NFT? What does NFT stand for?
Non-fungible token.
A Non-fungible is defined as something unique and non-interchangeable, as these unique identifiers are used to certify ownership on the Ethereum Blockchain.
What are NFTs used for?
NFTs are used to represent ownership of unique items that live on the blockchain.
There isn’t a singular blockchain to create NFTs; however, NFTs are most popularly created on the Ethereum Blockchain.
And as the world continues to evolve more into the digital space, wouldn’t you want to also own scarce, tangible items in the digital world? Think about how convenient it would be able to carry a digitalized art gallery with you wherever you go!
What is an example of an NFT?
These non-fungible tokens are non-replicable digital files stored as original copies in the form of art, photographs, music, videos, avatars, memes, etc.
But here’s the weird part.
When perfecting your craft, don’t you want the final product produced in the best quality? With NFTs, it works a bit differently.
When NFTs are created, the file size should be under 100mb in the forms of MP3, JPG, PNG, GIF, SVG, MP4, WEBM, WAV, GLTF, GLB, and OGG files.
Beats me!
Where can I create NFT art?
There are a handful of platforms you can create or in other words, mint an NFT. Each platform includes different artists and collectors, and you’re not obligated to stick to only one platform. And with each platform, the structure of paying gas, or fees, differ.
Gas are fees to execute any transaction on each, respected blockchain.
Examples of NFT platforms include OpenSea, Foundation, Rariable, SuperRare, Larva Labs, etc. These platforms have different objectives and purposes so to describe a few:
- OpenSea is the biggest NFT platform in the market where artists typically drop multiple pieces under a single collection. You will only need to pay gas once.
- Foundation is best for one-on-one pieces, as many tend to price their artwork higher than on platforms like OpenSea. Anyone can join Foundation but in order to have your work seen on the platform, you will need to personally get invited. Each artist gets 3 Foundation invites after selling 1 piece, and you will have to pay gas every time you mint a piece.
- SuperRare is an exclusive platform where artists are only allowed to mint pieces if they get accepted onto the platform. They have some of the best artists in the industry and some you may have even come across before on the internet!
Across all NFT platforms, I’ve personally minted pieces on OpenSea and Foundation. Here’s an example of one of my pieces on Foundation, still looking for a digital home!
I still don’t get it. Can’t anyone save the same file?
This is what seems to be the most confusing across the board, but yes. Anyone can technically save a copy of any digital file as many times as they want. But having ownership of an NFT gives you something a quick Google download can’t, while the artist still retains reproduction rights and copyright.
Put it this way: anyone can buy a print of the Mona Lisa, but there can only be one person who has ownership of the original copy.
Why are NFTs good for creators?
If you’re reading this and you’re a creator, you know how much time it takes to create art. From staying up countless hours perfecting a piece, not having your work recognized for months, and being lowballed from companies, don’t you ever start devaluing your work?
If not, I am sorry for the assumptions. But if so, know that you are not alone!
The Start of My NFT Journey
For the last two years, I’ve been extremely active on Instagram. Almost too much that I’ve experienced burn out and needed to take a break from the platform. I deleted the Instagram app for a bit and moved my way over to Twitter because at that time, I didn’t have any distractions.
Well, that’s what I thought.
Here’s how I really got into NFTs
Around Q1 in 2021, I started dabbling into the NFT market but everything seemed so complicated. I didn’t understand the technology and it just seemed intimidating to start.
Until one day…
A friend I met through photography posted a tweet that he sold a piece on Foundation.
Remember that if you sell a piece on Foundation, that results in receiving three referrals.
So, I reached out to him.
Without Marion, I wouldn’t be where I am with NFTs today.
If you guys don’t know Marion, check out his work. He’s an amazing urban and street photographer from San Francisco and will have you speechless after every photo he shares!
True story: before I started traveling full time, I came across Marion’s Instagram and immediately fell in love with his work. And when I realized I booked a one-way to San Francisco, I reached out to him to see if he was down to shoot. I even told myself that I wouldn’t leave the Bay until I shot with him and by now, he’s become a friend and we’ve already shot a couple of times. Funny how the world works!
Psst: Marion doesn’t know this but from the hundreds of photographers I’ve met over the years, he’s still one of my favorites.
Here are some of our photo collaborations:
Waiting Shouldn’t Be Forever
Now that I got a Foundation invite, you’d think that I’d immediately jump into minting my first piece.
Nope. I sat on the invite for over a week.
I was lucky enough to have even gotten an invite but was still pretty intimidated to start. For a week, I couldn’t decide what I wanted my first, or Genesis, piece to be but after a while, I told myself that if I didn’t start now, I would never.
So I minted my first piece and within 4 hours, my piece sold.
In shock, I didn’t know how to feel.
This really kicked off my NFT journey.
From the success of my first sale, I continued learning more about the NFT space and involved myself in Twitter Spaces.
Why Twitter?
Just how Instagram is a photo sharing app and TikTok is a short video sharing app, Twitter focuses on NFTs, crypto and tech. No matter what time of day I open the app, there’s always a Twitter Space going on, which are live audio conversations directly on the platform.
How do Twitter Spaces work?
Whenever someone you’re following is currently in a space, you’ll see a pop-up on the top of your home page and all you have to do is join. You’re not obligated to speak in these rooms but just being present is more than enough. And just like that, you’re plugged in!
OpenSea Just Joined the Chat
Shortly after dropping my Genesis piece on Foundation, I also decided to drop a collection on OpenSea.
Luis, an amazing photographer from San Francisco and a friend I met on Twitter, was gracious enough to host a drop party for me. Not really having any expectations, people were coming in and out of the chat when all of a sudden, OpenSea decided to join my drop party.
I was speechless and all that was going through my head was, how in the world did they find my space?!
The representative saw a retweet of my collection, “Small Girl, Big World“, was intrigued by the title, and decided to join my space.
Within minutes, I jumped from having around 30 to 500+ people join the space. And right then and there, I began to share my story and how I got into travel photography. I also touched on mental health and of course shed a tear or two because of how emotional I was getting sharing my story.
This is power of Twitter Spaces and the type of conversations that go on. I got so many messages after that space from people who even joined for only a couple of minutes, thanking me for sharing and being so vulnerable with the group. Not only did I get the opportunity to connect with creatives from around the world, but I’ve also connected with so many female photographers.
Wow.
Dominance
According the The Art Newspaper, females only account for 16% of the entire NFT marketplace. From the few months I’ve been active on Twitter, it amazes me to see how many female photographers are out there.
From ongoing connections, these bondages gives me a sense of security as we share similar struggles, let alone the wins. Not that I’m uncomfortable with male photographers, but sometimes I just don’t feel “bro-y” enough.
But as many of us may know, photography is heavily male dominated. Sometimes it’s intimidating, sometimes it’s not. Sometimes I feel like I’m overlooked and not taken seriously. Sometimes it’s even assumed that I’m not the one taking photos. Yes, my portfolio has evolved into travel photos featuring me, but I take out my camera and shoot every single time, too. In that case, I don’t necessarily blame.
There are times I even sacrifice getting my shot because there’s a pool of men looking to photograph the only female in the group for their landscape shots.
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy both but it also prevents me from getting better at my craft. To be quite frank, this has led me to second guess if I’m truly a photographer or not, and the reason I don’t post my work as much. And because I feel rushed to get my shots before the light disappears, my work never comes out as good.
Expectations of a Woman
Generally, when I travel, I make the effort to connect and shoot with other photographers. I do this for a number of reasons but because I started off my journey solo, connecting with those with similar interests was a form of security.
These solo trips eventually turned into group trips and throughout these group trips, I was usually one of the only girls, if any, the only. And since I’m a sucker for landscape photography, it usually happens to be this way because most landscape photographers are males.
I never had a problem traveling this way but overtime, whether I was in a group setting or not, I’ve noticed that some men set expectations and act in their own selfish desires. And if I didn’t satisfy what I believed their assumptions may have been, good chance I’d end up being ignored.
I guess that’s why I prefer traveling solo.
>> Read More: What Solo Travel Teaches You About The World and Yourself
Would life be simpler if I was blonde?
What’s worse than feeling like you’re only given attention to for hopeful satisfaction is believing that you can’t be taken seriously because of the color of your skin. Which seems bizarre considering that I am a born and raised US citizen.
I always wondered if I would be taken more seriously if I was blonde or brunette. If people would naturally respect me in ways I’d have to work my way up towards?
When it comes to outdoors and adventure photography, I don’t come across female-Asian photographers often, let alone male-Asian photographers. I’ve met a few and keep in touch with them through social media, but I know there’s more of us out there. Or, maybe I’m just not looking hard enough.
What it’s like being a Female, Asian Photographer in a White Dominated Space
Asians have the perception of being conservative, quiet and shy. But generally, we don’t really complain, we’re some of the hardest working people, and we don’t like to get in trouble. It almost seems as if our focus is misinterpreted as being conservative, making us easy to be picked on. Too many times I’ve seen us being ignored and others being taken advantage of for absolutely no reason. And that’s not okay.
For me, that’s probably why I’m always prepared to have my wall up. If it wasn’t for being raised around NYC, I don’t think I would’ve learned how to stand up for myself. On top of that, with all the Asian hate crime that’s happened during the lockdown, I couldn’t help but wonder if I was also going to get hit by someone on the streets because of the color of my skin.
Till this day, there are times I’ll have a conversation with a white man and won’t be looked in the eye, or I’ll be overlooked by a white lady from the demeanor of a conversation. Although this doesn’t happen all the time, it happens enough to where I vividly remember the feelings of embarrassment and disrespect.
Although I don’t come across these type of interactions too often in big cities, I do more in the outdoors. A place I feel myself the most.
These Interactions are Inevitable
Throughout the years, I’ve accepted that at least in America, these type of interactions are inevitable. That I will continue to get the stares and degrading interactions because of the color of my skin. But what’s more important is how I’m choosing to react.
When walking into a room, I naturally scan the room to see if there are other Asians around. I do this because I feel a sense of security knowing that there’s another ‘one of us’.
To be honest, when it comes to creating and I’m the only Asian in the room, there’s been times I’ve gotten too shy to take out my camera and take photos. But whenever these thoughts pop up in my head, I continuously remind myself that the chances of running into these people again are almost slim to none.
I have no choice but to ignore these feelings and continue progressing because at the end of the day, I am in total control of my thoughts and feelings, and life doesn’t stop for anyone.
Women in NFTs
I can count on one hand how many female, Asian NFT photographers I’ve encountered with. Maybe I’m not looking hard enough but the pool is even smaller than female, Asian landscape photographers.
Let alone Asians, there’s been more female NFT artists than I can keep up with. Females who continue to get recognition and are uplifted. Females who are finally being heard and even better, making sales on their work. Woo, go ladies!
My heart gets full whenever I come across hearing breakthroughs from these women and even more, having the opportunity to support each other.
From self-expression to sharing similar vulnerabilities, the support system is here and I couldn’t have been more grateful.
If you’re a female artist reading this and want to get into the space, know that you’re already accepted. Chime in to these Twitter spaces, connect with artists, and start shilling your work!
You’re a boss for putting yourself out there.
Reading this means that you’re even slightly interested in getting into the NFT space, if not so already. It’s not easy getting plugged in with a group of strangers and although it’s intimidating, you’re taking action. If you’re a female reading this, yes the space it’s heavily male dominated but you did more than what most people say they’re going to do.
Take the time to learn about blockchain technology, study collections, strategize drops, make intentional relationships, and start creating art.
Don’t let the color of your skin or gender prevent you from starting. Take ownership of your work and start representing you, your heritage, and your beliefs through your art. You may be the leader that others have been looking for. You may be the voice that needs to be heard.
If you read all the way to the bottom of this post, that means so much and I’m glad I got to share another form of expression with you. And if you ever need to talk to someone about NFTs or have questions about this post, my DMs are open on Twitter. Thank you for the endless, continual support and always, safe and happy travels!
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