Jakob's Journal on NFT Photography

Jakob Polacsek is a #photographer from Austria specializing in portrait and travel photography for over 13 years. Being now 45 years old, one might consider him a late bloomer. He writes that he is not very tech savvy when it comes to #crypto currencies and the workings of the #blockchain in general.

Two weeks ago a colleague sent Jakob an article about the artist Beeple and his astounding successes with nfts. This was the first time Jakob even heard about this new craze and the story struck his interest. Then he learned that artists selling their work as #nfts can get a cut of any future resales of their art pieces. This is a new concept in the world of art trading and in his opinion, the main advantage of the nft system.

Having no clue about the workings of “crypto” there was a lot to learn. He started with Mintable.app as they don`t require gas fees. The next platform he tried was Opensea. Here, you only pay one gas fee upfront (in his case 90 US$) which allows you to then list as many items as you want. The third platform Jakob tried was Rarible.com where each item requires a gas fee (usually between 40-90 US$).

These three platforms seem to be the quickest and easiest form of entry into the world of selling/buying NFTs. They all operate on the #Ethereum #blockchain and are easily acessible with the popular and easy to use Metamask wallet. Also, they are all open to the public. More exclusive sites as Superrare, Foundation, Ephimera, etc., require a successful application or a personal invitation, which are not easy to obtain.

So far Jakob has about 30 images up for sale – the costs for minting amounted to roughly 160 US$. To get the work seen by potential buyers requires a lot of “marketing”. A large following on Instagram/Twitter (and other social media) is a good starting point. If your reach on these platforms is limited, then there are some forums like Reddit and Discord that have proven to be good networking grounds for nft newcomers. There is a lot of camaraderie in the nft “scene”. Newcomers are welcome and help is easily found.

Although most of the NFT art consists of digital art like animations, 3d art, pixel art, etc., there seems to be a growing market for #photography. It will be exciting to watch this new trend evolve. Over time the processes will get more accessible. At the moment it does take a while to get familiar with the ins and outs – especially if one is not already using crypto currencies.

Here are some links he found useful:

https://youtu.be/d1VodYuqOlA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rztmblQAmjI&t=419s

https://www.cryptoartnet.com/cryptoart-sites/marketplaces-platforms/

https://fstoppers.com/business/should-photographers-cash-nft-cryptoart-gold-rush-553808

This is Jakob's first project, “The Village” as listed on Opensea: https://opensea.io/collection/polacsek/

Personal webpage: https://polacsek.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/polacsek_travel

Twitter: @JPPhoto14784702

Editor Shauna Lee Lange Note: Jakob Polacsek will be a recurring contributor on the Linkedin Group, "NFT Art, Artists" as we follow his journey through the ups and downs of the photography market in crypto art and blockchain art during this dynamic time. All images courtesy of Jakob Polacsek. #nft #nftart #blockchainart #cryptoart #photography #photographer #artmarket #artbusiness