My Journey Beyond Astrophotography and into the NFT Space

The past three years have flown by, and it’s hard for me to believe that we are nearly half way through 2023! Whilst I appreciate the impact that both lockdowns and working from home has had on my perception of time. The other reason would be me falling into the black hole that is NFTs and Blockchain technologies.

As a full time web developer I have always had a keen interest in new things in the technology world and I have always kept an eye on Crypto and Blockchain technologies. My first Bitcoin purchase was back in 2014, although like many I sold way too early.

I first became aware of Non Fungible Tokens (NFTs) back in April 2021 primarily through the cartoon images that people were buying and proudly sharing on Twitter. Even some well respected photographers that I was following had started taking notice too.

Where it all started

As an enthusiast photographer and developer I had discovered a world where both my passion and career merged. I had seen others sell their images for several thousands of pounds and thought there must be a market for this.

So after a few months of reading and learning I decided to take the plunge and create my very own NFT, instead of an image I decided to create a short video loop based on an image I had taken. On June 9th 2021 I minted "Infinity" found here through Rarible (everyone was using OpenSea and I wanted to be different) and asked for the modest sum of 0.15eth.

Unfortunately, Infinity never found a buyer, but everyone else was getting sales so I became disillusioned, thought this was due to it being a video and decided to burn it (the blockchain way of semi deleting an item) just over a month later.

I have since learnt this was a mistake as firstly I would still love to have this in my collection, but also I should have been more patient anyway. My impatience back then led me to the next phase of creating my first collection.

My Genesis Collection

As an astrophotographer I really wanted to showcase my work in its own collection, the go to method for most photographers back then was to use OpenSea’s gasless minting but I wasn't keen on that method as it meant you didn’t own the contract yourself, so I opted to create my own NFT contract through Rarible.

I had spent the previous month re-editing some selected images to a new style that I preferred, one that was darker and depicted how I felt when out alone shooting the night sky.

So on the 11th July 2021 the genesis Dark Night collection was born, I was so excited to finally get out my work, night photography was selling really well on the marketplace Foundation back then so I couldn't wait to announce my new collection to the world.

Unfortunately marketing myself is not my strong point and I soon learnt that not only do you need to have compelling work but also be a social butterfly on "Crypto Twitter" and it’s also as important to have the right connections in this space to make an impact on finding collectors.

My First Mint

Whilst working on my own projects I watched in amazement as people were paying hundreds of pounds for Monkey pictures, then I watched as they skyrocket to a few thousand a month later! This was something I decided I should try and then by chance came across a YouTube video in early July where two British founders were discussing their new project "Top Dog Beach Club" and I was in luck as it had only just started minting.

I still remember transferring my 0.08eth from Coinbase, still not believing I was about to spend around £150 on a jpeg. I clicked the Mint button and then waited for the image to reveal, was I going to get laser eyes… or a top hat.. or a suit!! No, I got a pink bow… I was actually a little disappointed, how can I relate to this pink bow I remember thinking.

I traded this doggo for another I preferred the style of, again now I am regretting this decision losing my first ever NFT purchase. But I still own the second Top Dog that I minted and he wont be going anywhere.

I am still a proud member of the Top Dog Beach Club community and my Twitter profile picture is still proudly rocking one of my doggo pack. I have since learnt that the main thing behind a great project is the strength of the community and the friends you make there.

The crypto space can be a very hard world to keep ahead of, if you switch off for a second you can feel like you have missed a years worth of information. The problem being that things move so fast, trends change and people get bored quickly.

Final thoughts...

We have seen a shift of momentum in the NFT space in the last 6 months as the realisations of a bear market sweep across the space, projects once seen as "blue chips" have seen their value plummet as holders scramble to get back what they can.

The main issue that most collections / projects have is the largest motivation behind 99% of projects is money, both from the project owners to the holders. Once a project is no longer "profitable" it loses its value fast.

But what makes a project successful and aim for the moon? Well mainly it's all about hype, if the masses think there's money to be made they will "invest" (gamble) their eth on anything hoping to make a quick buck. The issue the founders then have is once they deliver what they promise the owners soon lose interest and move onto the newest and shiniest thing and the cycle repeats.

There are a few collections that seem to buck this trend and they are mostly within the art world. When collectors acquire artworks it is usually because they like the work that the artist is offering and not for a quick profit. I have purchased quite a few unique pieces mainly coming from other photographers, I only buy images that I like and inspire me. It has always given me great pleasure in acquiring someone's work whilst knowing that doing so is helping them fund their passion (or most likely bills).

Whilst I could write a paper on the use cases of NFTs and Blockchain tech such as proof of ownership, gaming, tickets, memberships etc.. I think there is a long way to go before we get out of the wild west that is currently running the show, but there are glimmers of hope shining through as large real world brands start to investigate and use this technology, Starbucks being a prime example launching "Starbucks Odyssey" to offer customers loyalty points and stamps.

This time is now for the builders, people that are interested in the tech and not looking to make a quick buck, so there are opportunities out there for the people who want to grasp at them.

So what’s next from me?

I have been working on my new website for quite a while now and proud to say it is finally ready. I have developed it so it is connected to the world of Web 3 allowing users to connect their accounts. My first plan is to launch my new "Editions" contract, I have taken my time to make sure that this is built the way I want it, basing it off of the ERC-1155 standard to offer cheaper transaction fees for collectors, I have also included license information in the contact and allowing me to offer a wide range of different artworks to anyone who wants to collect.

My first piece will be a tribute to the first ever NFT I created and minted but this time I will be offering it as an open edition with no cost (except gas) I then have over exciting images I will offer but one step at a time.