In 2021, the word NFT or Non-Fungible Token became Collins Dictionary word of the year!

Say what?? That’s right! 

What is NFT?

According to Forbes magazine, an NFT is “a digital asset representing real-world objects like art, music, in-game items and videos. They are bought and sold online, frequently with cryptocurrency, and they are generally encoded with the same underlying software as many cryptos.”

Who am I?

Hi, I’m Ali G, a professional photographer and NFT Artist & Collector based in Hong Kong. I have worked as a wedding and portrait photographer for over ten years, but my hidden passion has always been travel, street, and nature photography. 

Furthermore, I’ve been giving photography and social media workshops for young professionals, small businesses, and even bigger brands from Hong Kong to Mexico.  

My NFT Projects

How did I get into NFTs as a photographer? 

In 2019, I helped to raise USD 8000 for a 4-year old young man’s fight against a rare form of cancer. This young champion named Rayan showed a fighting spirit that inspired many of us, ultimately beating the cancer thanks to the treatments, doctors, and nurses who helped.  

When Covid hit the world in 2020, 70% of my wedding and event photography business was decimated. During that year, Rayan’s father and I kept in touch, and he kept messaging me about NFTs. This went on for a year and I started to read more about the NFT space.

 

My First NFT Collection

In October 2021, I dove in and minted my first genesis collection called ‘Hong Kong Red’ on a platform dedicated to NFT photography, Sloika. The collection’s central theme was the color red, with each image featuring at least one of Hong Kong’s iconic red taxis.

The entire collection was photographed on mobile phones, mainly Apple’s iPhone and Huawei. You can check out some great mobile photography tips check it out here

We minted the collection on the Ethereum network, one of the most widely used networks and cryptocurrencies for NFTs. To see the sold-out collection on, Sloika. I also included an A4 size print for each digital asset.

Then in December 2021, I was invited to be an NFT Artist for the first-ever Hyper Cars show in Hong Kong, known as IMXHK 2021. This show brought together iconic brands such as Ferrari, Pagani and Tesla, to name a few. I created 3 rare artworks, which are displayed here on Refinable and they were featured by Samsung.

Next came an invitation to the prestigious NFT platform called Foundation by Addie Wagenknecht. Not only is Addie a world-class artist, but she’s also 1 of 40 artists commissioned by Time Magazine to create the Timepieces sold-out NFT collection. 

I minted and sold my first Foundation NFT called ‘Secret Sky’ to a private collector, and I plan to create more collections and pieces for each one.  

At the time of writing this blog, I am also working with Ashraf Talaat, an award-winning National Geographic photographer, to finalize my next NFT collection. It is called ‘Colors of India’ and will include 12-15 images, 1/1 edition with special utilities. 

 

 

My NFT Future

I find the NFT community extremely supportive of each other, at least in the area of photography where I spend the most time. 

My roadmap includes:

1. Supporting emerging NFT artists, especially ladies and non-binary. They are the most under-represented in the art world. 

2. Supporting charities by creating NFTs which they can sell in order to raise funds for their causes. 

3. Working with brands on creating NFTs that can help them take their marketing to the next level

4. Educating the public and mentoring the next generation of artists via talks, seminars, podcasts, and webinars.  

5. Creating value for my collectors by continuing to evolve as an artist and thought leader in the NFT space. You may see the NFTs I have collected in my rainbow wallet.

More About NFT

Here are some commonly asked questions regarding NFT.

How Do You Make an NFT?

To make an NFT requires some basic knowledge of cryptocurrency on setting up your wallet and acquiring some crypto such as Ethereum, Solana, Polygon, or Flow. Your wallet needs to be connected to the platform where you want to mint and upload your NFT. 

At present, Metamask is one of the most popular wallets, and minting is the process of getting the artwork from your computer onto the blockchain. Personally, I use metamask wallet and Gemini as my crypto exchange, the place to buy crypto using traditional currencies such as USD, EUR, and so on.

What are Some NFT Platforms?

As mentioned earlier, my first collection was minted and displayed on Sloika’s platform.

Some of the other major NFT marketplaces include Opensea, Foundation, Rarible, Refinable and Makersplace.

This is my profile on Opensea and Foundation.

 

Why is an NFT valuable?

NFTs are valued based on rarity, scarcity, and utilities.

For example, in the case of photography, how difficult is it to shoot that photo, and who was the photographer? This is a rarity. 

How many editions are there of that piece of artwork? In general, the lower the editions, the higher the value of each edition. This is scarcity. 

And utilities can include a wide array of things, from access to yacht parties as owners of the Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT collection to even a physical print, something which I include in my collections. 

Final Words

I hope this article gives you a basic understanding of NFT, my journey as an artist, and the aspirations I have with my roadmap to grow as an artist and help build the NFT community. If you have found this information useful, please do share it! 

 

Please show some love and follow us on social media to stay connected with more of our exciting projects!

Ali G Studios   Twitter: @aligstudios   Youtube: @AliGStudios 

A big thanks to Phottix for the professional lighting equipment provided to Ali G Studios.

Disclosure: As an amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.