[Vieri Bottazzini Participant Posts: 32]

NFTs, the way of the future?

on: September 24, 2023 at 4:24 pm

Jeremy Roussak wrote:

In that case, what was exhibited was the image, not the NFT. They are not the same thing.

What you sold was an NFT which represented ownership of a photograph, not a photograph. They are not the same thing.

There was nothing objectionable in my comment: re-read it. Those who make money by investing in schemes which later turn out to be bad are not themselves de facto guilty of any wrongdoing at all.

Jeremy

Oh man. Whatever, Jeremy, have it your way – sorry, but I am not interested in doing this.

Best regards,

Vieri

Vieri Bottazzini

WEBSITES | INSTAGRAM

[Vieri Bottazzini Participant Posts: 32]

Re: NFTs, the way of the future?

Reply #1 on: September 24, 2023 at 6:54 am

Kevin Raber wrote:

Vieri, I have always deeply respected what you do as well as your photography. I am usually one of the early adopters when something new comes by. NFT though just didn’t make sense. I am very happy it has worked for you and will stay open to revisiting it again. Maybe as I get older I really am getting old fashioned. I have always had to have something tangible. I love selling prints and you can hold them, see them.

As a result of your reply I will look into the NFT market again.

Hey Kevin,

thank you for your kind words, truly appreciated. NFT can definitely not be easy to get into and I can understand the puzzlement (as we can clearly see in this thread, you are not the only one).

Basically, the short of it is that it’s another way to sell digital images, done on the blockchain. If you (and others reading this thread) are interested, the web is full of information on how this works in practice, for photography and other visual arts.

Best regards,

Vieri

Vieri Bottazzini

WEBSITES | INSTAGRAM

[Vieri Bottazzini Participant Posts: 32]

Re: NFTs, the way of the future?

Reply #2 on: September 24, 2023 at 6:50 am

Jeremy Roussak wrote:

How can an NFT be “exhibited”? MoMA offered visitors the chance to acquire an NFT which commemorated their visit to an exhibition (see here) but an NFT itself is an entry in a ledger; it has no corporeal existence and can’t be seen.

The comment “my very very small personal experience with NFT, I sold enough photographs to be happy” is puzzling. What exactly did you sell?

Those who enter into schemes, of various kinds, early in their existence often make money: Madoff’s initial investors had no complaints. It’s the later arrivals who feel the pain.

Jeremy

Jeremy,

an NFT is an entry in a ledger with an image attached, and that image is what is exhibited.

Nothing puzzling about my comment: I sold my photos as NFTs.

I am not sure I like your tone and your Madoff /scheme innuendo. There are hundreds of artists and photographers who sell their work as NFTs, as they would as prints, and we do not scheme or do anything of that sort. As I said before, pfp are one thing, artists and photographer a completely different thing.

Kevin, since you are reading this, kindly make sure the tone here stays civil and respectful, thank you.

Best regards,

Vieri

Vieri Bottazzini

WEBSITES | INSTAGRAM

[Vieri Bottazzini]

Re: NFTs, the way of the future?

Reply #3 on: September 23, 2023 at 4:38 pm

Gentlemen,

NFT is not just the pfp collections mentioned by the article, and by Kevin (the Trump’s one). NFT is a way of commercialise (buy & sell) things, in particular art (digital art, photography, etc).

As such, NFTs have been bought and sold at Sotheby’s and other mainstream auction venues and they keep to do so. They have been exhibited in hundreds of physical exhibitions all over the world. They are part of mainstream collections such as, e.g., the MoMA, and so on.

As such, NFTs gave an outlet to a market to artists and photographers coming from countries where accessing the art and photography market would have been impossible. Hell, even in Italy or – I am sure – in the US getting into the “traditional” art market it’s not really that easy, if you don’t have the right connections.

The NFT market for art & photography, not pfp collections, is still very much alive – albeit not booming as it was a couple of years ago. Mainstream media just lost interest and moved on, except for the odd article like the one Jeremy quoted, which again just focuses on the pfp side of NFT – which has always been as the article pointed out, with the only difference that during the boom years many people made (and other lost) an inordinate amount of money buying and selling monkeys (and similar ridiculous things, of which the Trump one was one of the last and most ridiculous ones, if you ask me).

NFT are here to stay, pretty much the same way that digital photography did when it came out – and you might remember how, at first, many ridiculed it, many didn’t embrace it, many didn’t take it serious and so on. A vast majority of those photographers who did not embrace digital when it became a viable alternative to film went out of business.

Like with any new thing that comes along, and disrupts the status quo, there always are people embracing the new, people refusing to do so, people getting burned by doing one thing or the other, people ignoring the whole thing, and so on.

Like with any new thing that comes along and disrupts the status quo, NFTs are very polarising.

About my very very small personal experience with NFT, I sold enough photographs to be happy I joined the movement when I did, in 2021. Just to mention one small thing, NFT sales are paying for the 4 month trip non-stop around the world I am currently on. I am very happy to still be in the space, despite the market slowing down. I made connections there with other artists that I cherish. I have been exposed to a million of new ideas, new art, new photography, new business strategies, new marketing strategies, and so on, and I learned a lot as a result.

As always, YMMV, to me all that counts is that one is happy with one decisions and choices in life, and that everyone’s choices – no matter how different from our own – are always respected. Sadly, that’s something that doesn’t always happen, even in the best communities, and that can easily be seen when it comes to NFTs as well.

Best regards,

Vieri

Vieri Bottazzini

WEBSITES | INSTAGRAM

• This reply was modified 6 months, 4 weeks ago by Vieri Bottazzini.

[Vieri Bottazzini Participant Posts: 32]

Re: NFTs, the way of the future?

Reply #4 on: June 26, 2022 at 12:13 pm

Jeff Schewe wrote:

Pot, meet kettle…

 

😎

Great argument! Thank you for making my point, Jeff.

Best regards,

Vieri

Vieri Bottazzini

WEBSITES | INSTAGRAM

[Vieri Bottazzini Participant Posts: 32]

Re: NFTs, the way of the future?

Reply #5 on: June 25, 2022 at 1:48 pm

Jeff Schewe wrote:

“If you are really interested in understanding NFTs, I’d suggest to do your own research rather than trusting some random bitter guy’s quote on a forum.”

Hum…and I suggest that one does their own research rather than trusting some random “expert” on a forum…Fine art photography and NFTs are not likely to survive once the cryptocurrency craze evaporates…I bet those people last year that bought Bitcoin for $64,000/coin are questioning their choice now that it’s fallen to $21,000. But what do I know…(I know that it’ll be a cold day in hell before I buy into the NFT/crypto insanity)

Hell, I’m still of the mind that a photograph should be really nicely printed, matted and framed and hung on a wall to be able to admire it anytime ya want.

Indeed, poor attempt at sarcasm aside, I am glad you agree on doing one’s own research.

I think you might be quite wrong about NFT not surviving the “crypto craze”, whatever that is. Time will tell.

About people who bought Bitcoin, I am sure those who were smart enough to buy it at $1 in 2011 are laughing their way to the bank, and I am pretty sure they are not questioning their choice at all. It’s all a matter of perspective and timing, isn’t it?

Last, I am a staunch print lover, and that’s why I do offer a signed print to everyone buying one of my NFTs. Imagine that. The NFT actually becomes the Certificate of Authenticity, and it’s forever burned into the blockchain.

In the end, we are all free to pursue whatever we want, that’s the beauty of it. But, when one side of any argument resorts to insults, swearing, sarcasm, and the like, personally I find that a pretty good indicator of which side is the strongest side of the argument. But, as you said, what do I know.

Best regards,

Vieri

Vieri Bottazzini

WEBSITES | INSTAGRAM

[Vieri Bottazzini Participant Posts: 32]

Re: NFTs, the way of the future?

Reply #6 on: June 23, 2022 at 8:56 am

Ronny Nilsen wrote:

Jeff Schewe wrote:

Just because you can doesn’t mean you should…

Hard to hold an NTF in your hand and admire the texture or hang it on the wall and admire how it finishes a room…

The real question to ask is why…and I’ve not heard any good answers that are meaningful to me.

If it’s not meaningful to me, screw it…

(actually the word I would use is “F&$k it” but this is mixed company)

😎

 

I read this explanation once, and it makes sense. 🙂

The concept of NFT have some merit (proof of ownership), but the current implementation reminds me more of a pyramid scheme.

The blockchain do not preserve the artwork itself, just the recipt that you paid for it. If the webserver with the image goes down, so do you artwork.

Hello Ronny, thanks for offering your opinion. You are actually wrong on the “if the webserver goes down, so does your image”, since most serious NFT platform use IPFS to store the images (see here: https://docs.ipfs.io/concepts/what-is-ipfs/). You are also wrong on the pyramid scheme, at least for NFT photography, although I’d be the first to admit that there are definitely high levels of speculation on pfp, as they call it; not much – if any at all – on photography (and more generally on 1/1 art) though.

If you are really interested in understanding NFTs, I’d suggest to do your own research rather than trusting some random bitter guy’s quote on a forum.

Best regards,

Vieri

Vieri Bottazzini

WEBSITES | INSTAGRAM

[Vieri Bottazzini Participant Posts: 32]

Re: Phase One XT Rodenstock 90mm f/5.6 in-depth review

Reply #7 on: June 13, 2022 at 2:55 am

Hello Kevin,

yes indeed, it’s a great lens capable of creating amazing imagery, as is the XT lineup in general (and Rodenstock HR lineup besides the XT lenses, too). Making big prints is definitely a great way to appreciate the amount of detail the lens can output.

Glad you enjoyed the read! Best regards,

Vieri

Vieri Bottazzini

WEBSITES | INSTAGRAM

[Vieri Bottazzini Participant Posts: 32]

Re: NFTs, the way of the future?

Reply #8 on: April 19, 2022 at 10:33 am

Jeff Schewe wrote:

Just because you can doesn’t mean you should…

Hard to hold an NTF in your hand and admire the texture or hang it on the wall and admire how it finishes a room…

The real question to ask is why…and I’ve not heard any good answers that are meaningful to me.

If it’s not meaningful to me, screw it…

(actually the word I would use is “F&$k it” but this is mixed company)

😎

 

Well, very luckily for thousands of people, just because it’s not meaningful to you it doesn’t mean it’s not meaningful for everyone.

Luckily for us artists seeing our work recognised and valued as NFT, not everyone shares your view (I do sell prints as well, by the way, for 10k euro each in 1/1 editions, and I love them). Luckily, because not everyone shares your views there are many artists making a living that couldn’t otherwise. This is especially true for artists and photographers from countries where access to making and selling prints, access to galleries and collectors, and so on, would be very difficult if not impossible, and at costs they could never afford.

Incidentally, being in NFT doesn’t exclude loving prints, producing prints, and – as I do – giving a free print to my NFT collectors if they are interested, to promote the beauty of prints to a new crowd, who would have never got to collect photography without NFTs. NFTs are just a new way to monetise art and photography, and they are not mutually exclusive with older ways to do so.

It reminds me of the advent of digital photography. Many colleagues back then said exactly what you say here, transposed to film: “WTF is digital, you can’t touch it, develop it, print it, it looks plastic, it’s all fake, etc etc”. An extremely large majority of them either are in the dinosaur cemetery now, or they ended up embracing digital.

It’s our choice whether to embrace the future, or not. The future, on the other hand, comes anyway, whether we like it or not.

Best regards,

Vieri

 

Vieri Bottazzini

WEBSITES | INSTAGRAM

[Vieri Bottazzini Participant Posts: 32]

Re: NFTs, the way of the future?

Reply #9 on: April 17, 2022 at 3:02 am

Kevin Raber wrote:

Thanks, Vieri.  How does one convert RTH into cash that can be used to buy things etc.  If I earned enough selling some images how do I convert it to something that can buy an 800mm lens.  I think that’s the part I don’t understand.  I have read a lot and there seems to be a growing community of photographers that are trying this out.  Some said it took a long time to make any if one sale.  But the question is how do I get it into my bank account.

How have you done on selling NFT.

Thanks.

Hello Kevin,

you’ll convert your ETH (I assume you meant ETH, not RTH) back to $ the same way you converted $ to ETH in the first place. Some exchanges offer credit cards. There is a ton of info out there, I’d definitely recommend you do some Google searching to find the best option for you.

Best regards,

Vieri

Vieri Bottazzini

WEBSITES | INSTAGRAM

[Vieri Bottazzini Participant Posts: 32]

Re: NFTs, the way of the future?

Reply #10 on: April 16, 2022 at 3:50 am

Hey Kevin & Art,

there is so much information out there about the real environmental costs of minting 1 NFT and so much information about how much people sell and earn that it’d be of no real use for me to share here – I recommend everyone interested in doing their own research. Everything on blockchain is transparent, you can see to the 0.0001 ETH how much one makes / sells for / etc.

What I can add here is a couple of examples: an open edition of an image of a guy that goes by Drift in the NFT space just sold over 10.000 copies, for 0.2 ETH each. Not sure how much your mortgage is, but I assume Drift doesn’t need to get one, after that sale, to buy a house.

On the other hand, there are so many photographers struggling to make sales: same as in the “real world”.

My recommendation, if someone is interested in giving NFT “a try”, is this: don’t. If, on the other hand, one is interested in making NFT a main source of their income, and therefore dedicate all (or a large part) of their energies to NFTs, then one might give it a go. In that case, I’d recommend to dedicate some months to enter the space, build community, show one’s work, without even minting one NFT. Only when one has enough momentum and “clout”, then I would release something for sale.

In short, take it as a full time job, or it will be very difficult to succeed.

Just my .02 of course. Best regards,

Vieri

Vieri Bottazzini

WEBSITES | INSTAGRAM

[Vieri Bottazzini]

Re: Best 100mm holders for landscape photography

Reply #11 on: August 22, 2021 at 10:23 am

Bud James wrote:

Vieri Bottazzini wrote:

Kevin Raber wrote:

Thanks for your input on these topics.  If you’d ever like to publish them on PXL and reach a wider audience please let me know.   You do a very thorough job on your reports.

 

Thank you very much for your kind words, Kevin, much appreciated!! Thanks for the offer as well, I’ll definitely keep that in mind!

Bud James wrote:

I’m a big fan of Lee filters. I have the 100mm set and holder. With the Lee adapter rings for the holder, I have used this system on my various lens and cameras from Fuji and now Leica SL2.

Some folks don’t need the coverage of a 100mm filter and might want to consider the smaller versions available from a number of manufacturers.

Regards,

Bud James

Please check out my fine art and travel photography at http://www.budjames.photography or on Instagram at http://www.instagram.com/budjamesphoto

Hey Bud, happy to hear that you are enjoying your Lee system! Yes, smaller filter systems are useful for smaller cameras, in my filter review here: https://www.vieribottazzini.com/2021/08/best-filters-for-landscape-photography.html. I thoroughly list which manufacturers do offer such system, and which systems they offer. Hope this helps!

Best regards,

Vieri

Vieri

• This reply was modified 2 years, 8 months ago by Vieri Bottazzini.

Hi Vieri.

Thank you for your comments. I think that your filter review would be a good article for PhotoPXL.

I enjoy your website and viewing your work. We love Italy. I have been there 10 times over the years. Most recently, 3 years ago my son did a study abroad trip in Rome for 6 weeks during the summer. We met up with him at the end of that and spent 2 weeks in Italy. We stayed for 3 nights in Vernazza in an apartment at the base of the tower overlooking the city. It was awesome. You can check out my portfolios from my past travels there on my website: www.budjames.photography.

How is the Covid situation in Italy? Is is permissible to enter the country and travel around?

Regards,

Bud James

Please check out my fine art and travel photography at http://www.budjames.photography or on Instagram at http://www.instagram.com/budjamesphoto

Hey Bud,

Thank you for checking my work and for your kind words, glad you enjoyed it. Happy to hear that you liked our beautiful country, and are visiting often!! Covid is not too bad these days, vaccination really helped and if only those remaining few idiots would quit putting everyone else in danger and get their shots, we’d all be the better for it. You can definitely enter the country, here’s the rules for doing so: https://reopen.europa.eu/en/map/ITA/7011

Best regards,

Vieri

Vieri Bottazzini

WEBSITES | INSTAGRAM

[Author]

Posts