NFTs Take a Quantum Leap into the World of Photography
*Disclaimer: this is not financial advice and should not be viewed as recommendations to buy or sell any asset, this is purely educational and the information below is solely my opinion, please do your own research and develop your own conviction*
You don’t realize how important or valuable art is until you’re much older and see the effects pieces have on people in classrooms, museums and galleries. And for most people, that moment of clarity never even happens.
Photography wasn’t something I grew up with. I didn’t attach any value to it or viewed it with any importance. I wasn’t one of those people who understood the logic of owning a really nice and expensive DSLR camera. And it made even less to me when the iPhone came out and the cameras started getting better and better.
But, for a brief period of time, before I lost track of my innocence, and let Facebook take it away from me, I was briefly into the idea of taking photos for my Instagram when the app first gained popularity in the 2012s. The different filters, the different ideas, the landscapes, the imagery from my journeys, it was briefly this fun method of expression that I never acknowledged before or even knew existed.
And then it happened.
Like everything.
Facebook took Instagram over.
And.
Literally.
Killed its innocence.
The app went from being this beacon of art and creativity and this hub of social interests and desires and now ecommerce. It became a hub of memes. A place for women in bikinis. A place for lavish lifestyles to be celebrated.
And like everyone else, I forgot about what I loved from the early days of the app and fell into the trap of monetization, validation and desperation that Facebook created. And I ignored photography again and never even realized what was going on.
But then, somehow, I started studying NFTs and saw that this one project called Twin Flames was worth nearly 200 ETH and I couldn’t figure out why. I didn’t know who this Justin Aversano character was. I didn’t know what his deal was. And I didn’t know why anyone would pay that much money to own digital pictures of people standing next to each other, doing things, or holding a bag of weed. It just confused me.
So like everything in my life that I don’t understand, I ignored it for a while and moved on with my journey. Eventually I studied PFP NFTs, got into the understanding of what made ArtBlocks attractive, and continued on with my life.
One day, while listening to Kevin Rose’s PROOF podcast, he mentioned this new website founded by Justin Aversano, the Twin Flames guy, and it struck me that this could be a cool thing to follow. He mentioned a project by this woman, who turned out to be Amy Elkins who is an amazing artist, who took a selfie everyday from the moment of her lockdown until her vaccination, and it just struck me as something so cool, chill, unique and sensational that I ought to look into it.
But I didn’t get into photography, or photography NFTs, until I listened to an episode of Bankless’ Layer Zero with Justin Aversano.
Somehow, someway, this was one of those interviews that just stuck out and connected with me—to the point that I had to DM Justin afterwards and say thank you for spiraling me into my new obsession, photography NFTs.
I haven’t collected any yet, to be completely honest, but I have been spending each day in the Quantum.Art Discord and have decided to bring awareness to this wonderful community and the amazing artists that live within it.
Quantum.Art
If you’ve been into NFTs for a while now, you probably have heard of ArtBlocks, which is the renowned generative art curator that has produced standout projects like Fidenzas, Ringers and Chromie Squiggles.
Quantum is something similar to ArtBlocks, but for the world of photography instead.
Artists can submit their photography collections to the curators, and if they are chosen, they are listed on the website and minted by collectors of Quantum pieces, contest winners and the public if any remain.
The key to giving yourself the best chance here, is to be an owner of a Quantum piece, which gives you earlier access to mint a project than the public receives.
This is a nice way to continually reward the community for their support, limit flipping, and prevent gas wars and bots from overrunning their collections.
Quantum’s ethos is to get their collections in as many hands as possible while focusing on actual collectors, and not just flippers. It’s an organic, bottom up movement to create the brand, provide the needed service, and reward artists and holders alike.
The projects Quantum has chosen thus far are narrative driven and full of intense raw emotion, human vulnerability, intrigue and cultural appreciation.
Quantum was founded by Justin Aversano and reflects his creative style by cultivating a niche that focuses on telling a story not only through images, but through the way each photo in each collection is chosen by the artist and the intimate focus on the creative process. Quantum brings attention to a collection of images that tell a story and bring viewers along for the journey, ranging from landscapes to portraits and badass imagery of moments in life.
Currently projects are more limited in quantity in relation to generative art and PFP NFTs with collections ranging from 23 photos up to 377. Since each medium is carefully constructed by hand, photography finds itself closer to the digital art 1 of 1 world of NFTs than the generative or PFP side that has become very popular. However, unlike the 1 of 1s, photography NFTs do manage to maintain that collection feel that draw in numerous viewers and allow collectors to engage in discourse about their narratives playing out in their photos with others in the Quantum community.
Community Building
Since joining the Quantum community, I can very much say it’s been one of the best, most enjoyable experiences I’ve had thus far in the NFT world.
It reminds me of the bonds of the Cool Cats community, without the massive overflow of members and attention that makes it difficult to check in for a few minutes each day and create relationships. Since Quantum is still very nascent, existing for around a month or so, the community is hardly as big as it can and will be one day. It’s mostly filled with collectors of Quantum projects, fans of the Twin Flames series, and likeminded photographers sharing their projects and ideas.
Users are very helpful and willing to discuss photography questions and provide feedback on projects that are shared with each other. Members of the Quantum team are accessible and willing to solve any issues that come one’s way with the minting process. Just this week, Quantum minted a new project, Rumors of Arctic Belonging by Kiliii Yuyan, that had new members who participated in a cultural photography contest eligible to be on the QList to have a chance and mint early. Unfortunately, those members dealt with a glitch on the day of the mint and they were incapable of minting as the project sold out. In the traditional web 2 world, and in some other communities, these members may have been completely out of luck and casted aside, however, the Quantum team made it up to the 20 people who were unable to mint by providing them exclusive early access to Quantum’s next project by Mercedes Jelinek. This shows the attention to detail and the care for its community, especially considering that Mercedes’ project only has 23 NFTs available.
It’s rare for teams and founders to also be present and involved each day with their community. All of the mods and even Justin Aversano find themselves participating in discussions and asking questions. In addition, we see the photographers whose collections were listed for sale even participating in their own Discord channels, as well as in the channels of their peers, showing appreciation for each other’s artwork and the community as a whole.
Quantum is a nice wholesome environment that is free from discussions about prices being too low, or the need for floors to be swept, and instead its filled with just individuals who love art and photography who enjoy sharing their time with each other.
We also have users rewarded with opportunities to get exclusive access to projects based on their involvement, ownership and overall care. Justin’s newest project, Physical Tarot Scrolls, is currently being released weekly through a series of stealth drops that are awarded to community members who applied for the GreenList, allowing private sales to happen and avoiding the project from falling into the hands of bots and flippers, and instead, in the hands of collectors who appreciate the work for its intrinsic value and merit.
Season 1
Similar to ArtBlocks, Quantum’s listing process goes by seasons, with eleven photographers having their work being showcased and made available over the course of time.
I won’t talk about every project that has been minted thus far, but instead will focus on the ones that have stood out to me and created a connection with my personal life. That isn’t to say the other collections aren’t beautiful or mind blowing in their own nature, but I rather focus on the ones I am drawn to the most for the sake of time and convenience in this article.
The first project that was minted on Quantum happened to be one of my favorites. I first heard of the idea on Kevin Rose’s PROOF podcast and although I didn’t mint it at the time, nor own it currently, it has become one of my favorite NFT collections overall and a goal of mine to collect: Amy Elkins’ Anxious Desires.
Anxious Desires is a collection of portraits that Amy took each day from the start of her lockdown until the day she received her coronavirus vaccine. Each image shows the dire hope for life, the desperation for the end, and the sensational playfulness of being stuck at home for months, uncertain of what would happen, and how our fate would play out. It is a narrative filled with all of the emotions we’ve associated with this pandemic, and the clear and concise chaos of our hearts and minds rattling against the cages locking us in our houses.
Each of these photos are tinted blue and provide a nice pop of unexpected color while expressing our feelings behind the event overlaying this entire project.
Shortly after Anxious Desires, Touching Strangers by Richard Renaldi released, which was a porting over of a previous project from the physical world into the digital one.
At first I didn’t understand the allure of Touching Strangers, the images are typically just two people standing next to each other, embracing as if they were intimate friends or partners. But the narrative behind each image began to spin an understanding for why this is not only a valuable piece of art, but a gorgeous representation of human vulnerability, innocence, and self-consciousness.
Renaldi gathers two individuals who have no connection with each other, no relationship, understanding or awareness of their existence and positions both of them next to each other, embracing as if they have always known each other. It’s an interesting visual juxtaposition of our most intimate desires and our biggest insecurities.
Most recently, Quantum released a project by Kiliii Yuyan called Rumors of Arctic Belonging which captures some of the most beautiful, terrifying and harrowing images of life in the Arctic. Rumors captures a lot of the cultural essence and significance of those living in the Arctic while combining Yuyan’s Native Siberian heritage. His images tell a beautiful narrative of destruction, culture, and innocence.
There are many more great photographers who have collections on Quantum that are worth looking into and learning about. Mercedes Jelinek, Mona Kuhn, Julie Blackmon, Joey L, Sally Davies, Kris Graves and Alberto Rizzo have amazing collections worth looking into and exploring. I haven’t mentioned any of their work in detail, but it not a slight to any of their art, and instead a personal preference for the work I’ve really obsessed over and fallen in love with.
Season 2 expects to have more community based drops that the community can vote on, rewarding loyal members and helping g them grow their brands, something that seems similar to the ArtBlocks Factory ideology.
Future Opportunities
People looking for a quick flip and an easy way to make money probably shouldn’t look at Quantum.Art as their preferred vehicle to increase their Ethereum stack. But lovers of photography and artists looking to expand their brand should definitely consider learning more about Quantum and its wonderful community.
Without having too many details available, and simply going off of what’s been alluded, Quantum has a lot in store for its members, photographers and collectors. I fully expect to see the platform grow over the next year and reach a mini ArtBlocks level of notoriety. Right now photographers are left minting on Foundation and OpenSea and relying solely on their own merit and mainstream reputation. Since the medium isn’t one that is popularized too much in smaller circles, a curation entity that develops a well respected reputation could become a powerful tailwind that grows the genre and opens the door for endless opportunities for its creators.
I’m not sure what Quantum will look like in a year or two, but I am certain we will see growth in its community, its projects and its reputation. PFPs have gotten all of the attention, followed by generative art, but the next frontier that collectors are starting to acknowledge is photography. It’s only a matter of time before we start seeing reputable people in the NFT community begin sweeping floors in the photography world. And due to the limited nature of these collections, it could create a powerful tailwind that quickly prices people out.
I am a member of this community, however, not for the money or holy grail collectible, but for the experience, passion and relationships that have developed in this very short period of time. I look forward to continue growing my exposure to the sector and wholeheartedly do believe that it will see significant growth over the course of this decade as people realize how powerful narratives within photography can be.
I don’t think of Quantum as an investment opportunity and am not making any recommendations or offering any financial advice, but I think it’s a great community filled with amazing artists and creators who all share a common goal, and I think the opportunities here could be endless in many ways.
Since falling down this rabbit hole as a direct result of Justin’s Layer 0 episode, I’ve decided to grab a camera and try my luck out with a couple of projects that interest me. It’s hard to be bearish or ignore something special like this that can trigger an emotional connection in a very quick way.
Whether someone is interested in buying photography NFTs or not, I do think it’s worth checking Quantum out and submitting work. We’re very early here, but this new beginning is worth studying and understanding.
QM everyone, have a happy day.