ANALOG NATIVE GOES DIGITAL

Photographer Jordan Banks described himself as an early analog nomad, long before digital nomads were a thing.

In his early days as a travel photographer, with commissions from tourist boards and PR agencies, and later as he began to make a name for himself, National Geographic, Lonely Planet, Conde Nast, and other publications, Jordan Banks had to process film on the road in whatever darkrooms he could, or else find a way to send the film back for developing and scanning.

Later on, he discovered the world of NFTs through some friends, and he was soon minting his work on Foundation, although possibly ‘too early’ he reflects now. But clearly not too early, as he had a lot of success, and one of his first collectors, now a friend, has gone on to be one of the most prominent collectors of NFT photography.

“It’s cool to know that such a big collector kicked off his photography journey with a piece of mine,” says Jordan.

Jordan’s journey took him to New York to chat with SuperRare, his next sales platform, but alongside what has been a lucrative career, Jordan has had time for others. He has started working with a non-profit called Me Llamo Art which is helping to shine a light on artists and the arts in general. As a non-profit, it is obviously focused on giving back to photographers, artists, and creatives in general.

“Supporting people is something I’m really passionate about,” he says.

He ably demonstrated this during lockdown when he launched what has become an award-winning travel magazine, JRNY (@ JRNYmag). Jordan crowdfunded the first edition, raising twice the targeted amount, and when other magazines were closing, his took off, supporting photographers, writers, and creatives, keeping them working. Four editions later, he’s now he’s looking at tokenizing subscriptions to sustain the magazine, which does not feature any advertising.

“The idea came about to tokenize it, and we just believed in the technology, in the fact that we should be in web3,” he says.

Even if it is tokenized, Jordan plans for it to be extremely affordable. “There’s no revenue being made other than to support and go back into the arts. Hopefully, people will see themselves as patrons of the arts,” he says.

Jordan’s work and commitment to the NFT community are a testament to his belief in the medium, which has undergone such a massive transformation from analog to digital in his lifetime.