Tag: challenge

Posted on

A Marketing Challenge for the Year 2023

This is a follow-up marketing challenge to what was started in January 2022.

This is NOT a New Year’s Resolution – they don’t usually work. This is a re-commitment of something I did in January last year to jump-start my art photography business. It worked very well last year – and positive results/metrics were shared here on this website.

This year I am modifying the goals just a bit to make a longer-term commitment well within reach. I am continuing to wean myself from social media and put more emphasis on positive results from the major search engines. I want to (need to) increase the organic search results that bring people to see my photography and my galleries on the various POD (Print On Demand) art production companies that host my gallery stores – listed in the site menu.

Blue Flams heating the Tea Pot
Let me get the fire lit and get underway.

The goal is to create one new article per day for the entire first quarter of 2023.

The caveat is that I will give myself weekends off. (Hey, I am supposed to be retired.) I also will not adhere to a strict schedule. That means, overall, I will publish an average of 5 articles per week on one or more of my websites, 20/21 per month for January, February and March. (Yes, I will count this article among the list below…)

Obviously, this particular article will be a Work In Progress

January Articles

  1. Fenwick Island Dunes and Waves, USPictures.com, 01/01
  2. Fenwick Island Lighthouse Historic Panorama, USPictures.com, 01/02
  3. A Marketing Challenge for the Year 2023, BillSwartwout.com, 01/02
  4. Fenwick Island Lighthouse, SouthBaltimore.com. 01/02
  5. Eclipse of the Moon over the Indian River Bridge, IndianRiverBridge.com, 01/03
  6. Simulated Watercolor from a Photograph, IndianRiverBridge.com, 01/05
  7. Staying on the Boardwalk in Ocean City, Maryland, OceanCityBoardwalkHotels.com, 01/11
  8. For Purple Mountain Majesties, BillSwartwout.com, 01/12
  9. A Cat in a Fishbowl, BillSwartwout.com, 01/14
  10. One Cat Eye Looking Directly At You, BillSwartwout.com, 01/15
  11. Red Sky at Night, Sailor’s Delight, IndianRiverBridge.com, 01/15
  12. Dangerous Passage, BillSwartwout.com, 01/16
  13. Tuckahoe River Railroad Bridge in Delmarva, USPictures.com, 01/17
  14. Photo Tip for Photographing Sunsets, BillSwartwout.com, 01/20
  15. I’ve Always had a Keen Interest in Astronomy, BillSwartwout.com, 01/23
  16. Catching the Sun in Her Arms, BillSwartwout.com, 01/23
  17. Having Fun at the Beach in Ocean City, MD, OceanCityBoardwalkHotesl.com, 01/25
  18. Finding Places to Stay in Ocean City, MD!, SouthBaltimore.com, 01/25
  19. Ocean City Twitter Account Is Now Verified, USPictures.com, 01/26
  20. Iconic Red Barn, USPictures.com, 01/28
Fenwick Island Dunes and Waves
Fenwick Island Dunes and Waves and Sea and Sand in the Afternoon Sun

February Articles

  1. This Crab Saw His Shadow, BillSwartwout.com, 02/03
  2. Starry Night at the Indian River Inlet Bridge, IndianRiverBridge.com, 0204
  3. Before Sunrise at the Indian River Bridge, IndianRiverBridge.com, 02/05
  4. Starry Night Over Fenwick Island Lighthouse, FenwickIslandLighthouse.com, 02/06 (first sale was 02/07)
  5. Stay on the Boardwalk in Ocean City, OCtheBeach.com, 02/09
  6. Fenwick Shoals in the Atlantic at Fenwick Island, FenwickIslandLighthouse.com, 02/09
  7. Should I Choose a Hotel or a Condo for Vacation? OCtheBeach.com, 02/09
  8. Artificial Intelligence Art Imagery, BillSwartwout.com, 02/10
  9. Indian River Bridge Cam at Delaware Seashore State Park, IndianRiverBridge.com, 02/14
  10. Indian River Inlet Bridge Gift Shop, IndianRiverBridge.com, 02/14
  11. Song for Sunrise over the Bridge at Indian River Inlet, IndianRiverBridge.com, 02/14
  12. Ocean City Gift Shop, OCtheBeach.com, 02/14
  13. About Dead Tree Pictures, DeadTreePictures.com, 02/16
  14. Ocean City Jigsaw Puzzles, OCtheBeach.com, 02/18
  15. New Website Created, aiArtImagery.com, 02/20
  16. Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the Art World, aiArtImagery.com, 02/21
  17. Right Time Right Place Photo Tip, BillSwartwout.com, 02/22
  18. Why Are Barns Painted Red? BillSwartwout.com, 02/23
  19. Free Shipping Now Available for Bill Swartwout Photography, USPictures.com, 02/23
  20. Visiting Myrtle Beach, SC? USPictures.com, 02/23
  21. Do You Have a Tote Bag for the Beach? OCtheBeach.com, 02/23
  22. Vacationing in Ocean City, Maryland, OceanCityBoardwalkHotels.com, 02/24
  23. Virtual Sisters Feline and Human, aiArtImagery.com, 02/27

March Articles

  1. Decaying Red Barns, BillSwartwout.com, 03/01 (Almost ready…)
  2. Vanishing Red Barns in America, aiArtImagery.com, 03/01
  3. Myrtle Beach Beach, Sand, Dunes, Ocean and Sky, USPictures.com, 03/02
  4. Watching the Sun Setting Under the Indian River Bridge, IndianRiverBridge.com, 03/03
  5. Pier Against the Storm, aiArtImagery.com, 03/09
  6. What’s Cooking in the Kitchen?, aiArtImagery.com, 03/09
  7. Fenwick Island Lighthouse on the Rocks, FenwickIslandLighthouse.com, 03/10
  8. Last Bridge into Ocean City, OCtheBeach.com, 03/10
  9. Double Trouble – a Two-Headed Rattlesnake, aiaARTimagery.com, 03/11
  10. OC Vacations on Record Pace for 2023, OceanCityBoardwalkHotels.com, 03/31

OK, so March did not make the cut. We were on an extended vacation and I “finally” realized that doing a daily article was distracting. I will pick this activity up once we return home and things get back to normal (whatever that may be).

Results

Metrics and more… TBD

Posted on

Brewing a Pot of Tea as Part of a Challenge at FAA

A pot of hot tea is a great way to begin the day – even with camera in hand.

Being a fairly active member of the art Discussions (forum) at Fine Art America I have been involved in several “Art Challenges” over the last year. These involve posting one new piece of art based on a theme, one piece per day for a set number of days. The Forum Moderator, Abbie (a talented painter and photographer), creates these challenges along with the help of another uniquely talented artist, Donna. These challenges help us, as artist-participants, focus for a period of time on a particular theme, which encourages new creativity. We all get to see how colleagues interpret the theme, creating a win-win activity for all involved.

The current challenge is “7 Day Kitchen Macro Images” and has about 30 guinea pigs, er – participants, creating close-up images of things in/around a kitchen. I started off with my morning kitchen routine of making a pot of tea for my wife and a cup of coffee for me. My only change in routine was to have my camera in hand affixed with a macro (close-up) lens. My first image was of the fire used to heat the teapot full of water.

Blue Flams heating the Tea Pot
An Expressionism view of blue gas flames heating a pot of water to make tea.

Yesterday, day #1 of the Challenge, I heated the water for a pot of tea – so today (day #2) I added in the tea bag. The teabag was easier to photograph than the gas flame because I didn’t have to put the camera right on the stove near the burners.

Tea Bag as a Charcoal Sketch
A traditional tea bag hanging by its string and presented as a simulated charcoal sketch.

I was able to hang the tea bag by its string and photograph it with a shallow depth of field to blur out the background, which is actually a brown wicker-back chair near a window. A tea bag, by itself, is rather plain so I edited this into a simulated charcoal sketch presentation.

Link: Blue Flames Heating Up the Teapot Expressionism

Link: Tea Bag Rendered in Charcoal

Tomorrow I will need to photograph a cup of coffee as it is being brewed. 🙂

Visit my FAA gallery at Bill Swartwout Photography.

Posted on

Jigsaw Puzzles by Independent Artists

Photographs by Bill Swartwout are now available on Jigsaw Puzzles.

These premium jigsaw puzzles are available in two different sizes: 18″ x 24″ (500 pieces) and 20″ x 28″ (1,000 pieces).   Each puzzle is made from premium 0.200″ thick card stock and includes a custom-designed box containing the puzzle with artwork by Bill Swartwout Photography.

Jigsaw Puzzles by Bill Swartwout Photography
More than 700 Jigsaw Designs with images by Bill Swartwout Photography.
Representative Jigsaw Puzzle Pieces to Illustrate the High Quality of the Product

Challenge yourself and your brain with a jigsaw puzzle designed with imagery by Bill Swartwout Photography. These puzzles are made from premium 0.2″ thick paper stock and include a semi-gloss coating on the top surface to make the image really stand out. The puzzles are available in two different sizes and piece counts: 500 pieces at 24″x18″ and 1000 pieces at 28″x20″. The puzzle pieces are unique and contained in a sturdy puzzle box with the image printed on the top. Care instructions include keeping the puzzle in the box when you are not “puzzling” and store it at room temperature.

Jigsaw Puzzle of the Indian River Bridge at Twilight
Jigsaw Puzzle of a Crowded Beach at Ocean City, Maryland

These are produced and fulfilled by Fine Art America/Pixels and have a 30-day Satisfaction Guarantee. In addition to the 700+ offered by Bill Swartwout Photography there are over a million designs by created by other independent artists. CLICK HERE to get started.

Jigsaw Puzzle of French Fries Not Judging You
This puzzle design always evokes a laugh.