I found it easier to put my goals down last year. Upon looking at what I came up with this year. I have some unfinished business to attend to from 2010. You will notice right away most of these were on on my list last year. When I was looking back last week I was disappointed I had not made more progress.
It is a new year and I am not one to let a little disappointment get me down. If anything, it makes me more determined.
1. Improve “seeing” photographically. I referred to this last month. Got some ideas and good advice in the comments on how to do better at this. With my past and current experience covering live events, I tend to shoot fast. That is good for sports and live events but not so good for other types of photography. I often feel I missed something when reviewing my day’s images. I have decided the best way to quantify this is to feature, at least, one blog post a month dedicated to the Art of Seeing.
2. Time Management. I felt time rushed a lot last year. Most of it was because of the sporting events I covered which created a lot of work I needed to learn how to handle. Sure do envy those photographers who have assistants. Post processing of photos takes time. I am taking steps to find better and faster ways to do this task. Another step is to plan farther ahead for the blogs I do and take more advantage of scheduling posts. Anyone have more advice on this subject? If I have more time at the end of each day to pick up a book of fiction to read, I will know I am making progress in this area.
3. Build a Website. Here we go…the first retread from 2010. Actually, this is something which will probably effect the blog. I have talked with people about moving this blog to its own domain and making it part of a larger online presence. Still working on the plan to do so but I have set a deadline for September 1st to get this done.
4. Promotion of Website/Blog. I have been haphazardly been using Twitter, FaceBook, flickr and Internet message boards for promotion with no target in mind. In the next six months, I am going to learn how to better use these social networking tools to increase my blog’s viewership. This will be easy to track using website analysis tools. Currently I average 2,675 views a month. I want to double that to 5,000 views a month.
5. Six (6) Photo Assignments. As last year, I will post a new photo assignment every other month starting this month. Oh, and don’t forget about the bonus assignment: Four Seasons. It is not too late to join in!
6. Six (6) Photo Book Reviews. As I stated in my 2010 recap last week, I found reading a photo book each month did not work out. I will publish a review of each book every other month starting in February. If I read more than six books, I know I am doing better with my second goal for 2011. 🙂
7. Take a Photo Workshop/Tour. This one I told you would be here and so it is. I am still waiting for schedules for this year to be posted. This one will be easy to check off. Of course, I thought that last year.
This part needs repeating. My pledge to you.
Here is something from my post from January 1st, 2009 that won’t change:
- I will continue to add relevant links to my postings to encourage further research for those so inclined. It is something I like to do when visiting blogs and websites.
- I will continue to visit other blogs and flickr photostreams and leave comments I hope are encouraging and helpful to the blog authors and photographers.
- I do not mind people using my photos on their blogs or websites. All I ask is for you to give credit and a link back to this blog. If you want to use any of my photos for commercial purposes, please, contact me.
Let us now raise our glasses and toast to another year of moving forward. Clink!
Views Infinitum 
Good luck with your goals for 2011!
Don’t be disappointed in what you didn’t accomplish last year, be proud of what you DID accomplish!
I schedule posts ALL THE TIME! One of the best features of WordPress, especially since my blog is daily and I really don’t want to miss a day. So on the week-end, or whenever I find some extra time, I sit down and schedule my posts a week or two in advance. I have a note book that I use to keep track, so I know when to schedule more posts. I don’t know if this applies to your blog, but I have a folder on my computer where I save the pictures that I want to post on my blog as I edit. These pictures are already resized and ready to post, which really helps with scheduling, since everything is saved in one place.
LikeLike
Thank you, Michaela! You do a fantastic job with your daily postings. On the Disney blog I participate in, we do something similar and schedule our posts out weeks in advance unless I know I will be at Disney World.
I see how I could schedule out the Wednesday and Friday posts here. Especially with some of the goals I’ve set. The Monday Views are supposed to be recent and fresh. Though a topic or event is usually planned out in advance.
I like how you organize your photos. I could easily do the same in Aperture 3 (which, for any Mac users out there, is only $79.99 at the new Mac App Store that Apple opened up yesterday) with albums and folders.
LikeLike
Michaela, your disciplined approach leaves me awed. A week or two in advance? Awed.
Sometimes, because I have contributions from Babs Young or Katherine Berst or Bruce the Weatherman, I have more than one good post ready for a given day. When that blessing falls in my lap, I post one and set the other to post the following day.
I stow things away in the post pantry right on the WordPress server. A good quotation, a quirky photo, a scrap of a story. Sooner or later I have the ingredients for a post. I could stow them on my own hard drive, but I like being able to access them from anywhere. Of course, to find them I have to give them pretty descriptive titles. I can always change the titles when I publish.
I do a lot of drafts. They’re waiting for me to capture an image, or to locate a good link, or maybe just until I think they’re “finished.” Sometimes that means I’ve managed to pare away everything that “ain’t no post”! Whatever the reason, they wait quietly in the “drafts” bin until I turn them into something or decide to pitch them.
Of course, this stuff works for me because I’m doing a quirky little blog about Torch Lake Township and environs. OK, with sometimes a visit to Detroit or North Carolina or Egypt, but I digress. It’s also a writer’s approach–dunno whether it applies so much to a photographer’s blog. I certainly enjoy the intersection of the two, though.
LikeLike
Gerry, not sure the term ‘planning’ or ‘scheduling’ is something you would want to do. Your system sounds perfect for you. That’s why personal computing and the Internet are such great tools. You make them work the way you want them to.
Hey, did I miss the posts about Egypt? 😀
LikeLike
It’s scheduled! 🙂
LikeLike
Great goals for the coming year. Of course, #3 ends up being the easiest but you have to convince yourself to pull the trigger. Once you have #3 done, then #4 is where the real work begins, but you’ve read my blog enough to know what you have to do there as well. As for the images… just take them! 🙂
LikeLike
Easiest? I do read your blog and your issues with WordPress upgrades and plug-ins that don’t work or screw your website up. LOL I have been in IT a long time so I know such a task will be rewarding but require new skills and added work. I will be cautious. 😉
LikeLike
Thanks for the inspirational photo, Scott. I’ll take it to heart. Best of luck with your goals. As a “baby” blogger (or maybe I’m adolescent by now?) and very amateur/hobbyist photographer, I have no advice to offer.
I am wondering though, what is the green doohicky-mabobber on top of the camera? Reminds me of old-fashioned flashcubes! Remember those things?
LikeLike
The green doohicky-mabobber is a bubble level which fits into the camera’s hot shoe. Works great to keep the camera level when using a tripod.
Well, you were a bit disappointed last week when I did not have a photo in a post so I included one this week. 🙂
I would say you are an excellent blogger and an emerging photographer.
LikeLike
Scott, all worthy and commendable goals! And a lot packed in for 2011. If you do move your blog to its own domain, expect… maybe… a drop-off of views for awhile. We moved our blogs to their own domains as an offshoot of our website 11 months ago, and it has taken this long for the viewership to build back; and yet, not as strong as we had it at WordPress.com. I’ve tried Facebook for networking and promotion but wasn’t pleased with it. I don’t know… Maybe I’ll try again soon. Being a serious photographer isn’t easy! I wish you the best and success for 2011, Scott.
LikeLike
Anna,
Thank you for you sharing your experiences with moving away from WordPress.com. I know it is something I am concerned about, too. Have spent the last three years directing everyone I know to this location so changing it will disrupt viewership. I know WP.com has some fifty ways to keep track of blogs and comments which would be lost (I think) by moving off of it. I know I lost the ability to follow your blog and the comments I made on it when you made the change.
I keep being told how good Facebook is for photographers. I still need to be convinced on that myself. There are a lot of them using it so it must work for them. 🙂
LikeLike
Cheers, Scott! And best of luck to you with your goals this year.
I just finished reading “I’d Rather Be in the Studio!” which is geared towards artists wanting to market their art. There are some good ideas in there on blogging, social networking, etc. Here’s the URL for the author’s website:
http://www.artbizcoach.com/
Redesigning my website was on my list last year but went by the wayside. I’m hoping to get that done in the next few weeks as I decided it was time to stop putting it off. The hardest part (to me) is figuring out exactly what I want. It should be a piece of cake after that. (The website as it is now was a Mother’s Day gift to me from my youngest son who did the best he could with it at the time.)
Looking forward to following along with you in 2011!
LikeLike
Wow…great website resource, Robin! Thank you for that and for your continued support of this blog and my photography.
Yep, it is time!
LikeLike
Thanks Scott for a great 2010 and looking forward to 2011.
Love the image, took me awhile to realize that it’s a camera. 🙂
LikeLike
Thanks, Nye! It’s not the best photo is it? Took that with my iPhone one night as I was photographing a sunset near my home. Not the greatest location I found out but the colors where awesome that night.
LikeLike
I thought the photo looks good, just a bit abstract at first glance. I like it. 🙂
LikeLike
Scott, this past year flew by for me too. Sometimes the only way to accomplish more is to try to do less by pursuing just one goal at a time.
I’ve always told my art students that our greatest barrier to developing the art of seeing is in giving too much focus to what we *think* we see. We have so many pre-conceived notions about the world around us.
LikeLike
You did GREAT in 2010 and with your new goal’s list, looks like 2011 will be a winner for you as well! I can’t wait to see the ‘art of seeing’ posts!
I never schedule blog posts. My personality is much more spontaneous than that. I’ll either get an idea for a photo, go out and shoot it and then post OR I might simply go out and see what photo I can ‘discover’ (this is my personal favorite way of shooting….allowing the landscape to offer up a spectacular image) OR I may look through my archives and find a photo that sparks a good topic for a post.
Now, does this work for me? Wellll, it worked really well when I were committed to the one-post-a-day project. Now that I’m not, I am finding other things are drawing my attention away. I hope to get back into something more organized and routine. Hmmm, looks like I may have a new goal for myself! 🙂
LikeLike
Disappointed? Proud is a better word. Your blog has become a rewarding meetingpoint for many bloggers, filled with good advices beside your own photos. You have done a great job in every way.
The latest discussion I have heard about communication at the internet, is that people now days are getting used to have the possibility of direct contact, a blog can give. How are your plans for the website concerning this? I have a few websites, made some years ago, there are visitors, but the so called guest books seems a bit uninteresting compared to blogs.
Like Tracy, I never schedule my posts, I also work spontaneous because this is similar to how I find my motives. The bad thing about this is that it makes blogging a bit more irregular, and this have influence on the number of visitors…
Now I will let myself get inspired by you once more, and make some goals. Perhaps a little regularity.
I´ll be looking foreward to your “Art of seeing” photos.
LikeLike