In my previous post here, I wrote that some of my photos would be appearing around the same time in three separate publications, and I joked about my ship finally coming in.

Joking aside, I was expecting some good exposure for my work, especially from the prominent placement of my Asheville Skyline photo on page 3 of the Southern Conference basketball tournament program.

Asheville Skyline

 

So yesterday afternoon I picked up two copies of the tournament program from the publisher’s office, and I gotta tell you I was highly pleased with the way they presented the photo, right at the top of the page above the mayor’s welcoming message. Many thousands of people would soon be looking at it, and some would be checking my website, photothemes.com, where they would find the Skyline photo, contact information, and about a dozen photos of the historic buildings in downtown Asheville, including this photomontage.

This image is used on one of my best-selling photo note cards. One cool thing about it is that when you open it face up you see this printed information on the left:

Unfortunately, nobody’s going to find my site — it’s listed in the credit below the photo as Phototimes, not Photothemes. Clicking on Phototimes takes readers to a website that’s under construction and for sale.

Update! When the editor became aware of the typo, she promptly posted my Asheville photo on the publisher’s FaceBook page, resulting in multiple views and over 60 “shares” at last count. That probably adds up to a lot of people seeing the image, as it is shared again and again. So I can’t complain — not that I want to.

The other problem is with my name. A few people looking at the basketball program might be interested in the photo and motivated enough to Google Robert Ludlow. Last time I checked my name on Google, it came up near the top on page 1, just a few entries behind Robert Wadlow, “the world’s tallest man.”

So I got beat out by a “gentle giant” who died 72 years ago and isn’t even named Ludlow. To me this suggests a flaw in Google’s algorithm. Is it all about the number of hits? Why would someone Googling Robert Ludlow get Robert Wadlow as the first listing. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t begrudge Mr. Wadlow any of his posthumous fame. The poor fellow died at age 22 after having to live with braces on his legs. Just as long as I’m on page 1, everything is fine.

But it’s not. Mr. Wadlow is still up there at the top, followed by author Robert Ludlum. But unlike six months ago, I no longer show up near the top of page 1 — not on page 1 at all; nor page 2, 3, or 4. I eventually get a hit on page 5. And to add insult to injury, there is a a different photographer named Robert Ludlow who is listed on page 1. So I’m not even the top Robert Ludlow among photographers! You might call that a humbling experience. Sort of puts things in perspective.

Looks like I need to pay some internet company to move my name back up there on page 1 behind Mr. Wadlow and author Robert Ludlum. Watch out, Mr. “page 1” Robert Ludlow, I’m comin’ for you!

Anyway, no ship on the horizon this time, just another fishing boat.

But to finish on a more cheerful note, here’s another of my Asheville images, taken from the deck of the spa behind the world-renowned Grove Park Inn.