Hi there! I think it is not so easy to do without the bots but it is possible. You can check my latest post about norwegian travels: https://steemit.com/photofeed/@photovisions/travel-norway-6-muskox-from-dovre-national-park

I got the real good upvotes within 4 hours after posting.
So as You can see, it is posiible. I never got really good upvotes on single photo posts - maybe few SBD not more, but had some really good amount on bigger, longer and more original stuff. My personal best without bots was 230$ (after 7 days it went down to 130 unfortunatelly) but always great reward giving a lot of energy to keep doing the good stuff!
Just do what You like to do! Be yourself and dont give up. Bots are big help to gain speed on earnings but it is also possible without them.