Blog & Website Improvements
Tuesday, June 2, 2009 at 12:35AM Well it certainly has taken considerable patience, resolve and time to get things to the next level with regard to the BLOG and website. The last month has been very hectic - challenges were presented that required overcoming and issues needed to be resolved. Which has meant minimal time to be out and about actually shooting anything!
PHOTO SHELTER, WEBSITE & BLOG IMPROVEMENTS
After spending a considerable amount of time researching various backend image gallery sites that could be attached to my website and BLOG, I decided that Photo Shelter was the best option. None of the commercial sites are perfect, but until you customize the site to your requirements you have to be slightly flexible with your requirements.
The good thing about Photo Shelter is that it provides a searchable database based on keywords. This was lacking in my existing website (see website tab above). I believe a searchable database is a key feature that is required if you expect anyone to seriously look at your work.
The image galleries at Photo Shelter are on there way to completion, although I still have to post process, keyword and upload considerable work from several overseas assignments conducted in 2008 and 2009 - not to mention many black bear, squirrel, bison and pronghorn photographs captured on an American trip in late 2006. Then there are images from several trips to Papua New Guinea (ahhh - will it ever end).
Now all that is left is to customize the Photo Shelter template, however, I'll wait a few months to see if I'm happy the services offered by Photo Shelter before I delve too deeply into this.
A search link box has been added to the blog to search for images directly within Photo Shelter as has a direct link tab (above tabs).
I finally found time to mess about with the title banner of this BLOG page and include my motif - the anaspides shrimp. For those who have a good attention to detail, you will notice that the banner matches my website in motif, style, colour and design. The design and motif also matches my business cards and letterhead. In my opinion, branding is very important for all your work; it creates consistency across various media mediums, inspires client confidence, and is professional.
WHAT'S PLANNED NEXT?
I want to include a dedicated gallery on this BLOG site and add several short articles on pressing conservation issues.
So that a wrap work wise for the last 4 weeks!
Reader Comments (4)
Hi Iain
I have been following your blog and website for sometime now. Your travels, images you capture, and attention to detail are inspiring to say the least. Your life is packed with adventure and satisfaction. I'm really looking forward to seeing some of the underwater photographs you've taken in Papua New Guinea. Travel carefully Iain & remember me....Natasha
Sounds like you are on the right track to stardom! Hopefully the new set up will make the upload prcess go more smoothly with less time consumption. Good luck - I'm still waiting to see your images from Custer!
Good to know you were able to figure out a solution for your site Iain. I came to a similar conclusion two years ago with Photoshelter. Though it will cost more in the long run I like how hassle-free it is rather than having to host all of the archive on my own server.
I am keen to see the conservation projects you are involved in. Any idea when you will be publishing the notty gritty?