product review :: new SmugMug gallery header

Yesterday a change was rolled out to all SmugMug sites allowing the use of a cover image at the top of galleries using specified layouts. Most of the galleries on my site use the Collage Landscape style, one of the styles including this new change.

My first view of the change was accompanied by shock. There were two changes implemented, a change in format for the breadcrumb wherever it is used, and the addition of a cover image for specified galley styles. By default in existing galleries, the cover image was off. The breadcrumb change was universal though; for my purposes it needed a little tweaking.

The breadcrumb is the line starting with an icon representing home followed by the names of folders and the gallery that is being displayed. The change to the breadcrumb involved breaking it into two lines with the folder structure shown on the first line and the gallery title shown larger and on a second line. The default gallery title size and the size of the slideshow and buy buttons was too large for my taste, drawing my eyes to the header instead of the photos. A bit of CSS was needed and available to change the size.

My next step was to enable the cover image in some galleries. I was quite surprised that with the cover image enabled the original size of the title wasn't as glaring. Even so, I prefer a slightly smaller size so I left the size-changing CSS in place. That was even more important to me since folders and journal-style galleries don't support use of the cover image - I needed a consistent size that made me happy in both types of displays.

Some photos aren't suited to be cover images since too much pattern obscures the text from the gallery description; others are perfect. With the right cover image there is a bit of polish added to the display.

I like it!

To see a gallery that uses a cover image, click to the gallery Long Hill :: 2016.

the new SmugMug

Today the new SmugMug was released to the world.

I was privileged to participate in Smug's early release program so I've had a bit of time to play. My first goal was to become familiar with the new features, new gallery formats, new way of building a site. Play was an important first step that was followed by thinking about how I planned to bring my site into the new world. As I wandered through Smug day-by-day I could see the addition / fine-tuning of new product features. In the few cases where I reached out with a question I received answers very quickly. Knowing that the full team at SmugMug had to be very busy (and very tired) made the speed of response even more impressive.

My (old) site customization was driven by my desire for much larger thumbs to represent the galleries than was possible with the base product. I wanted my viewers to have an idea about the contents of a gallery before they clicked into it so a number of years back I removed the standard navigation and replaced it with my own. It took only a few minutes of exploring new options to realize that I would be able to easily use the new features of SmugMug without needing to use code, to use the standard breadcrumb and standard display sizes for photos presented in a folder or in a gallery. Awesome!

Once I had my head wrapped around my updated design it took very little time to complete the site customization.

OK, OK, it did take me a couple of hours to edit the description of every gallery and remove my old custom breadcrumb; as far as I'm concerned that was time well spent since I now have a site that is much easier to maintain.

I love the new organic layouts, and the ability to build my site by using the features of the product is wonderful. I love the fact that my site looks the same whether I'm looking at it on a computer or on my phone.

I'm happy!

If you're interested in more details, click to The New SmugMug Is Here.

Wall art

I had the happy task this morning of finding wall space for MetalPrints of several of my photos. I prefer walls with empty spaces along with the photos, so it was a bit of a puzzle. It's solved now, and 3 new images have jumped onto my walls.

Oh, you want to know what I've added?

This photo is sized at 12x18, and it's in the room where my computer lives (and I do too!):

The two flower shots below are 8x12s, stacked in a vertical line with the sea gull photo that was done as a ThinWrap at the beginning of December. I've included the sea gull here again so you can get an idea of how they look on the wall. Interestingly enough, the shine of the MetalPrints works just fine with the more muted satin surface of the ThinWrap:

ThinWraps & MetalPrints

My photo galleries live at SmugMug, and Smug recently added two print options that just reached out and grabbed me. Before I made them available, I ordered one of each for me, to decorate my walls and to satisfy my curiosity.

Here are descriptions of both, courtesy of the SmugMug web site:

A ThinWrap is a metallic print with smooth satin laminate neatly wrapped around sturdy, 3/16" board, backed with two 3/4" thick lightweight foam blocks with holes drilled for easy hanging.

A MetalPrint is made by infusing dyes directly into specially coated aluminum sheets, creating truly archival works of art. These MetalPrints showcase a revolutionary new medium that is highly durable, waterproof, weatherproof, and ultra scratch-resistant. The high-gloss sheen gives your photos a vibrant luminescence with incredible detail and resolution. Each MetalPrint comes backed with two 3/4" thick lightweight foam blocks and aluminum plate with drilled holes for easy hanging. When hung, these stunning prints will float off the wall.

I was sure I would like the ThinWrap, and I do. I wasn't so sure about the MetalPrint, and that one just blew me away. Perhaps I was lucky and picked the right photo for the media.

Oh, you want to know which photos I chose?

Sea gull walking on ice near the New Hampshire coast, a ThinWrap:



Landscape (icescape!) at Parker River National Wildlife Refuge, a MetalPrint:

Canvas again!

What did I do? I ordered some canvas prints for my new (work) cubicle, and I liked them so much I decided I needed one for my wall at home too. This time the form the finished product took was that of a canvas wrap, where the photo is wrapped around a stretcher frame.

Luckily the photo that I wanted on my wall at home was a good candidate for a wrap. Many of my photos go too close to the edges; wrapping the edges around the frame would cut off too much of the image. Hmm... I'll need to keep that in mind when I'm composing images that I might want for my wall. (Or not!)

My wrap was waiting for me when I arrived home this afternoon. Yes, I'm delighted with this one too!

Canvas print beauty

One more week and I'll be moving to a new office, a new building in a different city, new surroundings...

No, not a new job, just a new office space, and yes, it's a cubicle!

I decided that I needed to adorn my new space with a few of my photos. I have some small images on my desk now, images from many years ago. It's time for something new.

I chose three of my photos and placed an order for prints on Giclee Canvas mounted on a rigid foamboard. The backing is very light but sturdy, and the photos can easily be propped up on a mini-easel - my intended display mode. I ordered them from my photo galleries, hosted at SmugMug with processing by Bay Photo. This is the first order that I placed since I switched to this lab - nothing like checking it out with something more complex that a simple print!

I arrived home today to find a very sturdy package from Bay Photo waiting for me. It contained my new photos, safely packed in a non-bendable package with each photo wreathed in plastic. I'm delighted with the finished product!

Oh! You want to know which prints I chose? My cubicle will soon be adorned with these three photos: