Notebook: New Photo Galleries, Slideshows Added

I’ve re-worked the way that photos are displayed here at IndianaRacing.net, and I’ve finally added Flash-based slideshows, a much-desired feature.

When I originally started the site, I was cataloging images with a great product called IMatch. I would spend a fair amount of time post-processing the images and adding titles, captions, categories, and other metadata. Then I would run a variety of scripts that would create multiple versions of each image and apply the metadata, then I would upload the images to a third-party site and run more scripts to insert all of the associated data into the database that runs the web site.

It all worked great! But as you can see by the fact that the most recent photos I’ve posted are from 2004(!), it wasn’t too practical. The titling, captioning, and categorizing was just taking far too long given everything else I had to do and that combined with some other concerns pushed me into a phase of extended procrastination. So now I’ve streamlined my workflow pretty dramatically which should allow me to slowly start catching up on things. I have literally hundreds and hundreds of photos I’d like to post for people to see and enjoy.

The biggest difference from a visitor’s perspective will be that photo galleries will initially be posted without titles, captions, and categories. But all you wanted was to see the pictures anyway, right? Exactly. So they’ll get posted, and then all of that other information will get added over time, as I have time (translation: maybe never). In addition, I’ve decided to move away from categories and toward a tag-based system that can be used for all of the content on the site, not just photos. Of course, I also have to develop it all first, but just think about how great it will all be in about 3 years!

I’ve also added Flash-based slideshows for each photo gallery. On each gallery page, just below the gallery title, there will be a link to start the slideshow. A link will also be present on each individual photo page. The slideshow will make it easier for people to browse through the photos automatically, without the distraction of mouse-clicks and advertising, etc. Give them a try and let me know what you think.