My Galleries and Online Albums actually exist as a separate, stand-alone site from the one you're viewing now - but navigating back to here is as simple as following the MarkCorder.com link in the Gallery's "breadcrumb trail" navigation just under the title.

I like to present it separately because while I often change the look of this site (with different themes, color schemes, and layouts), I like to have a maximum-width page with a dark, neutral background to present my photos and artwork on.  With that purpose in mind, I don't change the look-and-layout of my Gallery very often.

It's also built with a different system, utilizing the fantastic  Gallery 2 Open Source Web Application.  I could "bridge" it into this site (which uses the equally fantastic Joomla CMS), but I still prefer to run it as a stand-alone application.  At the end of this article I'll give a little more info on how you can get a Gallery for yourself!

Visit my Gallery at http://markcorder.com/gallery/

How to Navigate My Gallery ...

When you visit my Gallery, you'll see a Menu on the left side of the screen similar to the one shown in the graphic on the right..  You can click the EXPAND | COLLAPSE links to view or hide the entire menu structure, or you can navigate through the Directory Tree by clicking on the little "empty boxes" next to the top-level Gallery names (Original Photography, Original Artwork, and Other...) to open just that branch of the tree. 

Of course you can also click directly on any thumbnail for the Albums and Images to view them...

There's also a "Breadcrumb Trail" of links along the top of the site - just under the title.  This keeps track of which Album/Sub-Album/Image you're currently viewing, and provides quick links back up through the Gallery's hierarchy.  

Viewing and Saving Different Size Images ...

When an individual image is being displayed on the Gallery page, you will usually have the option of viewing it at different sizes...  I upload full-sized images, and Gallery 2 creates smaller versions of the images automatically - depending on the file's original size.  For the most part, I upload images that are in the neighborhood of 1,600 pixels-wide, and Gallery 2 saves this original and also creates versions that are 1024, 800 and 640 pixels-wide respectively - in addition to the thumbnail image presented in the Albums.  You can save any of these images - but make sure you get the best size for your use!  To display the different sizes (when available), look for the Size: option to the upper-right area above the image.  You can use the drop-down menu to choose from the different sizes, or display the largest one available by clicking on the Full size: XXXxXXX link below that...  (Clicking on image when it's presented on the page will load the next-larger size, too.)

Please read my Copyrights and Usage page before downloading my original images!

eCards, Panoramas, and Slideshows ...

In the sidebar to the left of the Images / Albums display you'll see several options...  Send as eCard will let you send the image you're currently viewing to a friend.  Just selecet this option, then fill in your name and email address and the same for your friend - and add a quick message.  You can preview the card first before sending it.

Some images may be viewed using a special "Panorama" Java Applet that will load these extra-wide images into a scrolling viewer that you can control the speed and direction of.  Choose View Panorama Once the images loads, you can either click and drag with the mouse, or use a slider control at the bottom of the image.  Drag this control to the left or right to start the image scrolling - dragging further increases speed - click on the image to stop the scrolling.  This is a nicer effect than dragging the browser's horizontal scrollbar back and forth to view these panorama-format images (and it "loops"), but it does have to load both the applet and the full-size image before it starts, so it's a bit of a bandwidth-hog.  Broadband recommended!  Wanna try it?  Check out Twisted River #2 and see it in action.

Selecting the View Slideshow option will open the ultra-cool Cooliris plug-in and start loading the images.  I'm afraid that this too is a bandwidth-gobbler so Broadband is definately recommended!  Well worth the wait, though...  (Keep in mind that the fewer number of images in the Album / Sub-albums, the quicker the thing will load...)

Want to put YOUR images online? ...

Gallery 2 is an Open Source Web Application that must be run on a web server with PHP and a database (like MySQL) - see the full requirements here.   You could install and run it on your desktop/laptop machine - provided you have the correct setup - but it's really meant for the web.  That means you need hosting that provides PHP/Databases, and then you need to install and configure a copy of Gallery 2.

Sound complicated?  It can be for novices and those not used to dealing with this end of things - but of course it's what I do for a living, so if you're serious about having your own personalized Gallery, just Contact Me and we'll discuss it.

I happened to find a site that seems to offer FREE Gallery 2 setups for you to use, with a few limitations...  If you'd like to investigate this further the address is : http://pixi.me/

Of course you don't have to host your own site to share your photos online ... just do a Google Search for "free online photo gallery" and you'll find dozens.  Some of the most popular are PicasaWeb, PhotoBucket, SnapFish, Kodak Gallery, MyPhotoAlbum, and the most popular these days is probably FLICKR.

Visit my Gallery at http://markcorder.com/gallery/