The biggest problem is that mcrowle-grovesphotography.com is just WAY too long to ask professional clients to contact me on. It’s also cold and soul-less.

Whereas at least thelongmile has some soul to it, something descriptive. I actually can’t come up with the right name, but at the same time I want to keep the one I have. So this leaves me with two choices. Come up with a new name for photography site and possibly spend months dealing with it, or find a new name for the blog and pass it over. I COULD just leave it combined or even chuck the blog onto a separate site but that would mean all my regular visitors had to go to something like thelongmile.net/blog or blog.thelongmile.net or … well, whatever I choose… But do people really want that? Or do I leave this as thelongmile.net or come up with a new name for the photography and loose the fact that almost everyone knos the name thelongmile.

I need some help on this one. Suggestions, thoughts, please, let me know…

I’m in the process of building the server now, and will eventually have to move the site. It’s coming soon, for a faster more powerful server and better site.

Stay tuned

The biggest problem with the “pills” that help you quit smoking? Craving. Oh my lord the craving is like nothing else. Seriously, if you stop smoking, after three days of the worst cravings you’ve ever had in your life they tend to go away. But with the pills? Oh no, the craving isn’t really bad, but it’s just nagging, consistent nagging, for days, and days, and days…… I Actually think it might be worse than going cold turkey.

Anyway cigarettes sorted, it’s time to sort the weight out now…

Ok so that aside, the success of CardiffTweetups.co.uk has been phenomenal, and it’s really tweaked my interest in photography. More and more pictures are getting added to flickr and to the portfolio, and today, I took delivery of a spectacularly good Manfrotto tripod and head.

My interests have been tweaked even more by people actually telling me about the things that go on around Cardiff so that I can go take pictures. Which leads me with an interesting decision.

The blog is taking a life of it’s own, and the photography has no longer become “a story of my progression and development”. In fact it’s starting to turn into something that needs it’s own photography site, a dedicated photography site.

I was already planning on mcrowlegroves.com for my professional career etc but at the looks of it….
mcrowlegroves.com – Professional Online CV
mcrowlegrovesphotography.com – Photography portfolio and really really small mini blog purely photography based
thelongmile.com – Perosnal Blog and Site

Hmmmmmmmm….

As a result, on both thelongmile and CardiffTweetups a donate button from Paypal has been implanted, unobtrusively into the sidebar.

I’ve also placed a Google Adsense widget into the sidebar of CardiffTweetups and into the footer of thelongmile.

These ads are design to be unobtrusive, whilst helping to generate revenue to keep this site and my other sites going. Donations are used for me to keep the site going, and for building onto projects like CardiffTweetups which has more than exceeded initial expectations. Expansion is not only “a good idea” it’s also now a requirement.

This is all the adverts will ever be for the foreseeable future, and I will NEVER EVER put a pop-up or pop-under advert on the site. I hate them enough as it is.

So please, I ask if you are feeling generous, to donate a small amount to help support thelongmile Group, and if you have time, just click on the ad’s

On the subject of learning, it amazes me the way in which we find our information. Ten years ago we didn’t really have the internet, and almost certainly had to rely on our friends, colleagues or books from the library. Now of course with the internet we have a plethora of information at our eager little fingertips. I often wonder how many people out there in the real world could attribute most of their success and knowledge to the internet. I know I could.

Let me give you an example for you to get your teeth into. Using computers, and working with them on a day to day basis, I need to be able to perform tasks that are… shall we say ‘beyond the needs of regular users’? An example of which would be, Internet Explorer not working properly. I would know to look in the System32 folder for various drivers that might affect internet explorer (printers for example) and indeed the Application Data folder.

That of course, is information I learned from the internet. In fact most of my computing knowledge is found from the internet. In contrast I’m often asked “How do you know so much about computers?” when the reality is, that I know because I have to know. When an application breaks, I refuse to ring a premium rate telephone number to get a resolution and nor do I wish to subject myself to the infernal and ultimately fruitless task of reading manuals. So if Windows has a problem, I Google it, and often find a suitable resolution in half the time.

Such is the case with Mac OS. Having only just got it, I know nothing about it, however after experiencing a problem with Tweetdeck and indeed Googling the resolution, I now know that application settings are in the Library folder, and in the root library folder.

Ok so it’s more information than you probably need or want to know, but without the internet, and what my friends tell me, I wouldn’t be in the same position. Similarly it answers the question, how do I know so much about computers. Simple, because I have to.

There is now only a single gallery on the site, The Portfolio which is based on the Cooliris Piclens Suite. All you need to do is have Flash player installed.

The remaining galleries are now hosted on Flickr, and the link will take you directly to Flickr’s own Photo Gallery, giving you the option to go back to the photo stream.

I will, in time, add a widget to the sidebar to show random flickr images from my photo stream, and will eventually re-integrate the twitter widget into the sidebar as well.

I am considering moving the entire gallery over to Flickr, but need to do some further research into this. For now though, after all the suggestions, I hope you like it.

Since the revamped template launched the site has received a big increase in hits. In April the site saw 36581 hits, May saw 26810 and June saw 33066 hits. Based on the times before I wasn’t even breaking 10000. How much of that is valid I simply don’t know but the amount of data transfered seems to suggest it’s really going well. So thank you.

Anyway onto the title of this post. In a few of the comments and twitter replies i’ve had, it’s become very clear that the gallery needs a little bit of a cleanup.

I have three galleries up right now, one for Digital, one for Photography and one for my Portfolio. The Portfolio of course being the one where I showcase what I think is my best work. The rest are more of a ‘timeline’ of my progression through photography and digital art, and whilst I don’t think I’m that great at the artwork I do, I know I have progressed significantly since I first started.

As a result, and to reflect both on how far I’ve managed to come and to get rid of some of the more… dated images in my library. Starting tonight I will slowly start making my way through the images I have up here and begin deleting the images I feel are no longer necessary. Truth be told I will probably end up with only one gallery, one that will help inspire me to do more.

Don’t fear however, the old images will be added to a repository on Flickr where they will also be linked to for everyone to enjoy, in one big gallery.

If you have any thoughts or comments before I begin the cleanup feel free to express them, and of course if you have any particular favorites let me know, and soon!

I can also confirm the web template code IS done, there is no more to do, everything has been covered.

I’m pleased to announce that in the next update to the web template you’ll get a new share button, so you can post to twitted or digg or even email a post. It’s also much much easier to read compared to the site layout you see right now, although wordpress has a few of it’s own quirks that I can’t seem to get around.

There’s also the addition of a tag cloud. I’ve never really likes having a tag cloud but it does help break up the site somewhat, else it would feel overly drab and bland.

Right now all I am waiting for is yahoo to get back to me about getting my account setup, and then me deciding how to implement flickr, as well as link it in with a mobile gallery ( that might be broken for some time once the change happens, it’s very limited) but anyway, I’ve found a flickr plugin that’s also going to let me keep piclens! Hurrah!

It’s not going to be long now, I promise, it’s more down to yahoo than it is to me at this stage.

I wanted to update everyone on the progress of the new site layout. I will also say, I am really glad I made the decision to develop this, as everytime I look at the current site, It just, feels like a letdown. Appropriate for a teenager, or a kid that wants things to be flashy, but it just isn’t appropriate for me.

The new theme is based on Modularity Lite by GraphPaperPress. I chose this template originally out of compromise, but now I’ve been working with it over on the testing server, I’m really pleased I chose to go for it, you guys I hope will be very pleased to also know it is not as dark as it seems in that screenshot… at least not after all the edits.

The template is licenced under the General Public Licence (GPL) which means in short, I’m allowed to make changes to it providing I note what I’ve changed and give credit to the authors, so if any of you have the misfortune to look at my sloppy code, you’ll likley see a great many changes indeed.

An example of the things we’ve changed so far, range from text colours, to sizes, to bug fixes, to implementing new features, removing others etc..

Right now there are only a few things left on the list for the template itself

Create a navigation menu
Fix a bug on the full page view that causes it to go black
Fix a bug where the read more link shows on every post rather than just the excerpts

Thats seriously all there is, so I’m very very pleased to be getting this close to changing things over. There are two reamining things that are not on the template edit list.

One of which is Flickr.

I still know, NOTHING about Flickr and the way it integrates into wordpress. So my tasks over the next few days will be to gather as much information I can about it, and decide how to do it. I would greatly appriciate anything you have for me in that respect, be it advice or links to plugins etc

Thats my first favour.

The second, is one of a more serious nature.

My last post said about doing something, that I did not originally expect to do, and that was have a logo designed for the site.

Now, I can create logos for other people. I am more than happy and capable of creating logos for other people. But when it comes to my own site, I need a little help. In fact I need so much help that I am asking you, the reader, not neccesarily to come up with a logo, but ideas for the logo itself, so that I, or a colleague can develop it.

I don’t normally reach out to my readers like this. Sure I’ve asked favours before, and I’ve asked you all for your opinion on the website to help orchestrate changes, but I have never asked for advice of this level, so I really don’t know what to expect, but I look forward to it.

The final thing I am going to be adding, if I can work out how, will be a share button. I realise not everyone wants to comment but might want to .digg or del.ico.us or stumbleupon the links or blogs I have. So I will do my very best to introduce a simple, clean button system so that you can do that.

I hope to hear from all of you soon… we’re getting so close!

It’s gotten to the stage where we’re able to give you a, brief look at the actual site, so, I give you a small screenshot, so here it is. Now, granted, the text colours are not quite.. there, nor is the design anywhere near close to finish but it’s a good representation of what we’re aiming for.

Currently we are working on getting the comments template formatted correctly, which is proving to be a right pain. Followed by adjusting the sidebar colours and finalising that.

Needless to say it doesent end there. I’m trialing a menu bar from another site template which may or may not be staying, so there is also that to code. I’m not 100% certain at this stage.

The next stage however, is the most complicated and slightly… daunting. Flickr. I just don’t know enough about Flickr at this stage to make an informed decision about how I would integrate it into this site, let alone whether I actually want to. So If you have any information, and examples, please let me know.

Once thats covered, there is also the restructure to ensure this website actually reaches the right focus.

However, despite all that, there is one task I am truley daunting.

I have decided that the restructure and rebranding and image, should also include the logo. I will not be dropping the name, I’ve used and have been thelongmile for far too long now, and the title itself  has taken quite well, and seems to have some meaning with the followers, a way to describe the long journey we are all on as we learn and develop.

But the logo itself does need to be designed, or relaunched. And Believe me, I do not know how, at all, or even where to begin. Perhaps someone could make some suggestions. I can happily design other peoples logos, but when it comes to my own, I need an external influence. This is why I use Sean and Andy as my design consultants. otherwise I get so caught up in the initial design of the main website.

So I would appriciate a little influence and some suggestions.

Please note, I have written this after drinking about two glasses of wine, so I apologise if I appear to have rambled or made very little sense. Hopefully you will get the gist. (and yes, i’ve decided to be a little less formal with this site, since it is my ‘personal’ project and not a business, despite offering some services.

Lets start with template idea number one

This is Carrington, (click the image to go to the page) Now, I like it, because it shares similar things that the pixeled template has. It’s clean, it’s wide, but also has two columns on the right, which means I get to make the most of the real estate. Best of all the logo at the top and banner, are images, that can be customised, redone, or completley removed to fid the template style I’m trying to go for. As with this template, I need to do some major code editng, so that the three catagories for the blogs, appear on seperate pages (we will be renaming Site Updates to News by the way as It’s a little more accuratte)

I really do like this, and it seems to make the most of the screen real estate thats available, and put an emphasis on the text, rather than the images and background. Plus displaying pictures from a Flicr gallery, will work much better in a preview format (more on that later)

This is the second, called Inove.

Visually I think this is really quite similar to the one above, it’s a little darker but it’s still white, clean and crisp, again devoting more space to the screen real estate, rather than the actual images or background, but it does look like a “page” rather than a website, thanks to the contrasting background, so it’s something Im keen to play with. The sidebar also has some really nice things about it, first off it’s two column, just like my current one, and just like the one above, but it is a little wider, it does slightly concern me that it’s coloured, making edits, and adding in custom imagery, might be a little difficult.

Above all else though it puts a real strength to the text on the page, and clearly seperates it. It’s one of my favorites at the moment, and I hope you will like it as well.

The third, is Arclite. Now, although it isn’t black, nor white, it’s still a light template, with an earthy feel. It’s still clear and makes the most of the screen real estate. Im drawn to it’s unsual background colour, and the way the designer has used blue and pink in images and links rather than greens and browns.

My main fear is the background image, weather the site itself is made up of a background image, or weather it’s a set colour, that can easily be edited. Then theres the ‘button bubble’ at the top. Which might not work well, and be less appealing over time.

I’ve noticed as well the text on here, whilst clear, seems to be much smaller. So I worry about getting some of the comments I’ve had before about the clarity of the site (no doubt a few of you are reading this now wishing the text was slightly bigger) and finally, the sidebar is only a single column. So it doesn’t bode well with me, but I don’t strictly need a double column layout.

The fourth and final design is this, Extend. Now, this to me, looks more like an upgrade from the current site template, rather than a complete redesign, so it has major plus points there, as it’s less inclined to shock and appall new users that come visiting. But I am principally worried about the real estate. It’s about the same size as the current site template, so the text is also around the same size.  There is no real sidebar, so it would take a lot of customising and hard coding to actually get it to work, plus, it’s still very dark, and I get the feeling it’s not targeted toward the type of site I am trying to build. Couple that with the fact the preview isn’t loading at all and the developers website is frustratingly slow leads me to believe that either there wasn’t much thought put into this template, or it was designed for someone else, and then just released into the public domain. I also worry about what kind of support I would receive should I go for it and attempt to recode it to my needs, nevertheless, I have considered it because of it’s similaritys to the current template, and I would be willing to persue it shoudl the demand be high enough.

I did find a bigger preview, but I am not… overwhelmed by it, you can view it here http://ooyes.net/leisure-west but be warned, the site is terribly slow.

So thats the four I’ve picked out that I feel would be most appropriate and I would really appriciate your comments about the site.

Speaking of comments, let’s talk about flickr. As you’ll see in my last update, I commented that I was unhappy with the layout of my gallerys, saying a cleanup really needed to be done, something that was echoed by Arlene Radasky (Click here for the comment)

Arlene commented that ” I would like to see your explanation of why you took certain pictures and why you chose the digital pictures you did” she also commented that the white on black look, wasnt good, soemthing echoed by myself, and KingTarquin. Couple this with Shamins comments (Click here) he mentions about “pictures on your front page, as in a small thumbnail beside the title” and people on twitter have also mentioned about adding Flickr.

I’ve been keen to stay away from Flickr in fear of image theft, however because all images have now been converted to have watermarks im not, as concerned about it as I was. Still, many of my images, have the exif data on it, plus, I am lead to believe that Flickr can also provide “Artists Comments” and the ability for others to comment it.

I need more information, so I reach out and ask you, all once again for your input. Thank you

I did a terrible thing. I spent over a month solidly working hard on the redesign of this website, comparing different things, and looking at things I can add in. I consulted and worked closley with Andrew Kennett and Sean Nicholls, the two consultants I had with me when redesigning the site structure. Even now, I have made little tweaks here and there to the sites backgrounds and images, partly for updating the system to make it faster for those that visit, and partly because certain elements didnt quite look right.
As you’ve seen from my previous news postings, I’m not fantastically happy with the overall site design & as I have said before, Pixeled did a wonderfull job of designing this template. Yet it still doesen’t ‘do it’ for me.
The terrible thing of course, was that I let users know that the website was changing, I even ran a survey, but I didn’t give anyone the opportunity to look at the prospective plans for the sites overall design.

Of course I took on board a great many comments, and indeed many of them have been acted upon. Yet everytime I look at this website, I feel slightly, underwhelmed. Photography content just isn’t there,
considering this website started as a ‘Photography’ site, and the overall layout, simply looks too much like a personal site.

I know that a great many people do like it, and find it has a good impact, yet even now I can see that the novelty of having a ‘Black on black’ template has worn off. I’m even tweeting this right now, to get a “Live” feedback of users impressions as they click and visit.
As a result, I have made a decision. One that I should have made before implementing this website. I’ve also come to a realisation. The website didn’t need a redesign as much as it needed a restructure.

The galleries are poor in comparison to other personal art sites, and I now have to wrestle with a decision to either simply ditch the blog or move it away, and keep the main site as a pure art gallery, something I
don’t want to do. Or restructure the focus of this site. It IS a personal site. Let me make that clear. True I offer services, but it is still my personal site. Yet there are things that have changed in my life.

Photography, although I still love it, and do it whenever I can, is not something I get to do often. As a result the site has been let down, and infrequently updated. Admittedly part of that is due to my poor choice of software for the old site. But even though the new site is 100% better and easier to update with new pictures. It just doesent sit at the forefront of my life. I work full time in IT. Not as a photographer
(although I would like to, despite having much to learn). Because of that I don’t get much time other than weekends to go and do some photography. Even on the weekends, I find I have a whole lot more to do than I normally plan. So I don’t get much time.
Blogging however, has become a new favorite of mine. I’ve tried it before with limited success, but as I’ve grown over the years and gotten older and wiser, I feel that I’ve matured a lot in what I have to say.
I’m enjoying writing a long blog, and sitting on the stats page watching the people flood in and read it. It’s nice to know that even though people do not comment as much as I would like them to (to quote one
example, 47 people were on a post for 35 mins before leaving, and not one commented) I get enormous satisfaction from knowing that someone is actually reading it, and maybe talking about it.

My focuses are changing a little, and right now I push the site as a photography art site. Which it hardly is. So I have made two decisions.

1: The site needs a better design. It’s black, yes, it’s smart in a sense yes. But it isn’t what I want. It looks ‘too’ personal, and not professional and clean enough. Or certainly not as I would have liked it. Yes, it is a personal site. But I don’t want something THAT personal, that looks like I threw it together. Especially when I start competing for jobs and people go and look at it.

2: A Restructure and cut down. The gallery is nice, but certain pictures have got to go. I’ve grown, and my photography has gotten better. I don’t feel the need to display poor pictures, and I feel that quality over quantity is what really counts. If I want to market my abilities, to work as a prospective designer or photographer, I need to show the good pictures, and focus mainly on those. But I also need to refocus this site as my personal world rather than just a photography site.
So this time, I really do need your comments more than ever. Ideas, structures, plans, suggestions. You name it. It’s going to help.
This post is being tweeted out automatically. So I ask if anyone did look at this from twitter. Please comment, or tweet back. A few words will help make those decisions. And It’s going to make this site better, rather than make me look foolish.

I apologise for the long post, but this time, I need you. I am sticking with wordpress, as it’s serving me very well. But This time. I want your input. Link me to things, comment on ideas, make ideas suggestions,
even bad points. It’s all going to help.
Remember if you don’t like using your email address in comments, just put admin@thelongmile.net instead.

Thanks

True It has given me much time to reflect on things, plus begin work on certain things that I am vastly behind on (like sorting out my website) but other than that, its pretty sucky.

Unfortuantely my blog this week isn’t that insightful. True I have found a new love for hobby and crafts, and am currently awaiting a plaster cast to set for a chess set I’m making, but my other projects have gone a little stale.

Firstly my website. Unfortunatley, I’ve hit a snag. I desperately want to move this blog onto my site, but because I created my own, in rather poor HTML, I can’t seem to get anything integrated into wordpress, and my frustrations about the gallery are starting to manifest.

Do I develop a whole new site? Or Do I sit and suffer with the site I have? Do I change things over? Or Do I use a completley different system. I jus’t dont know. I’d love to be able to do so much more with my site, but It’s getting rediculous…