Home Brewed WebSite ( iWeb version )

[Reinhold]

Howdy...

I finally have my HomeBrewed website up and running.

Take a look at: htpp://www.classicbwphoto.com

If you have dial-up internet access, some of the larger pages could take about 2+ minutes to fully load because the photos are the final viewing size, rather than the usual small "thumbnails" with links to larger photos. I'm working on reducing the file sizes for the photo's so they'll load faster, but that's a few days away.

If you have high-speed internet, the pages will load in an eyeblink.

I'd like your comments and suggestions;
--- Is site navigation to your liking?
--- Are you using a laptop?
--- Are the page sizes suitable for your monitor? What size is it?
--- Is the text readable? Too small? Too loudmouth big?
--- If you're running MuchoFlaws Explorer, is it screwing up the text?
--- Do the links work ok?

I made the page sizes narrow enough so you shouldn't have to scroll sideways, but some pages are pretty long so you'll need to use your up/down keys.

This whole site was done with Apple's iWeb.

Being an unmitigated cheapskate who makes his own cameras and darkroom equipment, a DIY website appealed to me.

Break out the popcorn, this may take a while...

Reinhold

 

[Stephanie Brim]

http://www.classicbwphoto.com

There we go. For lazy people like me.

 

[Reinhold]

Grrr...

Damn dyslexia!!

Try http://www.classicbwphoto.com

Reinhold

 

[Steve Smith]

Being an unmitigated cheapskate who makes his own cameras and darkroom equipment, a DIY website appealed to me.

Nice looking site with some nice images and it is easy to navigate round. I like the forwards and backwards arrows at the bottom of each page.

The page sizes are fine (for me) and it all loads very quickly. The text originally loads in rectangles with light blue backgrounds but these soon disappear when the page is fully loaded.

For some reason, the technical data page causes an error on internet explorer causing it to shut down (on my work computer - I will try it at home later).

As I am also a cheapskate camera maker who is also thinking about making a large format enlarger rather than buying one, I would be interested in seeing some of your DIY equipment.



Steve.

 

[DeBone 75]

Nice site. I really like your picture of the Light House at Cape Arago. I can relate to your comment on your wife being part of every picture. My wife often accompanies me on outings. The only ones that look half decent are the ones she makes recomendations on.

 

[Digidurst]

Nice! I like the way you laid out your site. Very good job and damn good photography too!

 

[pentaxuser]

Site looked fine or what I saw of it. I.E. has twice told me that it has encountered a problem and has to prevent me from viewing any further.

If the problem is confined to me then no problem but if it does this to others I.E. users then it needs looking at.

I am in the U.K. if that is any help

pentaxuser

 

[Reinhold]

A tweak on the Tech Data page...

Thanks, everyone, for the feedback.

I tweaked the Tech Data page, changing the title font to Ariel so I.E. shouldn't choke on the font. (It was Technical italic)

I also took the left-hand column out of a "Text placeholder" box. Both the right and left columns are dropped images instead of actual text. (it was a temporary quick-and-dirty way to make that particular page). When I get more time, I'll totally rework the entire page.

Thans again...

Reinhold

 

[tom_micklin]

Site looked fine or what I saw of it. I.E. has twice told me that it has encountered a problem and has to prevent me from viewing any further.

If the problem is confined to me then no problem but if it does this to others I.E. users then it needs looking at.

I am in the U.K. if that is any help

pentaxuser

It looks good on my I.E. - version 6 on Windows 2000 Professional.

Tom

 

[pentaxuser]

As a post script to my previous reply, I can get into the site quickly and without problems and have now discovered that all areas of the site map seem to work except Tech Data. It is that part of the site that prompts the intervention of I.E. "encountering a problem" and closing the site down, inviting me to send a report and allowing me as an alternative to hit "debug".

The site then locks on the tech data page. I then hit the don't send button and I am taken out of the site.

pentaxuser

 

[resummerfield]

Very nice site! Loads fast, nice navigation features, and works well with Firefox.

 

[Lee L]

I browse with a 1600 x 1200 screen. The relatively small text combined with drop shadows makes it a bit hard to read, and since you use images rather than text for the menu, the results of resizing text larger in my browser (Firefox 1.5 under linux) looks like the following image. Intentionally exaggerated a bit to show the effect clearly.

Lee

 

[Reinhold]

Lee...
Thanks for the feedback.
I increased the point size and lowered the drop shadow density on the Site Map page. How does it look now???

For those of you using I.E., I tried to tweak the Tech Data page.
If it still hangs up, I'll have to reconstruct it with legitimate text after I get some time.

Steve...
You've given me an Idea---
I'm toying with the idea of creating a "Make It Yourself" page on my website to showcase things that I've made for the darkroom and photo finishing, etc.

I've converted an old B&J 5x7 monorail into a 5x7 vertical enlarger.
I had some drawings that I sketched up for the project, but I can't find them. Unfortunately, that means I would have to use a ---shhhhh--- digital camera. You'd have to tolerate some digi snaps. Could you live with that???

Or... should I start a thread in the darkroom section to discuss some of my DYI projects? Maybe in the camera makers section?

Reinhold

 

[Lee L]

Lee...
Thanks for the feedback.
I increased the point size and lowered the drop shadow density on the Site Map page. How does it look now???
Reinhold

Much better. Both adjustments helped a lot, and I don't feel the need to resize text now. I realize that I'm a bit of an outlier, but perhaps not as much as it might initially appear. Don't know if you saw it, but you might find this thread on screen resolutions used by APUG members interesting from the perspective of a web site designer: (there was a url link here which no longer exists)

Dynamically scaling across a wide range of screen resolutions without breaking a layout is always a challenge, especially with combined text and graphics. It's still a bit bothersome, though, when a site forces you to use a small fraction of your available screen space. I also viewed at 1024 x 768, and know that you're pushing the limits on viewing a page without scrolling at that resolution.

Lee

 

[JBrunner]

Looks good, runs flawlessly on Safari. I like your work, as well.

 

[waynecrider]

That was fun...

 

[Reinhold]

Problem solved!! (no more Explorer hiccups)

I finally found out what was making I.E. hang on the tech data page.

I used two simple graphic lines to separate the header and text blocks.
Those two lines were corrupt, and are now history...
You folks using Explorer should have no more hang-ups

If you're using iWeb, be aware that using the shapes>line command could result in a problem for folks browsing with Explorer.