Website photo

Hi all,

Wasn't sure whether to post this here or in one of the other topic areas, but there a photo at the end of this link so I thought I'd put it here.

I'm thinking of revamping my website a little, and happened to come across this image viewer thingy called 'Zoomify', which allows you to zoom in on photos on the web (quite like Google Earth). I wouldn't want to use it with all my photos as the initial upload for each pic is quite high (around 1Mb for this one), but for odd ones I quite like the idea.

Just wish I'd chosen a different one to try it with now though. You can modify the template for the page the image loads in, how big the image area is etc, so it would integrate fine with your own website. Best thing of all, is that it's free.

My example here: http://www.danielbridge.co.uk/zoomify/Template.htm

I'd be very grateful if you could let me know if you have any problems with it, whether it's too slow etc.

Cheers,
Dan

Hi Dan , great pic and no problems , zooming or moving around, speed is fine on my my 2Mb broadband connection

Steve

I think that is really good, I dont think I want people zooming in on my very grainy black and white pics though

That's.... scary good. Zooming in demonstrates why so many people fear bugs - dangerous or not...

Works well in IE and Firefox on XP...

Works a treat Dan and quite fast.
BTW great pic

It worked fine for me (once I'd allowed it to run in the browser). The picture is wonderful.

But, I don't know, it's a bit of a gimmick to me and I would think it might detract from the great photography that you produce. Personally, in this age of fast internet connections, I'd rather simply have a separate link to the larger image from the scaled down one. Having used the web since its inception, it seems to me the more complicated a site becomes with the latest add-ins, the less I want to view it. Another example for me, is flash-only sites which I simply leave immediately.

Thanks all for your comments. Chirpy, thanks for raising those points (including "once I'd allowed it...". It's actually a flash application, but I don't find it anywhere near as annoying as a whole flash site.

I quite like the idea of using it as an occasional item, and also like that it allows someone to view details in a photo without giving them access (easily) to a hi-res file.

And it is a gimmick. But I do like the way that it's reasonably fast and rather than just being a pointless animation, it's got an actual use.

I'm very tempted to have it on my homepage, with a random image selector, but my concern is the "once I'd allowed it to run", which is different to not having Flash installed.

Oh well, I'll have a think. Any more comments welcome.

Thanks,
Dan

I've uploaded another pic and integrated it into a better webpage, none of the links work though.

Chirpy, when you say you 'allowed it to work', was this a "this page is trying to run an application" type of thing, or a "click here to activate this control"?

I'll have to do some proper testing and surveying before I definitely decide to use this, but would still greatly appreciate everyone's comments.

www.DanielBridge.co.uk/zoomify

Many thanks,
Dan

Hi Dan,

I use the very popular Firefox extension NoScript which prevents this type of thing running automatically - it's not an issue with the script you're using

It does look nice within the context of your site

Well, although it may not be an issue with the script itself, if enough people have it disabled as a matter of course, then that's an issue because it's off-putting to receive an alert when you first visit a page.

I'd have an alternative (simple image) for when the user doesn't have flash installed/enabled. I'll have to get that sorted to see if you'd just see that, or whether you'd still get the alert. Hope you don't mind being a guinea pig.

Cheers,
Dan

My pleasure

Daniel, what a neat application! I like it, and it works in Opera without a problem, always a plus in my book!
I can understand not wanting to link to hi-res photos that can be stolen. This seems like a good compromise. Not for every photo but for the occasional one, such as this.
Great photo btw

Thanks Gwyn and Chirpy.

The only problem I've noticed with Opera is that you always get (at least I do) the little navigation box in the top left corner of the image - the one that has a small version of the pic with a red box to show where you've zoomed into. I've disabled this option in the code, and IE doesn't show it but Opera does. Don't know if it's there in Firefox - Chirpy?

Dan

It's there in Firefox as well (latest version, Firefox just updated itself).

I think it's a great little applet and a good way to give some protection. I think it's a great benefit to be able to zoom in on (some of) your shots as there is so much detail to discover.

Prieni

I don't mind having the navigation box to be honest. I really don't see it as a negative.