Just a short update to announce that my website has been revamped.
NEW WEBSITE
Click Here
This has been something I've been thinking about for a while, but it has taken me some time to get around to doing it. The old website was a constant work in progress — Should I have all my work on one page, or spread across several? Should I combine blog and images to make a single front page? What about sales?
Well, for a few reasons, I've settled on the following:
NO STORE
Truth is, I'm not getting sales through the website anyway. My traffic is pretty low, and I seem to generate a lot more interest on 500px.com and through Facebook (despite my dislike of that platform) than through my traditional web page. So why stick with this site then? Because it allows me to present my work and my thoughts in the way I'd like, as interrelated elements and not as random eruptions that might or might not appear on someone's Facebook page.
SEPARATE BLOG AND PHOTOS
I like writing about photography. Most of what I write is philosophical (in a non-academic sense) and I think these essays stand alone for me, so why mix them with images. Similarly, my images represent ideas that shouldn’t generally need words — they work as single images or as part of projects. So why mix words and images together on the website when I don't mix them together in my head.
NEW FONT
Yeah, I know, cosmetics. But I wasn't happy with the font I was using. It was modern, but actually a little too modern. I've settled on Garamond Pro, which I think provides a clean title font, lending the new website a more dignified look.
NEW LAYOUT AS WELL
I've really simplified the menu structure. I've created a new HOME page that actually welcomes visitors to my site, and I've consolidated all the stuff to do with my blog newsletter, my contacts and my location on a single page to make navigation easier and cleaner.
AND FINALLY...
...images are now organised by project. As I've gained some experience, I've come to realise that shooting single images is less satisfying than shooting images with the intent to build a portfolio around a project idea. This has meant that some of my images are no longer on the site. But they will return as I move them into identifiable projects, once I start working those projects more deliberately. For now, only live projects are included, or projects that I've definitely finished.