Big Changes (It’s Not You, It’s Me)

I’ve been going through a website midlife crisis lately. What started as a small site to store my photos to share with friends and family (because back then, Webshots was the only online option and it…well…it really, really sucked…) has grown, and I’ve done my best to keep up with it. I’ve tried different solutions for storing photos (Coppermine and Gallery2), and different blogging platforms to go along with them. I even used my own hacked together php before blogging software was around!

A few weeks ago I posted about some issues I had to deal with (comment
spam, broken contact form, etc), and in a comment, Kate C pointed me to
Zenphoto. And then it was down the rabbit hole…

I really, really like Zenphoto. The Gallery2 software I use tries to
cram in too much functionality and it’s just complicated and difficult
to administer. Zenphoto is so nice in its web 2.0 simplicity and
usability, and there is even a script to migrate my Gallery2 albums to
Zenphoto. Sold!

Then I started looking at integration with my blog. I’ve always
disliked how the blog and the photos have been separate areas, and I
wanted them to integrate better (same look and feel, same header, etc).
I poked around the web and found some beautiful sites that integrate a
blog with Zenphoto. The problem: every single one of these blogs used WordPress as a platform. But I use Movable Type, and
have always been very happy with it.

To humor myself, I installed WordPress. In parallel, I played with the Zenphoto
integration on both WordPress and Movable Type. The WordPress
integration was done in about 30 seconds. Movable Type…well…I never
got it to look good. And this really, really makes me sad. I don’t want
to abandon Movable Type, but what I’ve been able to do with Zenphoto +
Wordpress is so nice.

So, I’ve decided to make the change. This is my break-up letter with
Movable Type. It’s not you, it’s me. Maybe, in a year or so, Zenphoto
and Movable Type will evolve to the point that they play nicer with
each other, but for now…well, you’re just not ready. We’ve have a long and happy relationship, but it’s time for me to move on. Zenphoto is the new software in my life, and what he says, goes. And he says WordPress.

It might be a bit quiet around here while I work in the background. In the next few weeks I’ll be migrating everything over to my new
format. Everything should stay the same if I do it right (as long as I
can redirect URLs – hello, .htaccess). Entries, albums, and comments
should be preserved. Even feed subscribers shouldn’t have to resubscribe. Still, I’ll send a warning note out before I flip the switch.

Rebecca Sowards-Emmerd

Free range human. Mountain sports addict. Craft beer drinker. Tech nerd. The best days are those spent above 10k ft. Team OmniTen and Evernote Ambassador. Meet me on Twitter, Facebook, or Google +

  • http://colocalders.com Kate C

    Ha ha! Welcome to the fold. And thank you for the nice words about my site (I just read your comment).

    I’m sorry you’ll be leaving your favorite platform behind, but WordPress is good software too, and there are a lot of great things that can be done with it. The Zenphoto integration is just the tip of the gust front. If you want to see some cool gps/mapping integration, check out my friend Dylan’s wordpress blog: http://cyberhobo.net/blog/

    He’s working on the update to the “outdoor nights” graphing plugin and has developed the GeoMashup plugin that does all kinds of cool stuff.

    Anyway, good luck!

  • http://moyawatson.com/ moya

    i cannot wait to be able to more easily comment on your pics! let us know when to look for your ‘coming out’ party!

    (ps: still wondering about your new domain name…)

  • http://www.onelittlecog.com Ehren Cheung

    Best of luck with the changeover. It’s tough leaving behind a system that you’re accustomed to and enjoy using for the most part.

    Good thing is that we all will get to see more of the amazing photographs you take from your great hikes :)

  • http://www.kareninca.com Karen

    Too funny! You’ll like Zenphoto. I’ve been migrating off smugmug for the last 2 months or so and Zenphoto is what I chose to go with too. It’s funny because I came over here to see what you were using and after I checked out Gallery, I decided I wasn’t crazy about it and kept looking around and found Zen and went with it. Here’s wishing a smooth migration for you. I’m busy learning all the behind the scenes stuff so that I can make it look more like part of my blog, but I think you are way ahead of me in that department, so you should have no probs doing it for your site. Have fun! :)

  • http://daysandnights.alienspeed.com Brad

    Just a heads up for you if you care to think about it. I do blog hosting and would be more than happy to host your WP blog for free. No BS ad’s or stupid requirements. Just solid hosting for ya.