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Goodbye Facebook

By |2019-10-15T16:03:54+01:00October 15th, 2019|Categories: News|Tags: , , , |

This has been coming for quite a while but finally, after a number of years of putting it off, I’ve decided to delete my Facebook pages. Both my personal page and the Richard Flint Photography page are going through the drawn-out process of being wiped. Facebook makes it easy to join but a lot less easier to say goodbye.

Although I joined the social network quite a few years ago now, I very rarely updated or even logged into the increasingly bloated social network site. For some reason, I never did like the social network in the same way as Twitter or Instagram. The argument that it is great staying in contact with friends no longer really applies as many of my core friends also have Instagram accounts. So it was time to pull the plug.

From a business point of view, Facebook rarely delivered anything of value. For years I was stuck with the same number of followers with little chance of increasing that number unless I paid Facebook to boost my profile. The page was stagnant. Again it was time to say goodbye.

The last couple of years have seen me rethink what websites and social media sites I use. The current core sites of Twitter and Instagram remain safe. The deletion of Facebook is a big change but a welcome one. Maybe it’s something I should have done much earlier.

Redbubble Store Revamp

By |2019-09-30T15:02:30+01:00September 30th, 2019|Categories: News|Tags: , , , , , |

Redbubble logo

Over the summer a number of improvements have been made to this website and others including a long-overdue revamp of the Redbubble store.

The Richard Flint Photography Redbubble Store

Launched in June 2008, the Redbubble store has delivered prints and other items to customers around the world. Speedway photo T-shirts to Australia and iPhone cases and prints of Glencoe to the USA – just to mention just a couple of recent orders. Over the years the store has expanded further as new images and new products have become available. It was time for an update.

Framed Prints and much More

The Redbubble store needed some love. Especially critical was the photography available there needed to be categorized better. Most important was the range of items available really needed to be updated across the portfolios. Initially just framed prints and other wall art had been available. That has now all changed to include more clothing, mugs, iPhone and iPad covers, notepads and bags – to mention just a few products. In most cases over 60 products are now available to buy.

More Photos and Portfolios

The most noticeable change regards the portfolios. More categories have been added to aid those looking for images of a specific subject matter. Animals, lighthouses, coast, whisky, street photography and more have been added with more to come. The Scotland images have also been broken down into regional portfolios that currently include Islay, Jura, Edinburgh, Borders and Skye. It makes finding a favourite image so much easier.

The Richard Flint Photography Redbubble Store can be found at richflintphoto.redbubble.com

Creating Galleries with Block Gallery

By |2022-01-01T00:05:08+00:00March 7th, 2019|Categories: The Test Strip Photoblog|Tags: , , , , , |

At the end of 2018, the new Gutenberg block editor for WordPress was added replacing the classic editor. The block editor provides extra functionality for creating posts and pages with built-in options and additional functions that can be added via plugins. For this post, I’ll be looking at one of the new Gutenberg photo gallery block plugins called Block Gallery.

Block gallery is described as ‘The most advanced suite of gallery blocks for the Gutenberg block editor. Create stunning masonry, carousel and stacked galleries in seconds, with the brilliantly intuitive interface. Block Gallery is absolutely the best collection of native editor gallery blocks in the world.’

Currently, Block gallery offers three gallery options with more in the works. Adding a block gallery to a post or page is very straightforward and changing the gallery size and style is as easy as a mouse click. Custom styling options make it easy to alter the gallery to suit. A Pro version of the Block Gallery plugin is going to be released at a later date with even more gallery styles.

Each gallery has a panel of custom settings to alter background colours, add rounded corners and more. The carousel gallery, for example, has options for autoplay (one second to ten-second intervals available), arrow and dot navigation, column sizes and carousel height. Dragging and flicking can also be enabled on the carousel gallery for mobile devices and desktops.

Above is the masonry gallery layout option. Gutter sizes can be altered using a slider in the settings

Above is the stacked gallery layout option with rounded corners enabled

Block Gallery adds some much-needed variation to Gutenberg’s photo gallery layouts for posts and pages in WordPress. Its intuitive interface provides a fast and simple way to add a collection of images to post/page without the fuss of having to use code. Just drop a block into the article, add the photos and alter the gallery settings to suit.

If you’re a photographer using WordPress then it’s a must-have plugin. I’m certainly excited by the potential to expand the plugin’s options and will certainly consider purchasing the Pro version when it’s released. The free version though is perfect to test out the plugin on your website at no cost. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

The Block Gallery plugin can be found in the WordPress Plugin Directory HERE

Check out the website at https://coblocks.com/

Moving Hosts

By |2022-03-20T21:45:05+00:00February 11th, 2019|Categories: News|Tags: , , , , |

Last year, a website was set up on WordPress.com for a client,
 The Art of Living and Dying, a group of women helping those facing life’s highs and lows with practical information and professional support. The group required a single page website for event and contact information.

Over the weekend, the website was quickly moved over to a self hosted WordPress install to give the site a full range of functionality and customisation options that a self hosted WordPress installation provides.

The domain name changed too with the Art of Living and Dying now found at https://www.theartoflivinganddying.co.uk

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