While I love SmugMug for the beautiful and versatile way of viewing photos, the ease of ordering and the excellent quality of the prints that come back, I wasn't able to fully realize my vision for the front end website.

I went as far as my meager customization skills could take me, and it was OK. For 1999. Then I looked around at what others had done, especially the for-hire customizers on the SmugMug forums, and that was more like it! But I am worried about then being able to change stuff myself, whenever I want to. I am not averse to hiring someone - but I can't afford to keep them on retainer for when the whim strikes me...

So, then I came across ShowIt Sites - and the more I learned about it, the more I realized it was for me. It allows you to design your own sites, but you don't need any coding skills. If you can manage programs like PhotoShop, then you can do this. And the results are pretty stunning - take a look at some of the examples that they have in their portfolio!

Anyway - I am pretty happy with my new site - not totally, but close. I may fiddle with it some more. What I love is that the photos are front and center. And there are some cool transitions. And you can view it at many different sizes and it still looks good.

Anyway - check it out - www.oliversimages.com - and if you feel like it, leave a comment!