#photo wordpress theme

[doofile]

Blacksilver | Photography Theme for WordPress is designed with professional photographers in mind. Blacksilver Theme uses a minimalist yet attractive design approach so that your photos are always in the center. Blacksilver photography theme is built with page layouts for fullscreen slideshows, portfolios, proofing, events, blog and landing pages....

#Themes #WordPress #creative #gallery #image #parallax #photo #photography #portfolio

[netherworldpost]

AI art predictions with a laundry list

This is a very long post, so as an advertisement to entice you to read it, let’s start off with my proof points. It ends with advice on what to do if you make things and/or want to make things and are concerned.

I remember when royalty-free microstock ($1/photo) began. It fundamentally changed stock photography, ending a significant number of careers, creating a significantly larger number of photographers -- as well as graphic designers AND illustrators who now had floods of reference photos they could not access before.

I remember when boilerplate WordPress starter themes began. They largely are a “paint by numbers” kit of parts. A lot of web developers rallied against it, claiming they would go out of business. Some did, most did not, a great number went into business using them as tools.

Hell, I remember when WordPress started. Similar story to above.

I remember when Adobe created built-in color palette tools. These are, essentially, color wheels. There were a lot of designers and illustrators who claimed this would give the public and/or low skill designers too much power.

I remember when free logo generators started. See above notes.

I remember when ultra cheap graphic design freelance services began. Fiverr and Upwork, etc. See above notes.

Hell I remember when digital printers started gaining a neck grip on small scale commercial printing. Bad time to be a 1 and 2 color press shop.

Tech bros and their priests will continue to throw money and other resources at it from about mid 2022 until early 2024

A combination of boredom, other opportunities (good, bad, and neutral), lawsuits, and the inescapable physics of what is required to create new AI art will taper off interest around early to mid 2024

The arc of interest will diminish far sooner but will occasionally be spiked back up by a combination of:

^- click-bait news articles and new breakthroughs in tech

^- click-bait news articles that claim there is a new breakthrough because the reporter/outlet is just catching on to existing things

^- tech bros claiming a new breakthrough (that isn’t new) because they have reinvented existing tech and/or are outright stealing from existing tech

Some levels of AI will continue forever with varying degrees of aesthetic attraction

On some level, the continuation will be because some tech bros and their priests are interested in pursuing the tech and are uninterested in the benefits/costs

On another level, it will continue as a weapon against artists (at large) because all tech invented is utilized as a weapon by bad actors against specific groups people

On yet another level, it will continue as a weapon against specific artists because all tech invented is utilized as a weapon by bad actors against specific people

Some (a moderate sample size) artists will lose everything for a little while but ultimately adapt, a smaller sample size everything permanently and leave the art profession

The public at large will begin in earnest interest as a “we can create stuff too!” but then lose interest over time because quality (as measured by uniqueness) and accessibility (as measured as “free vs. paid”) will steadily decrease

The decrease of interest will spike tech bros desperate to reclaim their throne into accelerating outright theft and abuse because at the nature these specific tech bros are parasites and have nothing positive to offer either the tech or art ecosystems

Corporate interests will both utilize AI art for their own interests while suing to stop their own direct properties from being used. These lawsuits will generate attention-grabbing headlines but almost exclusively be settled out of court and/or the AI companies will simply be bought to bring the tech/people into the fold/shut down

Artists (at large) will engage in the various platforms. There will be generalized outrage for 1 - 5 years as a combination of acceptance, resignation, and useful labor-saving tools are built

^- schisms will enter the art community. Some points will be made as legitimate discourse, most will be stated as individual artists use this as the point-of-the-day to prove themselves better than everyone else.

Ultimately:

Tech will continue building what they can, scraping every resources available at the lowest cost possible and often through piracy, until it becomes untenable via cost and boredom

Artists will continue to create, adapt, and evolve. Some unfortunately will legitimately lose everything and drop out of the career for a period of years, some forever.

There will be a convergence point then the two will separate out slowly. The path will be painful for artists. The public will vastly be ignorant, those who know mostly won’t care, some will passionately rally for artists.

Advice for people who make things:

Keep making things. Despair is an automated weapon that targets you, the more you feed it, the stronger it grows.

Do not personalized despair. It is easy to give into the thought of a conspiracy theory against you, or your industry. I view the accuracy more as “people/institutions who do not know, or care, about your existence are building their own empire. Sometimes you’re a tree line of border protection against wind, sometimes you’re lumber. Either way you’re not considered in any instance except when you’re useful, and never as an individual.”

Protect yourself as possible (file copyright takedown notices, keep an eye on prices to keep yourself in business, do not actively participate in contests that scrape AI, block people onsite who advocate for AI art if you yourself do not)

Protect your business funds as possible (multiple streams of income where possible, keep an eye on costs -- is fancy packaging actually necessary, from a business perspective, or are you making it fancy because you’re an artist)

Build a community as you can, everywhere you can. There is an absolute effort-to-cost ratio that must be watched -- you can, as of writing, literally sign up for a MySpace if you want. I wouldn’t recommend trying to build a network there.

And to repeat: keep making things. There are tools you used to get started, there are tools you USE RIGHT NOW, I promise you, that were once heralded as “the thing that will kill art.” It didn’t, except where it did, and in both instances everything evolved to whatever our current state is.

#long post

[jscalzi]

The Existential Longing for Walkies, 11/23/23

When you really want to go outside and run around, but your human is busy, like, staring into that incomprehensible glowing rectangle of hers. Oh! The suffering! Yes, I realize this is the second “dog walk”-themed photo this week. But look at the pathos here! I couldn’t resist. Here in the US it is Thanksgiving, so for all who celebrate it, I hope it is a happy and reflective day for you.…

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[danddthornton]

Birds of a Feather

Birds of a Feather (close up)Birds of a Feather (back)Birds of a Feather (front) Fussy cut bird fabrics and colorful frames look like photos on a wall. Subtle quilting keeps up the diagonal theme. Delightful.

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[hadeantaiga]

WordPress themes that are Tumblr-like

Ok, so you've decided to make a WordPress blog. Now you've got to decide how to theme it, and there are a LOT of choices. Unfortunately, a lot of them will shorten your posts and force them to be read-mores. Others will just use photo thumbnails, or just the titles of the posts. If that's your thing, great! There are a ton of choices out there.

But for those of us who want our WordPress blog to look like... a blog... I've gone through ALL of the blog-themed Free Themes, and I've compiled them into a master post right here. None of these blogs will cut off your posts or hide images or do weird things like that. The colors are customizable, the reblog buttons show up, tags show up, it's just so nice. You can do sticky posts! You can add widgets and really customize your blog super easily, all for free.

(If you see little blue circle icons in some of these images, ignore those - those only show up when you are previewing a theme)

In order of best to worst, in my opinion:

#1: Independent Publisher 2

I'm using their example screenshot for this to really showcase how nice this looks; you can change the colors and add side panels like in Wilson and it has extra controls for how the blog posts appear. It's very nice. The only reason I'm using Wilson instead is that I like how the sidebar in Wilson stands out a little bit.

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#2: Wilson

I love this theme. Simple, clean. I like that it has a side bar to add the widgets to built in. I added a search bar, as you can see. The only thing is, it DOESN'T show the tags on your posts, or reblog buttons. Other than that, it's perfect. But for those flaws, it gets second place.

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#3: Libre 2

This layout does different things if you include a header image. Colors are customizable etc.

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#4: Hexa

The Hexa theme is fun. It can do everything Wilson can do.

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#5: Twenty Sixteen

This is a nice clean blog with great sidebar content, if you like your sidebar on the right instead of the left.

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#6: Scrawl

This one has a nifty sidebar menu that pops out when you click on it.

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#7: Franklin

I like this one, it's simple and does what it needs to do without wasted space. This one comes with a huge banner you can turn off to make it usable.

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#8: Sobe

This one is really cute. Same customization as the others, with some cute icons. A bit of wasted space in the header, imo.

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#9: Tonal

Another highly customizable theme. Comes with all the same stuff, I just don't like it as much aesthetically.

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#10: Hew

This one is low on the list because it has a lot of wasted space, in my opinion. Still usable though.

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And that's it - the top 10 best Tumblr-like WordPress themes!

#tumblr #wordpress

[whateveradjunct]

The Existential Longing for Walkies, 11/23/23

When you really want to go outside and run around, but your human is busy, like, staring into that incomprehensible glowing rectangle of hers. Oh! The suffering! Yes, I realize this is the second “dog walk”-themed photo this week. But look at the pathos here! I couldn’t resist. Here in the US it is Thanksgiving, so for all who celebrate it, I hope it is a happy and reflective day for you.…

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[bosguy]

Men in kilts

Not a photo that is particularly in theme with the Holiday Season but I thought it might prove to be a suitable distraction. I hope you enjoy. #kilts

Previous Men in Kilts Posts

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#Gay #handsome #kilt #Men In Kilts #muscular

[superiorcatholicinspiration]

Study, Pray, Serve: The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.

Photo by Burkay Canatar on Pexels.com Here are some of the themes that we find in the Mass readings for the feast of the Holy Family. 1st Reading – Sirach 3:2-7,12-14 God sets a mother and father in authority over their children. God exhorts children to honor their parents, when they are frail and elderly. Psalm 128:1-5 “Blessed are those who fear the Lord and walk in his ways.” Those who…

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#Catholic #Disciple #Faith #Family #Friendship #grace #Holy Family #Homily #Inspiration #Jesus Christ #Love #Mass #Virtue

[haven-needlecraft]

Petal Bag Sewing Project

So I recently came across the concept of petal bags from this blog on WordPress. I also found a video on YouTube of someone making their own petal bag based on the photos in the same post. (And all of this traces back to a pattern from a book by Sheila Marshall titled Elizabethan Needlework Accessories—but I’m much too poor to buy a 40+ USD fashion history book to see the original pattern for myself).

(example photos of a petal bag, taken from the WordPress blog linked above)

I’d love to make a petal bag, but I’m currently knee-deep in projects right now and don’t have a lot of scrap fabric to play with in regards to working out a design. Nevertheless, I want to make a note on this blog about petal bags, since I think making a few sakura-themed ones out of pink fabric would be really cute and a good item to sell at craft fairs, if I ever become skilled enough (and have enough stock) to think about setting up a stall at one.

#sewing project #sewingblr #petal bags #textile art #Haven's future projects

[delilahdesanges]

[Publishing] The Saltbush Review

In a rather wonderful turn of events, my very Northern Hemisphere self has been accepted into a very Southern Australian literary journal, The Saltbush Review. Funded by Arts SA, Saltbush Review’s third issue is focused on the theme of “Intersections”, and features a diverse range of work – fiction, poetry, non-fiction, and reviews – from a diverse range of writers. (Saltbush photo is public…

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#arts and crafts #arts funding #australian literary journals #creative #creativity #fiction #free fiction #hobbies #literary journals #publishing #writers on wordpress #writing

[polelover91]

Looking Back, Kindness Was a Theme for December

"Kindness begins with the understanding that we all struggle." ~Charles Glassman

Written By: Lauren Long Date Published: January 3, 2024 Photo by Kevin Malik on Pexels.com “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.” Wendy Mass Hello, and Happy New Year! A new year is a new beginning and wide open with opportunities for hope and possibilities. As I look back on 2023, I realize how much I’ve grown as a person, mentally and emotionally.…

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#Cathartic Process #Kindness #Self-awareness #Self-compassion #Self-growth

[netherworldpost]

Blog in progress.

After publicly stating "I hate WordPress's Gutenberg" very loudly and extremely belligerently for many years, I am forcing myself to publicly state:

The Blank Canvas Theme, provided free by WordPress, is handling things with a surprising efficiency. I am able to handle the tasks I have outlined myself rather than hiring a programmer or forgoing edits that I very much want because I Have Opinions on how a blog should look and function. Blank Canvas, powered by Gutenberg, is saving me a significant amount of time and cash that I can put into other, better-spent projects.

Photos of Scooby-Doo are used for placement, the blog won't have all Scooby-Doo art (to be clear: it will have a lot, but will also have other things)

[kstarvibes]

ITZY's "BORN TO BE" Comeback: A Fusion of Fashion and Music

The Chic Aura of “UNTOUCHABLE” In preparation for their upcoming comeback, ITZY captivated fans with the concept photo for “UNTOUCHABLE,” the title song of their new album “BORN TO BE.” The members were styled in all-black leather, exuding a cool and trendy charm. This visual theme highlighted their stylish and sophisticated image. The Dance-Pop Sensation of the New Album “BORN TO BE” is set…

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#BORNTOBE #Collaboration #Comeback #DancePop #fashion #ITZY #Kpop #MusicRelease #UNTOUCHABLE #WorldTour

[vioyume]

Rambling about an old defunct Disney site

So like does anyone remember Disney Create? It shut downed in 2014 but it was essentially a social media for drawing and it had it's own drawing program. Similar to Animal Jam's I guess but you can pick different themes for what you want to draw with by clicking on a show you want.

So the Phineas and Ferb one will give you assets such as character stickers, backgrounds, and music from the show, Club Penguin is the same thing but with their own characters and etc. (Btw there was this "Got Milk" thing happening before but I never understood what it was)

But getting back to the art program, some of it's features were a decent amount of different brushes as well as ones like vines or snowflakes. But you can make your own brushes and stickers too. There was a feature to make comics too, and when you're done with the comic you can read it like a slideshow/video, no layer feature but what do you expect from a program made for kids.

I frankly remember being like 7 and was tracing bases but never posted them as well as recreating mlp characters in a pet creator.

Besides drawing there was a music video creator, and these pet creator things as far as I remember. The pet one is getting parts and coloring on them to make a pet you can interact with (dogs, cats, fish, birds, etc), and the music video one is using assests from a show to create a cool slide show, I made many Phineas and Ferb ones when the movie was coming out.

I can't say much about the social media part of the website because I never made an account, but when I did it was late into the site's lifespan and I don't remember anything nor know how social media works, think one of the features was saving your work.

The site to me was not a huge impact, I would've find another drawing site somewhere else but it was certainly convenient when I wanted to draw silly ponies. Kind of sad to see that only screenshots exists and it's just something people barely remember but you can access it through the way back machine but it needs flash so you can't draw in it.

Anyways here's some screen shots from google, I'm pretty sure some Warrior Cats fans liked using it but I can't find any for the pet and music video creator.

The toilet dog photo is the only thing I found of the pet creator but not the actual program itself and it was from someone's Wordpress blog but it gives you an idea how it works. Here's the link

#disney #disney create #nostalgia #text #rambles #vio.txt

[the-gloomth]

Gurololita or Medical Costume Inspiration

Gurololita or Medical Costume Inspiration

I love gurololita styles, or really any aesthetic with medical themes or elements. If you still need some costume inspiration here are some samples from shoots I’ve done over the years with gurololita, lolita nurse, creepy kawaii, and just general hospital/medical vibes. Hopefully these fun photos help inspired a fun creepy-medical costume this October (or really year round). Adding gauze,…

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#2022 #alt halloween #costume #costume ideas #goth #guro #gurololita #halloween #horror #ideas #nurse lolita

[i-shen-blog]

Is blogging still relevant in the age of TikToks and Instagram?

Today, we will be analyzing if blogging is still relevant in the age of TikToks and Instagram and also discuss the reason behind the facts after investigating.

Blog

Blogging started to become a commonplace business digital tactic ten years ago. Before then, blogs about politics, travel, food, and technology were mushrooming everywhere and serving as trustworthy resources for guidance and specialized knowledge. It turned out to be a potent approach to show up in search results and in front of a crowd that was already interested. Additionally, it was a very efficient tool for businesses to demonstrate their expertise and to share expert opinions.

Instagram

Instagram started to be used alongside blogs. Most bloggers did want to use it as a way to promote blogs, like on Twitter. But with Instagram not allowing clickable links in captions, that never seemed to happen successfully. You can use the phrase ‘link is in the bio’ but it’s just not the same as clicking a link there and then.

Now Instagram has turned into something that feels like an unstoppable force and now we hear of Instagrammers, Influencers and content creators more than words like bloggers, vloggers or YouTubers. Instagram feeds are no longer snapshots of peoples Sunday roast, but highly curated images, many have images that look like they are straight out of a magazine. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, I am often guilty of getting lost in a beautiful Instagram feed.

TikTok

In 2019, TikTok was the most downloaded app from Apple’s iOS app store? TikTok seems to have come out of nowhere and is everywhere. It has even infiltrated Instagram – every other food post I see is of a ‘TikTok recipe’ such as baked oats or feta pasta. Not to mention Instagram Reels – which seem to be a rip off of TikTok. Growth is hard on Instagram, but the way in which TikTok works means that anyone can go viral, even if you don’t have thousands of followers.

Why has these newer platforms become popular? is Blogging dead?

Joining Instagram and TikTok is simple. You simply sign up and you are ready to start publishing. You don’t need to mess around with a DNS server, buy a domain, pay a host then install WordPress. You don’t need to find a theme and fidget with widgets. Now, it’s a lot more mobile-based. We want to quickly scroll, consume and move onto the next thing. This is why Instagram is the go-to for looking at beautiful photos and TikTok is the best place to get short, entertaining videos.

Nothing has changed since then.

Despite the overwhelming presence of newer social media platforms, blogging is still a powerful tool for marketing. It's actually turbocharged. According to a recent Data Box survey titled "The Shift in Your Content Marketing Mix: 25 Marketers On What's Changed in 2 Years," 68% of marketers now regard blogging to be more successful than it was two years prior as blogging is about building relationships.

It’s about playing the long game.

To conclude, if you Take time to write your posts. Talk to your customers and build conversations. The everyday consumer is smart and has a limited amount of time. They make informed choices, not only about what they want to buy, but what they want to read. It’s only by offering your reader something truly valuable, that you’ll get the conversation started.

Your blog should always aim to answer the questions your audience has. How consumers find your content will undoubtedly evolve, but what they’re looking for probably won’t. We still need the same information we did 5 years ago, but we’re just using different methods to find it. Creating high-quality, original content will go a long way to getting results from blogging.

#mda20009 #digital communities