
Grandpa's Photos - muratmutlu
http://grandpas-photos.com/
======
yellowapple
Is this supposed to be a parody of "responsive" Javascript-intensive web
design? Because as much as I know Hacker News likes to get off on
ridiculously-large pictures and text with fancy scrolling and over-engineered
Javascript preloaders for what could have been accomplished perfectly fine
with plain HTML and CSS, this is a little much.

I like the idea. I really do. I think it's touching that you want to preserve
these snippets of your grandfather's memory. That enjoyment is quickly
overshadowed by this page demonstrating everything I _hate_ about the current
"responsive" "disruptive" "Valley" "mobile" fetish:

* It shouldn't take 30 seconds or more to load some pictures and text in an HTML document. Additionally, I shouldn't be _sitting there the entire damn time watching some little animation spin around_ while it struggles to load.

* I really _don 't_ need an ugly 900pt font in order to read your homepage. While your grandpa might have poor vision that warrants that, I don't. I'd reckon the _vast_ majority of your site's viewers would be fine with your run-of-the-mill 12pt font; people with visual impairment typically have other accessibility tools at their disposal.

* I really _shouldn 't_ have to scroll down a whole page for _every single goddamn sentence_ on the homepage.

* The fancy "hover over this part to bring up a menu" is buggy because it overlaps with the "hover over this part to bring up an arrow" crap.

~~~
kghose
I disagree. I thought the website was very nice, easy to navigate and I found
the full page photos very nostalgic looking (grainy, oversaturated ...). It
evokes exactly the kind of atmosphere I would associate with a Grandpa from
the 60s.

~~~
yellowapple
The full-page photos are fine. I have no issues with them. It's everything
else that's annoying.

------
tux1968
Such a sweet idea deserves a much better web site. A static web page with some
pictures would be so much less tedious. Wanted to see if I could help but just
didn't have the patience to go through the gymnastics needed to see the
unobscured photos.

------
kelvin0
That loading thing is very relaxing after 1/2 hour ...

------
ewebbuddy
Loved the project. I do not think he is really showing his technical prowess
here or the know-how of creating a responsive design. The idea is to help fine
lost places in those photos. And that can only happen if one reaches a lot of
people. HN is a good diverse group to do that.

Also, it really feels incredible to see how places have evolved over the times
even when you have never really been to the place. Sometimes waiting isn't
that bad. :)

------
jljljl
You know what? I think it's a beautiful site. It tugs the emotions the right
way, and evokes a certain feel that is probably more effective at getting
people to engage and help your Grandpa identify his old photos. It also
doubles as a nice showcase of your grandpa's photography.

I'm not sure it would have achieved this effect with a simple static HTML +
CSS page.

~~~
yellowapple
> It tugs the emotions the right way

Yes, if the intended emotions were frustration and despair.

> I'm not sure it would have achieved this effect with a simple static HTML +
> CSS page.

Maybe not. It might require _some_ use of Javascript to make some fancier
animations and such. It could really use some reworking, though, in the sense
of using HTML with a side of Javascript and CSS, rather than Javascript with a
side of HTML and CSS.

The "About" page[0] is much better than the homepage, and with some reworking
probably _should_ have been used as the homepage instead. It looks so much
cleaner and nicer. Incorporate some of the stuff from the homepage, and maybe
one of the photos as a background, and it would be a _huge_ improvement.

[0]:[http://grandpas-photos.com/grandpas_about.html](http://grandpas-
photos.com/grandpas_about.html)

~~~
jljljl
Oh come on, IT isn't a perfect site but...despair? Really?

I disagree with you about the About page, the large picture format is so much
more immersive and engaging than the tiny text on the About page, but I guess
we will have to agree to disagree.

Usability is not always the only thing a website should optimize for.
Sometimes beauty and a mood can be just as important, depending on the goals
of the page.

~~~
yellowapple
> Usability is not always the only thing a website should optimize for.

Perhaps not, but completely throwing it out the window is generally not a good
idea.

------
stonogo
white page with a loading animation and a number slowly incrementing in the
corner.

------
BillFranklin
I dig that people found the exact location for all of these obscure photos
(apart from NYC etc). Good work HN visitors.

------
WalterBright
Most unusable site evar.

------
FallDead
I left after 2 seconds

------
jonny_eh
Beautiful site and photos

