New website...tell me what you think?

<p><strong>I just updated my website, and changed everything from the template to the work that was on it. I'm currently a third year college student, and I love getting opinions on my work!</strong></p>

<p><strong>The website is <a href="http://www.raymondcolonphotography.com">www.raymondcolonphotography.com</a></strong></p>

<p><strong>Let me know what you think! </strong><br>

<strong>Thanks!</strong></p>

<p>I only took a quick look before my eyes slammed shut (sleepy, not bored), but so far I dig it. I like the honesty and humor in the portraits I see in the default presentation. And the death series looks great, although I might pick some nits tomorrow. Loading seems a bit slow. Might check to see whether your file sizes are larger than necessary. Overall the site looks clean and elegant, but doesn't stand out from the rest either in a good or bad way.</p>

<p>The home page is a little slow to load but thereafter it flows well. I like the sequencing and choice of the half dozen photographs in your home page slide show. Delving in I particularly like the Fear series. The dual compositions I found effective and well choreographed. The site is workmanlike and functional, allowing the photographs to speak without frills. Good work, my young friend!<br>

Perhaps Portraits series would have more depth were you to present a greater range of emotions.</p>

<p>One of the best sites posted in this forum. The site design is simple, to the point and functional, while the images are terrific. As pointed out already, loading images is noticeably (i.e. annoyingly) slow. Can it be due to Flash? My viewing environment: XP, Firefox, 21" CRT, cable modem.</p>

<p>Couple minor points:</p>

<p>- Once in a gallery, the navigation bar is gone. It takes an extra click to close the gallery to navigate elsewhere.</p>

<p>- I dislike contact forms and explained why here:<br /> http://www.photo.net/website-creation-forum/00bhEB?start=10</p>

<p>- The galleries with small number of images can display all the thumbnails on a single page. What if there are more images?</p>

<p>Site doesn't open <em>at all</em> in Opera, I'm afraid.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>Site doesn't open <em>at all</em> in Opera, I'm afraid.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>That's why those who critique a site should provide their viewing environments as context.</p>

<p>That's why those who care about how a site looks or performs across browsers, code revisions, OSs, monitor sizes, etc. should take some time testing it first BEFORE launching it.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2011/08/07/a-dozen-cross-browser-testing-tools/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2011/08/07/a-dozen-cross-browser-testing-tools/</a></p>