Ahoy-hoy.  The first album has been uploaded to the new Photo Gallery.

As much as it appeals to run my entire photo collection from my Windows Home Server, the add-in I’m using doesn’t present the nicest or most intuitive interface.  See the old collection here…

The other downside was that I couldn’t easily link to any particular album or photo.

Yes – I know there are services like Flickr out there – hey, I was using it years ago before I abandoned it, as evidenced here.

However, as a self-appointed Grand Poobah of [mostly Microsoft] Technology Evangelism, I try and stick to the Microsoft-powered alternatives if at all possible/practical.

Windows Live has reached the stage where I am now able to do that.  My blogging is done through Windows Live Writer and my photo editing and tagging is through Windows Live Photo Gallery.

Although Photo Gallery supports Flickr and the like, I do very much appreciate the tight integration between Microsoft’s desktop software and their online services.

So, I can pick any folder:

Tag and caption it:

And then publish the whole album:

Hey presto – one on-line album.

OK – so there are many tools out there, but I like having everything from my Messenger profile to my blog and photos to even my Xbox profile all linked to one place.  :)

Anyway – my very first album (taken wayyy back in mid-2000) has been published.  As I get around to tagging and cleaning my other photos, they too will be uploaded.  So watch this space…