Fixed Background

This is the easiest fixed position effect to achieve.

1. We’ll start by building a basic webpage in XHTML and CSS. The webpage has a floated two div layout (navigation and content).

XHTML

CSS

This will give us something like this:

But you’ll notice that, when you scroll through the content, the background image ends, leaving a lovely white space!

2. So the solution? Fix the position of background image. And this is really simple. Simpy change the line of CSS that adds the background image to the body.

CSS

Now, as you scroll through the content, the background image does not move!

View a demo

Fixed Elements

Unfortunately, at the moment, when scrolling through the content, the navigation disappears, and to use it, you’ll have to scroll all the way back up. So let’s fix it to the browser window.

1. Using what you already have from before, add “position: fixed” to the navigation and position it at the top left of the browser window.

CSS

2. Oops! The nav is definitely fixed to the top left of the browser window, but it’s also obscuring the content!

No problem, add some left margin to the content and you’re sorted.

CSS

View a demo

Here are a few of the sites I’ve noticed that use this attribute, and, if you’re interested, here’s a tutorial for doing it yourself.

Fixed Elements

Crush + Lovely

A fixed navigation means the user will never lose their way.

FRESH01

Another fixed navigation, but also check out the blue circles as your scroll, very clever.

Information Highwayman

Simply fixing the logo to where you are, means you won’t forget what site you’re on if you find something interesting.

James Charlick

James Charlick uses fixed positioning to achieve a layered effect.

Keithar

Making a CV link the most prominent thing on the site is never a bad idea…

Proclaim

Main menu and recent tweets are always in the users eyeline.

Silly Poems

Main menu follows the user as they scroll through this one page website.

Fixed Background

Nomad Festival

A small fixed background, only at the top of the page, sets of the otherwise drab background colour.

Forme Bikes

Using a fixed background, means this huge background doesn’t need to be even bigger…

English Squash and Racketball

This site has won a lot of awards and it’s easy to see why. Attention to detail means you’re not staring at someones crotch while you read the latest news!

Meninos

Main menu and recent tweets are always in the users eyeline.

My Brain Art

A well-designed site, using a fixed background means that the content is always well framed.

Preloaded

Using a tiling and fixed background for an even quicker download time!

After raising a thousand pounds in just 24 hours, Tim’s efforts managed to get featured in the Nottingham Evening Post, on BBC Radio Nottingham and on the One Show.

If you would like to donate go to: www.justgiving.com/Slim-Beaver

Jack was awesome, as is his new album, “Everything is New” and the support act, Theophilus London was crazy…in a good way.

The reception took place at Beverley Rugby Club where, I think, the best photos were taken round the back of the clubhouse, amongst the bins and empty gas tanks.

For an “amateur” company the quality of acting and production was excellent, so much so that I went back to sit in the audience for the Saturday performance.

Anyway within a couple of hours of finding them I have now added a graphic design section to the website.

I also spent some time updating the web design section.

This weekend I’m hoping to add some new features to the site, including a comments function for each page and make the whole site database driven to save me time in future.

Keep ‘em peeled!

Unfortunately we were hit with wet weather so couldn’t take any outdoor photographs, but the indoor ones turned out quite well anyway.

Besides the best shots were to come later on at the reception when the Groom and his band, formed just the wedding, played a small set to get everyone dancing. Not to mention some members of High Peak Samba who turned up with their plethora of percussion instruments to wake us all up.

Being my first attempt at the job I was quite nervous in the run up to the day, but having my Brother as “assistant” really helped me to overcome that, and I think my shots came out quite well.

The wedding venue was the Corus Hotel in Elstree, a Tudor-style building, full of character and set in 10 acres of natural woodland, so locations for shots weren’t hard to come by.

I have another wedding to shoot in October for some very good friends of mine, then hopefully I should get some more work off the back of these.

Update: I have 4 more weddings booked in to shoot for 2009/2010!

The park had an abundance of species of wildlife set in some fantastic gardens, meaning photo opportunities were rife.

After many attempts I managed to get a decent photograph of a Squirrel Monkey which just didn’t seem to want to sit still!

But even more pleasing were the pictures of the Burrowing Owl and Eagle Owl.

We managed to visit the Guinness Storehouse, Dublin Castle, Christchurch Cathedral in the weekend as well as the pubs of Temple Bar which I found much more interesting. Here are a few shots I took in Ireland’s capital.

We stayed in a villa outside Portimão, which luckily had a pool, because the 36°C temperatures were often unbearable. Unfortunately with the villa being in the middle of nowhere, opportunities to whip out my trusty Canon were few and far between, but I managed a few, including quite an impressive one of the villa’s chimney!

With wilderness around ever corner, beautiful old buildings and horned beasts, plenty of photo opportunities arouse.

We stayed in an old Lock Keepers cottage on the Caledonian Canal, which left us within easy reach of Loch Ness, Inverness, Ben Nevis, Fort Augustus and Fort William.

On the way home I managed to snap some pictures at Fort George before the weather changed and we were caught in a spring snowstorm, which left the poor baby lambs feeling a bit nippy!