Here is a quick list of a few sites using Graph Paper Press themes. These were just a few that have found their way into my email inbox, so I apologize in advance for the hundreds of sites that I’ve left out. If you would like you site added to the list, post a link to it in the comments.

On a side note: Because I’m on the road photographing the NCAA tournament, the release date of the new Portfolio theme for Wordpress has been delayed a few weeks. It’s gonna be rad, with the same GPP minimalist flavor, so keep your eyes glued to this site.

http://richsmithphotography.net/

http://wordsaloud.org/

http://digitalartwork.net/

http://brucisms.com/

http://newarchitecturalexpression.eu/

http://dopeswan.org/

http://themediapirate.com/

http://www.frederickvan.com/

http://bikemag.hu/

http://www.imjustcreative.com/

While photographing the 2008 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, I noticed a few sports writers using Wordpress to “Live Blog” the tournament games. The NCAA has a long history of being heavy handed in their restrictions placed on writers, photographers and bloggers. This year, it seems more restrictive than ever, especially for the blogosphere.

On the bottom of all credentials is the NCAA Blogging policy. It reads:

Each Credential Holder (including television, Internet, new media, and print publications) has the privilege to blog (e.g., real-time or time delayed journal entries) during competition through the Credential Entity. Any blog representing an NCAA championship must submit the appropriate link to ncaasports.com Blog Central. In return, all media entities entering a blog must post the ncaasports.com logo/link on their site. All blogs must be free of charge to readers. All must adhere to the conditions and limitations of this NCAA Blogging Policy. A blog description includes in-Competition updates on score and time remaining in competition as well as description of the championship and competition taken place during the given time. The NCAA and its designated championship personnel shall be the final authority about whether a Credential Holder or Credential Entity is following the NCAA Blogging Policy. The following is the NCAA’s policy for the number of blogs allowed during a Competition or Session (i.e., where more than one contest takes place under the same admission ticket). They apply to all sports listed and are applicable to both genders.

Basketball: Five times per half; one at halftime; two times per overtime period.

The NCAA obviously views blogging as a threat to their large, multimillion dollar TV contracts which provide live game coverage. By limiting the number of posts per game and requiring blogs to post links back to their website, the NCAA effectively squashes all potential competition. This begs the obvious question: Is blogging a threat to live television game coverage? I think not.

Bloggers enhance the game by providing an alternative narrative of the game. Blogs and blog comments help to democratize the game narrative. In doing so, they also help to generate additional interest in the live televised game coverage. If bloggers generate a real and tangible threat to the NCAA’s television contracts, than perhaps bloggers should refrain from posting anything about the NCAA tournament. Little to no coverage from bloggers is a far greater threat to the vitality of sporting events than if the blogosphere were allowed to continue to blabber live, unrestricted, from the slidelines.

A couple of questions that I would love to hear some discussion about:

• Should blogging be regulated by for-profit organizations holding paid events in places funded with taxpayer dollars?
• What differentiates a widely read blogger from “journalist” working for a traditional media company?

Monochrome Gallery is a free widgetized theme for Wordpress packaged with an author archives page, AJAX slideshow, categorized posts with thumbnails on the homepage and a CSS framework to aid in customization.

Installation

1. Unzip the downloaded file
2. Upload the entire “Monochrome Gallery″ folder to your “/wp-content/themes/” folder
3. Log in into your WordPress control panel
4. Click the Presentation tab
5. Select the “Monochrome Gallery” screenshot

Configuration

1. GETTING STARTED: By default, the slideshow in Monochrome Author displays the most recent posts. The number of posts displayed in the slideshow can be controlled via your WP admin panel by clicking Options > Reading. The bottom row of five posts pulls in the latest post in five different categories, which you can specify in index.php. Simply open up index.php in the Theme Editor and look for the following line:

   // enter the IDs of the categories to display
   $display_categories = array(’3′,’4′,’5′,’6′);

   Change 3, 4, 5, 6 to the category id’s of the categories that you want to display. You can find your category id numbers by clicking Manage > Categories in your WP Admin Panel.

   To change the final fifth category, scroll down on index.php and locate:

   // enter the IDs of the categories to display
   $display_categories = array(’7′);

   Change it as described above.

2. PHOTOS & CUSTOM FIELDS: This theme uses custom fields to manage all photos and thumbnail photos. In your Wordpress settings, you can change the dimensions on both thumbnail and medium sized photos. Change the thumbnail width to 128 px wide by 128px tall. Change the medium photo size to 575 px wide. Save the settings. Wordpress will resize every photo uploaded to the dimensions described above. After uploading the photo into Wordpress using the media uploader, copy the link to this thumbnail photo and paste it into the custom field value, with a key called “thumbnail.” Copy the link to the medium photo (575 pixels wide maximum) and paste it into the custom field value, with a key called “photo.” Here is a screenshot of all properly filled out fields.
3. STYLES.CSS: Unlike most Wordpress themes which plug all the css in one file called styles.css, Monochrome utilizes the Blueprint CSS framework to help separate positioning, typography, forms and what I’ll refer to as custom or Monochrome specific styles. To edit all custom Monochrome specific styles, you’ll need to edit the file style.css in your wp/wp-content/themes/monochrome/ directory.
4. SIDEBARS: 100% Widgetized baby!
5. COMPATIBILITY: For Wordpress 2.3 and up.

Now you can get all Graph Paper Press themes for only $99.99. This offer includes all “premium” themes on sale today and in all of 2008. When a new theme is released in 2008, you will receive a link to the theme download via email. Currently, Graph Paper Press plans to release one theme per month. Pretty neat, huh?

SUPPORT

The best way to receive support for this theme is to visit the forum.

ABOUT BLUEPRINT

This theme utilizes a CSS framework called Blueprint. Who is credited for the ideas behind Blueprint? Some of the best designers on the web. They include Jeff Croft, designer for Blue Flavor, Khoi Vinh, design director for NYTimes.com, Nathan Borror, Christian Metts, Eric Meyer, Wilson Minor, Angus Turnbull, Olav Bjorkoy and a few others. Most major websites use some form of css framework to allow for rapid, consistent development and design. Take the Blueprint 101 course to learn about all the possibilities.

Monochrome Author is a free widgetized theme for Wordpress packaged with an author archives page, AJAX slideshow, posts with thumbnail and pullquote custom fields options and a CSS framework to aid in customization.

Installation

1. Unzip the downloaded file
2. Upload the entire “Monochrome Lite″ folder to your “/wp-content/themes/” folder
3. Log in into your WordPress control panel
4. Click the Presentation tab
5. Select the “Monochrome Lite” screenshot

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Configuration

1. GETTING STARTED: By default, the slideshow in Monochrome Author displays the most recent posts, followed by the excerpts of the previous five entries, offset by two. The number of posts displayed in the slideshow can be controlled via your WP admin panel by clicking Options > Reading.
2. PHOTOS, PULLQUOTES, CUSTOM FIELDS: This theme uses custom fields to manage all photos and thumbnail photos. In your Wordpress settings, you can change the dimensions on both thumbnail and medium sized photos. Change the thumbnail width to 128 px wide by 128px tall. Change the medium photo size to 575 px wide. Save the settings. Wordpress will resize every photo uploaded to the dimensions described above. After uploading the photo into Wordpress using the media uploader, copy the link to this thumbnail photo and paste it into the custom field value, with a key called “thumbnail.” Copy the link to the medium photo (575 pixels wide maximum) and paste it into the custom field value, with a key called “photo.” Here is a screenshot of all properly filled out fields. If you want pullquotes, then simply create a key called “pullquote” and type your pullquote into the custom field value. Here is a screenshot of all three properly filled out fields.
3. YOUR AUTHORS PAGE: Monochrome Author comes packaged with an author archive (authors.php), which will display some author specific info pulled from the Users page in your Wordpress installation. In order for the author’s image to show up, you’ll need to place a jpg of the author titled by the author’s last name in the wp-content/themes/monochrome_author/images/authors/ folder. For instance, mine is Allender.jpg, sized at 75px X 75px. Here is an example author page.
4. STYLES.CSS: Unlike most Wordpress themes which plug all the css in one file called styles.css, Monochrome utilizes the Blueprint CSS framework to help separate positioning, typography, forms and what I’ll refer to as custom or Monochrome specific styles. To edit all custom Monochrome specific styles, you’ll need to edit the file style.css in your wp/wp-content/themes/monochrome/ directory.

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Now you can get all Graph Paper Press themes for only $99.99. This offer includes all “premium” themes on sale today and in all of 2008. When a new theme is released in 2008, you will receive a link to the theme download via email. Currently, Graph Paper Press plans to release one theme per month. Pretty neat, huh?

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SUPPORT

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The best way to receive support for this theme is to visit the forum.

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ABOUT BLUEPRINT

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This theme utilizes a CSS framework called Blueprint. Who is credited for the ideas behind Blueprint? Some of the best designers on the web. They include Jeff Croft, designer for Blue Flavor, Khoi Vinh, design director for NYTimes.com, Nathan Borror, Christian Metts, Eric Meyer, Wilson Minor, Angus Turnbull, Olav Bjorkoy and a few others. Most major websites use some form of css framework to allow for rapid, consistent development and design. Take the Blueprint 101 course to learn about all the possibilities.

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Graph Paper Press is branching out into new territory for March. Currently, a portfolio-style theme is in the works and should help fill a void in the world of Wordpress themes. As a photographer, I spent nearly two years testing out a plethora of photo management systems, image galleries, flash templates, etc. You name it, I tried it. The planned portfolio theme will be packaged with a big slideshow on the homepage, three entry points to blog posts on the homepage and four widgetized areas. The theme will also come with the the custom Theme Options page, which allows for easy customization to help get you up and running in no time flat. When I get around to it, I will likely install this theme on my own personal photography site, which needs updating badly. The new theme will focus on simplicity with a modern feel. Plus, it will look great on mobile platforms, like the iPhone. So, if you have a Flash-based portfolio and want to make it accessible on mobile platforms, this theme will be for you.

In other news….

I rereleased Monochrome Pro this weekend with a new jquery slideshow. It allows for greater accessibility and the possibility of future “add on” features.

More Freebies

I’m releasing a modified version of the first edition of Monochrome Pro as a free download. It will be released under the GPL license.