There's an old saw that goes something like: "Fast, Good, Cheap. Pick any two." That adage seems to fit here. If you want a quality product you're going to have to invest some resources whether they're time, money, or both.

Let's look at this project from a 5000' level with a Drupal mindset. Basically you want an inventory of images (think "Nodes" or a Custom Content Type) that can be easily managed. These images have attributes (categories, think "Taxonomy" and "Terms"). You want a way to display images in a category (think "Views"). You want these displays formatted to fit your preferences (think "Themeing").

If you want to tackle this project yourself, you'll find some guidance, I think, in the book Using Drupal, which is generally highly recommended.

There's no doubt that learning Drupal from scratch and by yourself can be a daunting task. That's been the experience of many of us, including me. However, a characteristic of well built Drupal sites is that once built they can be maintained by non-technical individuals. You might want to engage someone to work with you to build a site that's easy for you to maintain.

Just some thoughts,
Curt

There is no doubt that I must tackle the project myself. I'm still a working guy.

I have noticed a lot of interest here in Drupal. And that may be the way I need to go. I'll see if I can find the book and leaf through it to see if I can even grasp the basics. The work of learning new languages and ideas is always rewarding, but it takes so much time and attention.

Here's a link to the book's website. There's a link there to Chapter 9. Ironically, Chapter 8 deals with a photo gallery.

Curt

Thanks for the link. I just downloaded the file.

You know, that's a really ugly squirrel on the cover of the book. And he looks very old, like mid-1800s. What scares me is that he's still trying to crack that nut. I just hope that isn't what I will look like in 10 years, still trying to crack the Drupal nut.

Anyway, I do appreciate the helpful input. Thanks again, Curt!