---
title: A Photo Site That Generated Itself From a Folder
description: A Webpack script that turns a folder of photos into a static site with responsive image variants. Mostly here as an excuse to talk about walks.
date: 2026-04-27
projectPeriod: 'Summer 2016'
thumbnail:
  src: ./_assets/photos.jpg
  alt: Screenshot of a generated photography site.
tags: ['web', 'tools']
role: Site generator author
stack: ['Webpack', 'Image processing', 'Static site generation']
outcome: A photography site that updated itself when I dropped new images into a folder
audience: general
links: []
---

I take walks with a camera. Most of what I shoot isn't good, but the act of walking slowly with a frame to think about is the most reliable way I know to come back with an idea for whatever I'm working on. In the summer of 2016 I wanted somewhere to put the few frames that survived, and I wasn't going to maintain a CMS for it.

So a Webpack script: point it at a directory of full-size photos, get a static site with responsive variants per image. Drop in a new photo, run the build, deploy. The pipeline mattered less than making the habit visible. The same habit later produced a [colour grader](/articles/photo-colour-grader/) for the same shots.

If I rebuilt it today I'd use Astro, which is what this site runs on.
