Overview

Our website offers two different photo systems:

• PhotoPrism – powerful search, albums, maps, and timeline
• Synology Photos – simple browsing for people who prefer a familiar layout

Both systems have public and members‑only versions. This page explains how each one works and how to access them.

⭐ Public Photos (no login required)

How to open it

• Click Photos & Maps in the main menu
• Choose PhotoPrism Gallery

You will enter the public album showing thumbnail images of the collection along with further information about each photo below each thumbnail.

How to browse

One the lefthand side you will see the main navigation menu. This can be open or collapsed. If it is collapsed, you will see only a column of icons. To expand it to see the descriptions, click the right pointing arrow at the top, directly beneath the PhotoPrism icon.

You will enter the public album showing thumbnail images of the collection

• Albums shows all the collections of photos. There is only one public album which is called Public and contains the entire public collection.
• The remaining 4 icons do nothing in the public instance of PhotoPrism

How to view a photo

• Click any photo. It will open up the ‘lightbox’ view of a single picture
• At the top right there is a menu of icons that offer the following functions
  • The information icon opens up a side panel that shows
    • Title
    • Description
    • File details
    • Date if one has been set. Note that the date may be a recent date or 1/1/1800 if we have not yet assigned a real date taken to the photo.
    • Latitude and Longitude and the location of the photo subject based upon those coordinates
    • Map showing the photo location.
  • Zooms the photo but since the public photos are only 1024 pixels, this may have no effect depending upon your screen size. A better way to zoom is to use the mouse wheel or pinch on mobile
  • Play starts a slide show
  • Make PhotoPrism fill the screen. Use Esc to exit.
  • Allows the photo to be selected
  • Opens another menu that shows download which, in the public instance, is disabled

Navigating within the Lightbox

• Click on the > arrow to shift to the next photo or the < arrow for the previous one. You can also use the left or right arrows
• Click × or anywhere outside the photo to close the lightbox

Further information

PhotoPrism has a detailed help pages. Clicking on this link to open the user guide in a new tab. Please note that the Photoprism user guide contains a lot of information that is not relevant to our public instance of PhotoPrism.

• Instructions on navigating the user interface can be found at User Interface.

How to view a photo

• Click any photo. It will open up the ‘lightbox’ view of a single picture
• If you hover over a photo, you will see a menu of icons the top right that offer the following functions
  • Clicking on this icon opens a zoom submenu that you can use to zoom. Another way to zoom is to use the mouse wheel or pinch on mobile
  • The information icon opens up a side panel that shows
    • Description
    • Date if one has been set. Note that the date may be a recent date or 1/1/1800 if we have not yet assigned a real date taken to the photo.
    • File details
    • The location of the photo subject
  • Play starts a slide show

Navigating within the Lightbox

• Click on the > arrow to shift to the next photo or the < arrow for the previous one. You can also use the left or right arrows
• Click to close the lightbox

Further information

Synology Photos has a detailed help pages. Clicking on this link to open the Quick Start Guide in a new tab. Please note that the Synology Photos quick start guide contains a lot of information that is not relevant to our public instance of Synology Photos.

⭐ Members Photos (login required)

Logged in members have access to all the public photo collection and in addition to the collection of non-watermarked photos at a higher resolution.

Note that the help information above may also be relevant to logged in members because they have access to all the public resources in addition to the members only resources.

There are two gallery apps as described above. Before trying to access the member areas of either of the photo gallery apps, it helps if you have logged into the website as described in logging into the website.

Members PhotoPrism

This is the most powerful way to explore the Society’s photo archive. The procedure for logging in can be found in PhotoPrism login.

Once in you will

How to open it

• Click Members Resources in the main menu. Choose PhotoPrism Gallery
• Follow the login procedure if required as described in

You will enter the public album showing thumbnail images of the collection along with further information about each photo below each thumbnail.

How to browse

One the lefthand side you will see the main navigation menu. This can be open or collapsed. If it is collapsed, you will see only a column of icons. To expand it to see the descriptions, click the right pointing arrow at the top, directly beneath the PhotoPrism icon.

You will enter the public album showing thumbnail images of the collection

• Search lets you find photos by name or keyword. See how to search and filter photos below.
• Albums shows the collections of photos. The main one is called Public and contains the entire public collection.
• Media shows videos and live photos
• Places shows photos on a map
• Calendar shows photos by date
• Moments AI generated photo groupings by time
• Labels AI generate labels
• Folders Shows the folder structure. Not relevant at present because all members photos are in a single folder
• Settings Various settings can be altered

How to view a photo

• Click any photo. It will open up the ‘lightbox’ view of a single picture
• At the top right there is a menu of icons that offer the following functions
  • The information icon opens up a side panel that shows
    • Title
    • Description
    • File details
    • Date if one has been set. Note that the date may be a recent date or 1/1/1800 if we have not yet assigned a real date taken to the photo.
    • Latitude and Longitude and the location of the photo subject based upon those coordinates
    • Map showing the photo location.
• Zooms the photo. Another way to zoom is to use the mouse wheel or pinch on mobile
• Play starts a slide show
• Make PhotoPrism fill the screen. Use Esc to exit.
• Allows the photo to be selected
• Opens another menu that shows:
  • Download which allows the photo to be downloaded
  • Hide/Show caption which allows the caption to be shown or hiidden.

Navigating within the Lightbox

• Click on the > arrow to shift to the next photo or the < arrow for the previous one. You can also use the left or right arrows
• Click × or anywhere outside the photo to close the lightbox

How to search and filter photos

• Click Search
• A search box is stretches across the top of the window. If you type some text into it and hit enter, PhotoPrism will show photos where that text has been found in the metadata.
• Allows you to choose filters such as:
  • Countries
  • Display method
  • Dates
  • Colours
  • Camera type

Members Synology Photos

This is a simpler viewer for members who prefer a familiar layout.

The lefthand sidebar shows 3 icons

• Photos Shows the entire collection
• Albums shows any albums that you or the Digital Archivist have created
• Share which is not relevant for ordinary members

How to view a photo

• Click any photo. It will open up the ‘lightbox’ view of a single picture
• If you hover over a photo, you will see a menu of icons the top right that offer the following functions
  • Favorite Clicking on this adds the photo to your favorites album that can be viewed via the Albums icon in the lefthand sidebar.
  • Zoom Clicking on this icon opens a zoom submenu that you can use to zoom. Another way to zoom is to use the mouse wheel or pinch on mobile
  • The information icon opens up a side panel that shows
    • Description
    • Date if one has been set. Note that the date may be a recent date or 1/1/1800 if we have not yet assigned a real date taken to the photo.
    • File details
    • The location of the photo subject
  • Play starts a slide show
  • Opens another menu that shows:
    • Play Slideshow
    • Download Allows the photo to be downloaded if you are authorized
    • Add to Album Allows you to create an album to which you can add photos in order to organize your personal collection
    • Generate Preview This is not necessary for any of our photos. Do not use.
    • Copy To This is not necessary for any of our photos. Do not use.

Navigating within the Lightbox

• Click on the > arrow to shift to the next photo or the < arrow for the previous one. You can also use the left or right arrows
• Click to close the lightbox

⭐ Which system should I use?

Use PhotoPrism if you want:

• search
• maps
• timeline
• albums
• Moments
• Calendar
• fast browsing
• mobile‑friendly viewing

Use Synology Photos if you want:

• a simple layout
• basic albums
• familiar folder‑style browsing
• no advanced features

Both systems show the same public photos. Members systems show the same members‑only photos.

⭐ Troubleshooting

I can see public photos but not members photos

You are not logged in. Go to Members Area and sign in.

PhotoPrism says “unauthorized”

Your login session expired. Log in again through Members Area.

Synology Photos asks for a password again

Synology sometimes requires a second login. Use the same member username and password.

Photos are slow to load

Try using Chrome, Edge, or Safari. Older browsers may struggle with PhotoPrism.

📞 Need Help?

For general website problems please contact the website administrator via the contact form and select Website.

If you cannot access the Members area or believe you should have additional permissions, please contact the website administrator via the contact form and select Member’s Access Problems.