in this post, i want to explain how to create a simple neat javascript/css “fullscreen” image viewer, or more concretely, the one i implemented myself here on spielwiese. feel free to re-use the code. it is not garuanteed to work everywhere, but it works fine with firefox, konqueror and chromium/chrome, to my knowledge, and probably also with safari (as it is based on konqueror), and hopefully with opera and more modern versions of internet explorer. i didn’t include any hacks to make it work under older versions of internet explorer or other browsers, but feel free to enhance my version and add a link to yours in the comments here.
i assume that so far, you include your images using

<a href=”path/to/image.jpeg”><img src=”path/to/image-thumbnail.jpeg” /></a>.

this displays a thumbnail (called path/to/image-thumbnail.jpeg) and allows the user to click it, to be forwarded to the real image (called path/to/image.jpeg). maybe you also use an alt tag, or specify the size of the thumbnail. that doesn’t really matter.
the idea is to add a javascript onclick event to the <a> tag, which will become active once the link (i.e. the image) is clicked and show the “popup”. in case the user disabled javascript, everything will fall back to the old behaviour: the user will be redirected to the image and no harm is done by the addition of the new code. the above html code has to be modified as follows:

<a href=”path/to/image.jpeg” onclick=”showPicture(‘path/to/image.jpeg’)“><img src=”path/to/image-thumbnail.jpeg” /></a>

the addition is printed in bold. the drawback of this method is that you have to replicate the image’s name, but then, you already had to do that for the thumbnail, and if you have automated the whole process, changing your script to insert this part shouldn’t be any problem.
so now let me show you how to implement the showPicture() function.

 1<script type="text/javascript">
 2//<![CDATA[
 3function showPicture(url) {
 4  document.body.style.overflow = "hidden";
 5  el = document.createElement("div");
 6  el.style.cssText = "background: black; color: white; position: fixed; left: 0px; top: 0px; width: 100%; height: 100%; text-align: center; z-index: 1000;";
 7  el.onclick = Function("this.parentNode.removeChild(this); document.body.style.overflow = 'visible';");
 8  var code = '<div style="width: 100%; height: 100%; display: table; position: static; overflow: hidden;"><div style="display: table-cell; vertical-align: middle; width:100%;">';
 9  code += '<img onclick="this.parentNode.parentNode.parentNode.removeChild( this.parentNode.parentNode); document.body.style.overflow = \'visible\';" ';
10  code += 'style="max-width:' + window.innerWidth + 'px; max-height: ' + (window.innerHeight - 20) + 'px;" src="' + url + '" /><br />';
11  code += 'click the photo to return to the blog. click <a href="' + url + '">here</a> to go to the image file. copyright &copy; by whoever.';
12  code += '</div></div>';
13  el.innerHTML = code; 
14  document.documentElement.appendChild(el);
15  return false;
16}
17//]]>
18</script>

here’s my project 52 shot for the thirtyth week. the topic was

the big blue.

when i read this topic, i had to think of the morteratsch glacier, especially the dark blue grotto which is visible on some of the photos i took there. but when this topic was announced, my trip to the morteratsch glacier was already three days ago, and we are not supposed to take archive photos. besides that, i had no perfect photo from that grotto. so i waited, until i visited the next glacier: the rhône glacier. as opposed to this view of the glacier, the photo for this topic had to be taken inside the glacier, where it is deep blue. but this is not a problem at the rhône glacier, as every year, they dig a grotto into the glacier which you can enter. they also installed lights, usually hidden behind ice, which amplify the bluish tones. this was the perfect place to take a photo for this topic, in my opinion. and here it is! please click the photo to get a larger version:

technical details: 1/100s, f/2.8, 16mm fisheye, iso 400.

here’s my project 52 shot for the twentyninth week. the topic was

gepunktet.

here, i chose another motive from norway, at the coast of the barents sea. while having my feet in the ice-cold water, i spotted this dotted rock. a closer look revealed that the dots actually have a nice structure. (if anyone has an idea what this is, please tell me.) anyway, this was the perfect motive for this topic. please click the photo to get a larger version:

technical details: 1/125s, f/5, 105mm, iso 400.

here’s my project 52 shot for the twentyeighth week. the topic was

postkartenmotiv.

as a motive for this topic, i chose the rhône glacier. please click the photo to get a larger version:

technical details: 1/2500s, f/8, 18mm, iso 400.

here’s my project 52 shot for the twentyseventh week. the topic was

fruchtig.

today, i was eating something very fruity: something with marrons. please click the photo to get a larger version:

technical details: 10s, f/20, 105mm, iso 200.

here’s my project 52 shot for the twentysixth week. the topic was

summer of love.

this is a topic i spend quite some time thinking about it. finally, while being in norway at the coast of the barents sea, i had a simple idea which i really liked, much more than all previous ones. at the coast, i saw a lot of mussel shells. broken open, and when viewed from the right direction, having a heart shape. mussels and beach are often associated with summer, so there was the connection. using something like a broken mussel shell, partially covered with sand and water, as an image for love is not that straightforward, i know. i chose it anyway. please click the photo to get a larger version:

technical details: 1/160s, f/5, 105mm, iso 400.

here’s my project 52 shot for the twentyfifth week. the topic was

architektur.

i like old buildings. in particular, fortified places, like castles, might they be still intact or broken into pieces. this photo is from turun linna, turku’s castle, a view into the courtyard. please click the photo to get a larger version:

technical details: 1/80s, f/8, 18mm, iso 400.

the project 52 topic for the twentyfourth week would be bällebad: a ball pit. well. the obvious choice is that thing i remember from my childhood, seeing it near the entrance of ikea stores: a huge glass box filled with balls, where kids can play in. well. this topic leaves me pretty much without choices. either i find a huge amount of balls, whatever size they might have, and photograph them alltogether in a box, maybe with something playing in them, or i skip this topic. i decided for the latter choice.

here’s my project 52 shot for the twentythird week. the topic was

friedliche idylle.

i took this photo of a peaceful idyll at the furka pass in central switzerland. silence, fresh air, a wonderful view, a few fluffy clouds here and there – just so beautiful, so perfect. please click the photo to get a larger version:

technical details: 1/1000s, f/8, 18mm, iso 200.

here’s my project 52 shot for the twentysecond week. the topic was

kopfkino.

when visiting the morteratsch glacier, i saw a polar bear. well. i guess i was the only one, but in my mind, i had the clear image of a polar bear tromping through the the glacier’s fractures, ignoring its human viewers. not as cute and fluffy as knut, but in my eyes, just as elegant, polar bearish. (and much less dangerous.) for me, this really fits well to the topic mental cinema, since unfortunately, this polar bear only existed in mine… please click the photo to get a larger version:

technical details: 1/800s, f/5.6, 400mm, iso 200.