comm des research (or lets make my presentation easier if i can use a projector)

masters of photography
This is the website i mostly got my idea from. It contains loads of information but the design isn't brilliant, it's very simple and uses tables for its text based layout, and it's absolutley full of pop ups and google ads, which makes it very frustrating to use, even with a popup blocker. They tried to do something with the font for headers, and the graphics used aren't great but they are kind of relevant to the subject, but the layout lets it down. there's the oppurtunity to do alot more with the design, i think.
The layout of the navigation is a bit confusing, each photographer has their own section, which contains links to articles, photographs and resources.

profotos
This is the 'masters' section of a website that's a photography community. In other sections photographers can post links to their websites and get feedback, which i think is a great idea. But the design of this website really confuses me! what the hell i going on with the man in an anorak? with that massive lens he looks like a pervert. There's a rock face in the background aswell, i don't think the images used really convey what this website is about, it's meant to be a photographic resource and community but it looks like a website for anorak wearing, clock climbing, telephoto lens abusing old men.

fox talbot museum
This website is so terrible i had to include it. Everything wrong with the internet is symbolised by this page. Well, almost.

but there are some nice websites out there...

nicephore-niepce
French website by the Paris photo school about the inventor of photography. The index page uses a very image based design, with and 'olde worlde' font, which gives the website a very historical feel. The main website uses frames to make a layout which allows for a lot of information and text to be contained on the pages. I think this is a good website because it has a sense of identity, it knows the message it wants to get across to it's audience.
also, when i say the web site name it souds like "nice for niepce" which i think is nice.

Jerry Uelsmann
there is hope!
and it comes in the form of the official website for the photographer Jerry Uelsmann, who's great.
It's a flash based website, which uses simple graphics in a very effective way. Makes me go "OOOOH", and makes the navigation enjoyable to use. Large amounts of text are in scroll boxes which leaves more space for lots of images, I think a similar layout could easily be produced with div layers. I like this website because it feels like you're interacting with it, not just using it. And it has lots of interesting stuff on there.