I'm looking for an application or a software library that will allow me to create a photo gallery with the following features:
1. Generate a photo gallery (HTML, PDF, whatever) that is easily sharable. In 2022, this means HTTP, but doesn't have to be HTML (a PDF could work well too).
2. I must be able to support photos with captions.
3. I should be able to view this photo gallery for the next 20 - 50 years without much maintenance (preferably none).
4. I need something that makes editing reasonably simple. Basically I should be able to present the application a directory of photos and their associated captions, and it can generate the gallery.
The reason to do this is so I can create long-lasting memories with photos.
I've evaluated a few options:
1. Something like sigal + photoswipe: This might be okay, but the complexity of the JavaScript library does not inspire confidence for long-term durability.
2. Physical photo album: ticks almost all the boxes, except it is costly to edit and not easy to share.
3. Word/libreoffice documents or presentations converted to PDF: I suspect the durability will be good, but the editing is a bit painful (as sizing the photos and pages are a bit difficult).
4. LaTeX with beamer: editing is not great, formatting is not great.
5. Something custom, perhaps sigal + a very basic HTML theme without JS: I'll likely have to perform maintenance over the years.
Are there anything else? Is "modern" technology simply not good enough for long-term, durable archives?
Doesn't exist. Print them on archival-quality paper.
Oddly enough I believe Lightroom Classic still has a feature just like this. Select up all the photos you want (or an album etc) and it can generate some pretty stock (bells / whistles included) HTML that you can publish out to whatever with your pictures. Pretty basic HTML stuff that should be parseable for a long long time