Thanks everyone, and Jill I do have a version with text on the left.
The website I'm building in the background is setup that way currently and I do like it.
other thing to note, this year mobile searches surpassed desktop searches. So this site will be responsive. When viewed on phone most of the pics will disappear so the user has a simple clean interface which is what mobile users want.
one of the examples above has white text floating, and it is easier to read.
i will also eliminate the watermark and probable the background textures.