diff --git a/app/components/photo-gallery.gjs b/app/components/photo-gallery.gjs
index fd6af55..f8283f7 100644
--- a/app/components/photo-gallery.gjs
+++ b/app/components/photo-gallery.gjs
@@ -7,10 +7,12 @@ import { service } from '@ember/service';
 import { modifier } from 'ember-modifier';
 import { task } from 'ember-concurrency';
 import { EventFactory } from 'applesauce-core';
+import or from 'ember-truth-helpers/helpers/or';
 import config from 'marco/config/environment';
 import DropdownMenu from './dropdown-menu';
 import PhotoCarousel from './photo-carousel';
 import Icon from './icon';
+import formatRelativeDate from '../helpers/format-relative-date';
 
 const GalleryContent = <template>
   <div
@@ -25,26 +27,41 @@ const GalleryContent = <template>
       class="photo-gallery-content"
       data-current-event-id={{@currentPhoto.eventId}}
     >
-      <div class="actions-btn-container">
-        <DropdownMenu
-          @iconSize={{24}}
-          @triggerIcon="more-horizontal"
-          @iconColor="white"
-          as |closeMenu|
-        >
-          <button
-            class="dropdown-item"
-            type="button"
-            {{on "click" (fn @copyEventId closeMenu)}}
-          >Copy Photo Event ID</button>
-          {{#if @canDeletePhoto}}
+      <div class="photo-gallery-header">
+        <div class="actions-btn-container">
+          <DropdownMenu
+            @iconSize={{24}}
+            @triggerIcon={{@triggerIcon}}
+            @iconColor="white"
+            as |closeMenu|
+          >
             <button
-              class="dropdown-item text-danger"
+              class="dropdown-item"
               type="button"
-              {{on "click" (fn @deletePhotoTask.perform closeMenu)}}
-            >Delete Photo</button>
-          {{/if}}
-        </DropdownMenu>
+              {{on "click" (fn @copyEventId closeMenu)}}
+            >Copy Photo Event ID</button>
+            {{#if @canDeletePhoto}}
+              <button
+                class="dropdown-item text-danger"
+                type="button"
+                {{on "click" (fn @deletePhotoTask.perform closeMenu)}}
+              >Delete Photo</button>
+            {{/if}}
+          </DropdownMenu>
+        </div>
+
+        {{#if (or @uploaderName @photoDate)}}
+          <div class="photo-gallery-uploader-info">
+            {{#if @uploaderName}}
+              <span class="photo-gallery-uploader-name">{{@uploaderName}}</span>
+            {{/if}}
+            {{#if @photoDate}}
+              <span class="photo-gallery-uploader-date">
+                {{formatRelativeDate @photoDate}}
+              </span>
+            {{/if}}
+          </div>
+        {{/if}}
       </div>
 
       <button
@@ -98,6 +115,13 @@ export default class PhotoGallery extends Component {
 
   @tracked currentPhoto = this.args.selectedPhoto || this.args.photos?.[0];
 
+  get triggerIcon() {
+    if (typeof window !== 'undefined' && window.innerWidth <= 768) {
+      return 'more-vertical';
+    }
+    return 'more-horizontal';
+  }
+
   get isCreator() {
     return (
       this.currentPhoto?.pubkey &&
@@ -112,6 +136,19 @@ export default class PhotoGallery extends Component {
     );
   }
 
+  get uploaderName() {
+    const pubkey = this.currentPhoto?.pubkey;
+    if (!pubkey) return null;
+    const profile = this.nostrData.getProfile?.(pubkey);
+    if (!profile) return null;
+    return profile.displayName || profile.display_name || profile.name || null;
+  }
+
+  get photoDate() {
+    const ts = this.currentPhoto?.publishedAt || this.currentPhoto?.createdAt;
+    return ts || null;
+  }
+
   bindKeyboard = modifier((element, [handler]) => {
     document.addEventListener('keydown', handler);
     return () => document.removeEventListener('keydown', handler);
@@ -131,7 +168,7 @@ export default class PhotoGallery extends Component {
       e.target.closest('.thumbnail-strip-container') ||
       e.target.closest('.carousel-nav-btn') ||
       e.target.closest('.close-btn') ||
-      e.target.closest('.actions-btn-container')
+      e.target.closest('.photo-gallery-header')
     ) {
       return;
     }
@@ -268,6 +305,9 @@ export default class PhotoGallery extends Component {
         @handleVisiblePhotoChange={{this.handleVisiblePhotoChange}}
         @placeName={{@placeName}}
         @selectPhoto={{this.selectPhoto}}
+        @uploaderName={{this.uploaderName}}
+        @photoDate={{this.photoDate}}
+        @triggerIcon={{this.triggerIcon}}
       />
     {{else}}
       {{#in-element this.destinationElement}}
@@ -284,6 +324,9 @@ export default class PhotoGallery extends Component {
           @handleVisiblePhotoChange={{this.handleVisiblePhotoChange}}
           @placeName={{@placeName}}
           @selectPhoto={{this.selectPhoto}}
+          @uploaderName={{this.uploaderName}}
+          @photoDate={{this.photoDate}}
+          @triggerIcon={{this.triggerIcon}}
         />
       {{/in-element}}
     {{/if}}
diff --git a/app/services/nostr-data.js b/app/services/nostr-data.js
index a10d1b3..a6e721d 100644
--- a/app/services/nostr-data.js
+++ b/app/services/nostr-data.js
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import Service, { service } from '@ember/service';
 import { tracked } from '@glimmer/tracking';
-import { from } from 'rxjs';
+import { EMPTY, from } from 'rxjs';
 import { EventStore } from 'applesauce-core/event-store';
 import { ProfileModel } from 'applesauce-core/models/profile';
 import { MailboxesModel } from 'applesauce-core/models/mailboxes';
@@ -17,9 +17,9 @@ import {
 import { getGeohashPrefixesInBbox } from '../utils/geohash-coverage';
 
 const DIRECTORY_RELAYS = [
-  'wss://purplepag.es',
-  'wss://relay.damus.io',
+  'wss://relay.primal.net',
   'wss://nos.lol',
+  'wss://relay.damus.io',
 ];
 
 const DEFAULT_READ_RELAYS = ['wss://nostr.kosmos.org'];
@@ -48,11 +48,25 @@ export default class NostrDataService extends Service {
 
   _requestSub = null;
   _cachePromise = null;
+  _currentPlaceEntityId = null;
   loadedGeohashPrefixes = new Set();
 
   constructor() {
     super(...arguments);
 
+    // Set up the event loader synchronously so that any subscription
+    // (e.g. loadProfiles from a route's afterModel) can auto-fetch even
+    // before the IndexedDB cache has finished opening. The cacheRequest
+    // is lazy — it returns EMPTY until `this.cache` is available, so the
+    // loader falls through to relay hints → lookup relays in the meantime.
+    createEventLoaderForStore(this.store, this.nostrRelay.pool, {
+      cacheRequest: (filters) => {
+        if (!this.cache) return EMPTY;
+        return from(this.cache.query(filters));
+      },
+      lookupRelays: DIRECTORY_RELAYS,
+    });
+
     // Initialize the IndexedDB cache
     this._cachePromise = openDB('applesauce-events').then(async (db) => {
       this.cache = new NostrIDB(db, {
@@ -85,13 +99,6 @@ export default class NostrDataService extends Service {
           maxBatchSize: 100,
         }
       );
-
-      // Set up the event loader so replaceable/event subscriptions auto-fetch
-      // from cache → relay hints → lookup relays with batching and dedup
-      createEventLoaderForStore(this.store, this.nostrRelay.pool, {
-        cacheRequest: (filters) => from(this.cache.query(filters)),
-        lookupRelays: DIRECTORY_RELAYS,
-      });
     });
 
     // Feed events from the relay pool into the event store
@@ -223,6 +230,18 @@ export default class NostrDataService extends Service {
   }
 
   async loadPhotosForPlace(place) {
+    const entityId =
+      place && place.osmId && place.osmType
+        ? `osm:${place.osmType}:${place.osmId}`
+        : null;
+
+    // Skip the full reset if we're loading the same place again (e.g. from
+    // checkUpdates calling selectPlace a second time). This prevents tearing
+    // down timeline and profile subscriptions that are still in-flight.
+    if (entityId && entityId === this._currentPlaceEntityId) {
+      return;
+    }
+
     if (this._photosSub) {
       this._photosSub.unsubscribe();
       this._photosSub = null;
@@ -230,13 +249,12 @@ export default class NostrDataService extends Service {
 
     this.placePhotos = [];
     this._clearProfileSubs();
+    this._currentPlaceEntityId = entityId;
 
-    if (!place || !place.osmId || !place.osmType) {
+    if (!entityId) {
       return;
     }
 
-    const entityId = `osm:${place.osmType}:${place.osmId}`;
-
     // Setup reactive store query
     this._photosSub = this.store
       .timeline([
@@ -507,12 +525,12 @@ export default class NostrDataService extends Service {
       this._contributionsSub.unsubscribe();
       this._contributionsSub = null;
     }
-    this._clearProfileSubs();
   }
 
   willDestroy() {
     super.willDestroy(...arguments);
     this._cleanupSubscriptions();
+    this._clearProfileSubs();
 
     if (this._stopPersisting) {
       this._stopPersisting();
diff --git a/app/styles/app.css b/app/styles/app.css
index 464a703..47f243e 100644
--- a/app/styles/app.css
+++ b/app/styles/app.css
@@ -2151,17 +2151,73 @@ button.create-place {
   background: #f0f0f0;
 }
 
-/* Actions button in photo gallery */
-.photo-gallery-overlay .actions-btn-container {
+/* Photo gallery header (actions button + uploader info) */
+.photo-gallery-overlay .photo-gallery-header {
   position: absolute;
   top: 0.5rem;
-  left: 0.5rem;
-  width: 48px;
-  height: 48px;
+  left: 1rem;
   z-index: 10;
   display: flex;
+  flex-direction: column;
+  align-items: flex-start;
+  gap: 0.25rem;
+}
+
+.photo-gallery-overlay .photo-gallery-header .actions-btn-container {
+  position: relative;
+  z-index: 2;
+  height: 48px;
+  display: flex;
   align-items: center;
-  justify-content: center;
+  justify-content: flex-start;
+  flex-shrink: 0;
+}
+
+/* Uploader info (name + date) in photo gallery */
+.photo-gallery-overlay .photo-gallery-uploader-info {
+  color: rgb(255 255 255 / 90%);
+  display: flex;
+  flex-direction: column;
+  gap: 0.1rem;
+  pointer-events: none;
+  text-shadow: 0 1px 2px rgb(0 0 0 / 60%);
+  max-width: calc(100vw - 4rem);
+  overflow: hidden;
+}
+
+.photo-gallery-overlay .photo-gallery-uploader-name {
+  font-size: 0.95rem;
+  font-weight: 600;
+  white-space: nowrap;
+  overflow: hidden;
+  text-overflow: ellipsis;
+}
+
+.photo-gallery-overlay .photo-gallery-uploader-date {
+  font-size: 0.8rem;
+  color: rgb(255 255 255 / 70%);
+  white-space: nowrap;
+}
+
+@media (width <= 768px) {
+  .photo-gallery-overlay .photo-gallery-header {
+    flex-direction: row;
+    align-items: flex-start;
+    gap: 0.5rem;
+    left: 0.5rem;
+  }
+
+  .photo-gallery-overlay .photo-gallery-header .actions-btn-container {
+    width: 48px;
+    justify-content: center;
+  }
+
+  .photo-gallery-overlay .photo-gallery-uploader-info {
+    flex-direction: row;
+    align-items: center;
+    gap: 0.35rem;
+    align-self: center;
+  }
 }
 
 /* Snappy slide-in from left (Desktop) */
diff --git a/app/utils/contributions.js b/app/utils/contributions.js
index 3b5f60a..f4f4cfc 100644
--- a/app/utils/contributions.js
+++ b/app/utils/contributions.js
@@ -94,11 +94,14 @@ function parsePhotoFromEvent(event) {
   if (!url) return null;
 
   const placeIdentifier = tags.find((t) => t[0] === 'i')?.[1];
+  const publishedAtRaw = tags.find((t) => t[0] === 'published_at')?.[1];
+  const publishedAt = publishedAtRaw ? Number(publishedAtRaw) : null;
 
   return {
     eventId: event.id,
     pubkey: event.pubkey,
     createdAt: event.created_at,
+    publishedAt: publishedAt && publishedAt > 0 ? publishedAt : null,
     url,
     thumbUrl,
     blurhash,
diff --git a/app/utils/nostr.js b/app/utils/nostr.js
index 3d43772..825af44 100644
--- a/app/utils/nostr.js
+++ b/app/utils/nostr.js
@@ -69,6 +69,10 @@ export function parsePlacePhotos(events) {
       let aspectRatio = 16 / 9; // default
       let altText = null;
       let placeIdentifier = event.tags.find((t) => t[0] === 'i')?.[1];
+      const publishedAtRaw = event.tags.find(
+        (t) => t[0] === 'published_at'
+      )?.[1];
+      const publishedAt = publishedAtRaw ? Number(publishedAtRaw) : null;
 
       for (const tag of imeta.slice(1)) {
         if (tag.startsWith('url ')) {
@@ -98,6 +102,7 @@ export function parsePlacePhotos(events) {
           eventId: event.id,
           pubkey: event.pubkey,
           createdAt: event.created_at,
+          publishedAt: publishedAt && publishedAt > 0 ? publishedAt : null,
           url,
           thumbUrl,
           blurhash,
diff --git a/tests/helpers/mock-nostr.js b/tests/helpers/mock-nostr.js
index 40ed0f0..322f00b 100644
--- a/tests/helpers/mock-nostr.js
+++ b/tests/helpers/mock-nostr.js
@@ -36,11 +36,16 @@ export class MockNostrDataService extends Service {
   @tracked mailboxes = null;
   @tracked blossomServers = [];
   @tracked placePhotos = [];
+  @tracked profiles = {};
 
   store = {
     add: () => {},
   };
 
+  getProfile(pubkey) {
+    return this.profiles[pubkey];
+  }
+
   get activeReadRelays() {
     return [];
   }
diff --git a/tests/integration/components/photo-gallery-test.gjs b/tests/integration/components/photo-gallery-test.gjs
index 0cee6af..5e607af 100644
--- a/tests/integration/components/photo-gallery-test.gjs
+++ b/tests/integration/components/photo-gallery-test.gjs
@@ -339,4 +339,143 @@ module('Integration | Component | photo-gallery', function (hooks) {
     await triggerKeyEvent(document, 'keydown', 'Escape');
     assert.ok(closed, 'gallery was closed on escape key');
   });
+
+  test('it renders uploader name and date when profile is loaded', async function (assert) {
+    const displayName = 'Alice';
+    const publishedAt = Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000) - 60 * 60 * 24; // 1 day ago
+
+    this.nostrData.profiles = {
+      [USER_A]: { displayName, display_name: 'ignored', name: 'ignored' },
+    };
+
+    this.photos = [
+      {
+        eventId: 'event1',
+        pubkey: USER_A,
+        placeIdentifier: 'osm:node:12345',
+        url: 'https://example.com/photo.jpg',
+        publishedAt,
+        createdAt: publishedAt + 10,
+      },
+    ];
+    this.selectedPhoto = this.photos[0];
+
+    await render(
+      <template>
+        <div id="test-container">
+          <div id="modal-portal"></div>
+          <PhotoGallery
+            @photos={{this.photos}}
+            @selectedPhoto={{this.selectedPhoto}}
+          />
+        </div>
+      </template>
+    );
+
+    assert
+      .dom('.photo-gallery-uploader-name')
+      .hasText(displayName, 'uploader name is rendered');
+    assert
+      .dom('.photo-gallery-uploader-date')
+      .exists('date element is rendered');
+  });
+
+  test('it prefers published_at over created_at for the date', async function (assert) {
+    this.nostrData.profiles = {
+      [USER_A]: { displayName: 'Alice' },
+    };
+
+    const publishedAt = Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000) - 60 * 60 * 24 * 3; // 3 days ago
+    const createdAt = Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000) - 60; // 1 min ago
+
+    this.photos = [
+      {
+        eventId: 'event1',
+        pubkey: USER_A,
+        url: 'https://example.com/photo.jpg',
+        publishedAt,
+        createdAt,
+      },
+    ];
+    this.selectedPhoto = this.photos[0];
+
+    await render(
+      <template>
+        <div id="test-container">
+          <div id="modal-portal"></div>
+          <PhotoGallery
+            @photos={{this.photos}}
+            @selectedPhoto={{this.selectedPhoto}}
+          />
+        </div>
+      </template>
+    );
+
+    // Should show "3 days ago" (publishedAt), not "just now" (createdAt)
+    assert.dom('.photo-gallery-uploader-date').hasText('3 days ago');
+  });
+
+  test('it does not render uploader info when profile is missing', async function (assert) {
+    this.nostrData.profiles = {};
+
+    this.photos = [
+      {
+        eventId: 'event1',
+        pubkey: USER_A,
+        url: 'https://example.com/photo.jpg',
+        createdAt: Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000),
+      },
+    ];
+    this.selectedPhoto = this.photos[0];
+
+    await render(
+      <template>
+        <div id="test-container">
+          <div id="modal-portal"></div>
+          <PhotoGallery
+            @photos={{this.photos}}
+            @selectedPhoto={{this.selectedPhoto}}
+          />
+        </div>
+      </template>
+    );
+
+    assert
+      .dom('.photo-gallery-uploader-name')
+      .doesNotExist('uploader name is not rendered without profile');
+    // Date should still render since createdAt is present
+    assert.dom('.photo-gallery-uploader-date').exists('date is still rendered');
+  });
+
+  test('it falls back through displayName -> display_name -> name', async function (assert) {
+    this.nostrData.profiles = {
+      [USER_A]: { display_name: 'Bob', name: 'Robert' },
+    };
+
+    this.photos = [
+      {
+        eventId: 'event1',
+        pubkey: USER_A,
+        url: 'https://example.com/photo.jpg',
+        createdAt: Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000) - 60,
+      },
+    ];
+    this.selectedPhoto = this.photos[0];
+
+    await render(
+      <template>
+        <div id="test-container">
+          <div id="modal-portal"></div>
+          <PhotoGallery
+            @photos={{this.photos}}
+            @selectedPhoto={{this.selectedPhoto}}
+          />
+        </div>
+      </template>
+    );
+
+    assert
+      .dom('.photo-gallery-uploader-name')
+      .hasText('Bob', 'falls back to display_name when displayName is missing');
+  });
 });
diff --git a/tests/unit/utils/nostr-test.js b/tests/unit/utils/nostr-test.js
index 61895a7..dfd770d 100644
--- a/tests/unit/utils/nostr-test.js
+++ b/tests/unit/utils/nostr-test.js
@@ -210,6 +210,66 @@ module('Unit | Utility | nostr', function () {
     assert.strictEqual(photos[0].alt, null);
   });
 
+  test('parsePlacePhotos extracts published_at when present', function (assert) {
+    const events = [
+      {
+        id: 'event-1',
+        pubkey: 'pubkey-1',
+        created_at: 200,
+        tags: [
+          ['i', 'osm:node:123'],
+          ['published_at', '100'],
+          ['imeta', 'url https://example.com/photo.jpg', 'dim 800x600'],
+        ],
+      },
+    ];
+
+    const photos = parsePlacePhotos(events);
+
+    assert.strictEqual(photos.length, 1);
+    assert.strictEqual(photos[0].publishedAt, 100);
+    assert.strictEqual(photos[0].createdAt, 200);
+  });
+
+  test('parsePlacePhotos sets publishedAt to null when not present', function (assert) {
+    const events = [
+      {
+        id: 'event-1',
+        pubkey: 'pubkey-1',
+        created_at: 200,
+        tags: [
+          ['i', 'osm:node:123'],
+          ['imeta', 'url https://example.com/photo.jpg', 'dim 800x600'],
+        ],
+      },
+    ];
+
+    const photos = parsePlacePhotos(events);
+
+    assert.strictEqual(photos.length, 1);
+    assert.strictEqual(photos[0].publishedAt, null);
+  });
+
+  test('parsePlacePhotos ignores invalid published_at values', function (assert) {
+    const events = [
+      {
+        id: 'event-1',
+        pubkey: 'pubkey-1',
+        created_at: 200,
+        tags: [
+          ['i', 'osm:node:123'],
+          ['published_at', 'not-a-number'],
+          ['imeta', 'url https://example.com/photo.jpg', 'dim 800x600'],
+        ],
+      },
+    ];
+
+    const photos = parsePlacePhotos(events);
+
+    assert.strictEqual(photos.length, 1);
+    assert.strictEqual(photos[0].publishedAt, null);
+  });
+
   test('uniqNormalizedRelays returns normalized unique relays', function (assert) {
     const relays = uniqNormalizedRelays([
       'Relay.example.com',