In the interface for Thesis, go here, and look for this…

WordPress > Thesis > Site Options > Design Options > Display Options > Header

[x] Show site name in header

Change this selection to not-checked. Same goes for tagline, if selected. Save. You will no longer have a header div with populated text.

Now for your PHP section. OpenHook is not a herd favorite.

Our method would be to add this to your custom_functions.php file… if it is your first-ever edit, at the bottom should be dandy…

function mule_header() {
?>
<div class="mule-header">
<a href="YOURSITE.COM">
<img src="YOURSITE.COM/IMAGE_PATH"
width="900" height="169" alt="add alt text here" />
</a>
</div>
<?php
}
add_action('thesis_hook_before_header', 'mule_header');

remove_action('thesis_hook_before_header', 'thesis_nav_menu');
add_action('thesis_hook_after_header', 'thesis_nav_menu');

Where YOURSITE.COM will be the link destination.

The URL for your image, to replace “IMAGE_PATH” above, would be…

wp-content/uploads/2012/02/2-Photo-Coach-Zen-Banner.jpg

Your banner becomes a linked image with modifiable alt text… and the navigation should flip below it.

To remove the visible padding on the now-empty header div, in custom.css, add…

.custom #header { padding-bottom: 0em; padding-top: 0em; }

On the photo question… the herd quietly plays here as time allows…

http://mulehides.com/photomules/

Cheers.