Use Last Gallery Slide as Introductory Banner

Looking for a more aesthetic way to have my home page open to the fonted banner I have as the last image in my gallery reel. What I don't like is how it abruptly loads and then immediately starts fading into the next image. Would like perhaps to slowly fade into it initially and then sit for a second before moving into the next slide. Any other ideas are welcome however. I just want it to work better than it does currently.

https://themellowestspace.com/