Inside the Digital Photography Tutorial Link I posted earlier there is an offer for a Free-Digital Photo Editing Program from Google, Picasa 3. Depending on the capabilities you currently have on your computer you may or may not be interested in this software. If you currently do not have any Digital Editing capabilities this software has all of the basic features as well as some advanced features and even if you have Digital Editing capabilities this software may have some features you do not currently have.

I downloaded this software even though I already have several other similar programs because I wanted to check out all it's features and functionality and ease of use. It does have a couple of features that I don't have with my existing programs. I can tell you that it is a safe program from Google and it is a fairly straight forward download process. If you have any interest al all I suggest you click on and view the, See What's New In Picasa 3, video clip on the link page and then decide for yourself. The Uninstall process is also straight forward should you decide you don't want to keep it.

During the installation process you will have the option of deciding how the software will function within your system. I do not recommend that you have Picasa 3 become your default picture viewer or have it be part of your Quick Launch programs. During the install Picasa 3 will search your computer for photos and create it's own image library folders, it will not change any current folders.

I Do Not recommend you install this program If you do not feel comfortable downloading and installing new programs. This program is rather clean in that it Does Not try to integrate itself and have tentacles reaching into your other programs the way some do.

All-In-All I find this software to offer considerably more than your basic digital photo editing packages but not nearly the features of the full blown Adobe PhotoShop BUT it's Free and from a very reputable source. Please post any questions.



Picasa 3 Free Download From Google


This Feature Is Kind of Fun, I Played with It For Just A Few Minutes

Tom,

I've been using Picasa which was a suggestion from Kevin on my asking. I think most people will never use Photoshop to its fullest and it's a very expensive software program. I find Picasa very easy to use and it has just about all you need for easy editing. There's so many editing gadgets inside my D90 that I haven't even gotten to use yet. These camera's are very sophisticated and take a long time to get to know all the little things that you can accomplish.
One of you guys said it before, if you start with a good photo, there's not much that really needs to be done for good results except to crop and a light tough up.
Thanks for posting this for all to see.

Best,
Warren

Warren,

I agree 100% with your comments. Even low cost Digital Point & Shoot cameras have more features than 95% will ever use. I can't even imagine what features a high end digital SLR has on board. I have never purchased digital photo editing software because there is so much good stuff out there for free. Several years ago I purchased a new printer and much to my surprise there was a package on the install disk called MGI Photo Suite which has almost all the features that PhotoShop has. Last year I installed a DVD in my PC and on that disk was a photo package that contained most of the advanced features found in Photo Shop and now I see that Picasa 3 can be had for nothing. That's why I like to at look at all the free stuff because you never know what's out there unless you try it. Most of the features on all these programs are fun to play with but in reality they are not features that will get much use. For the most part, cropping, resizing, contrast, brightness and basic color adjustments are the only features that are really necessary.

AHHHHH ... Many good Pizzerias in NYC.
The Italians who came here, like my Grandparents, would not have it
any other way!
I'll have to try MEZZOGIORNO soon!! It's close to where I work, occasionaly.
Tony

Here is a picture I call All of the Marbles.
I still need some work on my close up photography and want to try some different backgrounds too.

Peter

Peter,

I have the original oldies of some of those very same models. Nice picture. Here's an idea for you to try. If you notice the fine detail is not sharp, as in the lettering. You might try a tripod to eliminate any camera shake. Tripods are fairly inexpensive and I think you'll get good use out of it especially when taking pictures in low light.
The next thing is the light source. The knife at the bottom is under exposed. You can't see the name on the knife. You probably need to get a brighter light source or move the light source closer to the subject. The fact that you're getting "hot" spots tells me that the light may not be properly diffused to scatter the light evenly. If you're taking photos outdoors, the afternoon light out of the sun is ideal and gives good light with the proper color balance. Artificial light is tricky, especially fluorescent. Make sure if you do use fluorescent, to use "daylight" corrected bulbs otherwise you'll need to adjust the color balance somewhere in editing.
This isn't complicated, if you keep it simple you'll get good results, the right colors, and no editing later on.
I got so frustrated with taking indoor photos that I built a light box. I posted the photos of it somewhere within this thread. I find taking photos outdoors gives the best results but that's not always possible so the box is the second best option.
We have some other rather intelligent people here that
I'll ask to weigh in on this topic and give their recommendations on your photo. Thanks for your post.

Best,
Warren

Peter,

I had the light box out snapping some other photos and you inspired me to re-create your display with some vintage Marbles. This is about the best I can do without daylight.

Best,
Warren

Here is a frozen waterfall I had to ski past every day last week!
I almost always stopped to admire it ... especially since there was a steep
downhill about 10 feet to the left in this picture!
Tony

Plenty of snow up there! This is out the back door of our rented ski house
on the lower (hot tub) level... OUTSIDE! ...where much beer and cigars were
consumed while soaking away a day of skiing/snowshoeing.
Tony

Hi Warren
Thanks for the advice, I do have a tripod, but I was in a hurry when I took the picture. I need to spend some time when it warms up and take some pictures in natural light.
You have a nice set of Marbles knives too.

Peter