Not bad.  Looks like I'm looking at it in wide screen mode on a standard television.

I would just reduce the contrast by one or two clicks, to get a little more detail in the shadows.

The shot has amazing colours against the deep dark plane. Wonderful!

But I'm not a fan of the 2 black bands. The lower one isn't visible due to the dark plane. So one might think you've chopped off a piece of the picture on the top...

get photoshop.  I have photoshop elements 5.0 and love it.  I still have lots to learn about it though.  Photoshop Elements will run you about 80 bucks.  The full photoshop version is quite a bit more expensive than that.

Just my $0.02

Hi Doug,

What you are saying is correct to some extent, but Photoshop elements is way more powerfull and above all makes it a lot easier to perform post-processing. Irfanview is usable to resize and rotate shots, but when it comes to adjusting levels, sharpening, denoising, etc. I always use photoshop.

I'm not saying that everyone should have it, but it's not a big investment if you are into photography and it gives you all you need to be creative.

Hagar wrote on Feb 3^rd, 2008 at 7:51am:


Like Omag, I agree to an extent.  While there is still much for me to learn about the software, Photoshop Elements is incredibly easy to use as far as basics go.  One thing I figured out how to do not too long ago was how to process multiple files.  That feature works great for posting images to web forums.  That way you don't have to sit there and resize everything one by one. 

My computer came with an awesome Microsoft editing program when I purchased my computer a year ago.  It was one of those limited trial versions though.  When I upgraded to Vista I lost the program.  I may still have a backup disk with it on there however.  I'll have to look and see if I can find it.  I'll let you know if I do.

I spent a while using different combinations of editors to get the results that I wanted which was very time consuming. 

PS Elements is pretty much all inclusive, There are also some plugins that are available that are better than the standard PS features.  For example, NeatImage has, in my  opinion, better noise reduction than the PS software.  Perhaps I still need to experiment with the standard feature to make it get the results I want, which is where you chime in Hagar and say "I told you so".     I also don't like the fact that when you frame an image it reduces it and you have to readjust the image to fit the canvas.  Recently though I figured out that you can right click and "fit frame to photo" and then readjust it afterwards.

Making an already long story short, Hagar is right in that expensive software requires a lot of time to understand how it works. 

It's just like the first time you used a GPS in an airplane.  Can be a little confusing aside from the "direct" button, but with a little research, experimenting, and practical application it can be your best friend once you understand how it works. 

We are talking about photoshop elements, not the full version of photoshop.

Elements 6.0 is about 70 Pounds. Anyone who can afford a decent camera or FSX sure can afford PS Elements.

The full version is over 500 Pounds, so that's not really affordable for just a bit of photo-tweaking IMHO...