Photo Restoration

Digital Photo Restoration Restoring old photos is one of the coolest things you can do in digital photography. The best part is that anyone can do it. All it takes is a scanner and a nice image editing program. Important Photo Restoration Tools There are many several tools that you just can't do without when it comes to restoring photos. Cloning tool This is my favorite tool. Depending on the program it may go by ...

The Magic of Digital Filters

The Magic of Digital Filters In the world of film photography, filters are transparent coverings that are placed over a lens to enhance or alter the image. Digital filters serve the same purpose, but in a much more dynamic and dramatic way. DIGITAL FILTER: Almost all image editing programs contain filters although they may be called by a different name such as Effects or Adjustments.   Before...

New Computer Specs

Computer prices continue to drop and get more powerful. I answer the question, "What should I buy?", many times every week. The answer seems to change about every six months. Today, I’m going to list my advice that should hold for at least six months: Primary use is Internet, email, small games, and word processing: Any processor 512MB of RAM Any size hard drive Mimimum CDRW Drive Primary use is...

Save some text editing keystrokes

Use these hints that I notice that computer users forget about when editing text in emails, file names, word processing etc: When text is highlighted in blue, simply start typing the text that you want to replace it with…NO NEED to hit the backspace or delete key. If you need to delete just a few characters of text and the blinking cursor is in front of the text, use the delete key. If the cursor is behind the text,...

Make Disk Cleanup Run Faster

WARNING:  This tip involves editing the Registry, so only perform these steps IF you feel comfortable making changes to a part of the computer where one wrong move can bring your whole system down. Performing these steps will disable the "compress files" part of the Windows Clean Up utility: Click Start –> Run Type:   regedit Navigate to and expand the following registry key: ...

Give Picasa a try!

I just put that picture there to get your attention.  I’m not trying to brag, but I know more about digital photography than the average computer user. This is partly due to the fact that I took Photoshop classes in college for about three years. I love Photoshop and Photoshop Elements, but I can also appreciate that not everyone needs such a powerful program. Google has a free program called Picasa. Even with my...

Laptops are perfectly adequate computers

One of my customers today just purchased a laptop to compliment her desktop computer. She wasn’t thrilled about the idea of having two computers, but didn’t realize that her new laptop was every bit as capable as her older desktop computer. She isn’t alone. Many computer users think size equals power. When they look at a svelte laptop and compare it to a large black or beige box, they think it must be...

NVU Web Editor

Adam talked about a free web site editing program called NVU from the makers of Mozilla. You can download it here.

Recording and editing sound on a budget

Here are a couple programs that you can used for some advanced audio recording on a budget. Audacity CyberRecorder

Digital Photo Special Effects

Digital Photo Special Effects Here are some of the basics we discussed  at the Meeting Filters: Various filters found in most good image editing programs allow you to make drastic changes to a photo in one fell swoop! Layers: If you work with individual layers, you can alter different parts of the picture without changing the rest of the picture. Effects: In Photoshop Elements you can apply a wide...

Holiday Greeting Cards

Holiday Greeting Cards Using the techniques discussed this month you can create a stand-alone post card style greeting card, or make the photos on the front or inside of your greeting cards much more personalized. Although the card above does not look that much like one you would send out for the Holidays, it uses several important effects and techniques that are only limited by your creativity. In class I sold a...

The Magic of Digital Filters

The Magic of Digital Filters In the world of film photography, filters are transparent coverings that are placed over a lens to enhance or alter the image. Digital filters serve the same purpose, but in a much more dynamic and dramatic way. DIGITAL FILTER: Almost all image editing programs contain filters although they may be called by a different name such as Effects or Adjustments.   Before...

Solving the Mystery of Layers

Basics of Layers Here are some of the basics we discussed at the Meeting What are layers: Layers are a feature of Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro and other more complex image editing programs which allow you to compile more than one image within an image. Common uses for layers: Compiling One Photo from Many Photos. The most common use for layers is to take part of an image and place it into another image. For...

Photoshop Elements Part I

Adobe Photoshop Elements Part I This month we will begin a four-part session on Adobe Photoshop Elements. Although we are centering the meetings on Elements, most of the techniques and tools we discuss also apply to programs such as Paint Shop Pro, Ulead Photo Impact and other advanced image editing programs. Getting Started: Before you begin using Elements or any image editing program it is important to get the monitor...

Saving Pictures from Email II

With scanners built into sub $100 printers and the onslaught of digital cameras, more pictures are being sent via email than ever before. Search through our archives on the most efficient ways to send your digital photos and ways to resize photos that were sent to you too large. Today’s tip, however, focuses on the recommended method of saving those precious photos from getting lost. One thing I do not recommend doing...