When I first got this old computer I had no way to work with images. Being close to broke at the time, like I usually am, I didn’t have the bucks to spring for Photoshop or Lightroom or any of the other excellent but spendy software for photo editing. A friend tipped me off to the GIMP. It’s free, says he, it’s open source, and it’ll probably do anything I need or want it to do. My ears perked up at the word ‘free’ and I promptly downloaded it, spent a little time yanking hair out of my head figuring out the basic operation, and here I am, about three years later, still using GIMP. It will do anything I need or want it to do and more. Should the need arise later for higher end professional equipment and editing software, I’ll look into them. For now I’ll stick with GIMP and put the money elsewhere.
I do little in the way of image manipulation. I may adjust the curves a little, tweak the brightness and contrast a bit, and do a little bit of cropping, but the photos are pretty much what I started with in the camera. Or on a neg if I’m shooting film. Basic darkroom stuff. I’ll scale down a copy of a picture for posting online, and I’ll save a bigger version to upload for prints, but that’s about it. I’ve always been kind of a ‘straight photography’ kind of guy.
I’m also the curious sort, so I can’t help but play with the possibilities GIMP offers. Occasionally I’ll take a reject shot and play around with the artistic effects just to see what’ll happen. Sometimes the results are kinda cool. It’s harmless fun, and who knows? I might even learn something new. Maybe I’ll even post one now and then for a change of pace.
This is all a long-winded way of coming to the point. If you are thinking about getting into digital photography but don’t want to, or can’t, go for the spendy software, check out the GIMP. Do a search for GIMP downloads, do an install, and give it a go. Won’t cost you a dime.
And the real point of this post? I found a couple of sites dedicated to the GIMP with tips and tutorials and video instructions about using and getting the most out of it. You can check them out right here:
So have at it. I’ve got a hunch I’ll be over there quite a bit.
