GIMP, it's not just a character in Pulp Fiction anymore!

Let's talk digital photography: you’re walking the streets of London & you get the perfect shot of a group of chic Brits standing in Picadilly. They’re just hanging out, talking, acting ordinary BUT it’s precisely what you wanted, something that screams ambience.

Now you want to post it to your Facebook page, Flickr page, someplace where you can tell your friends & family, “Just look at my artistic ability!” Here’s the problem; the site you’ve chosen to display your photos has a size limit.

Now, before you go and spend $650 on Adobe Photoshop C3, consider this: what if there was a way to manipulate images with free software that has the same features? Try the GIMP at gimp.org. It’s an acronym for GNU Image Manipulation Program. If you’re not familiar with GNU or open-source software, it’s basically free software you can download from the Web. Without wanting to turn this posting into a political minefield, there’s a growing movement out there to break the bonds of Microsoft Windows as an operating system. The folks who have designed GNU believe that a PC operating system shouldn’t cost hundreds of dollars, it should be free to all.

I’ve used GIMP myself and it has just about all the features that Adobe P-shop does. Plus, if you’re confused about how to operate it you can get help at the GIMP User’s Group site (it's also linked on the GIMP homepage). For now, I’ll tell you how to change the size of a digital photo:

After downloading & installing GIMP, open the photo you want to resize, it will open in a new window. Click on “Image” in the top menu. Click “Scale Image.” You’ll see a new window, adjust the size of the image in the Height & Width boxes to the specifications at your photo website. If they aren’t given, try a size of around 600 pixels wide or 700 pixels high. That should be an acceptable size for any site.

Pretty easy, huh? Just don’t ask me to demonstrate any of the other features, I haven’t gotten that far yet! Once you try it, you'll never consider shelling out money for Photoshop again!