A lot of making a "good" or "better" photoshop depends on what effects you are trying to achieve. Are you looking to create more dramatic contrasts, or more subtle shading? Do you have any examples of before and after pictures that you can show and describe where you feel your work is lacking?

Wow, it's cheap in your neck of the woods!

You guys had me searching through the member galleries under all combinations! For anyone interested in what they're talking about, do a copy/paste of the name in yahoo or your favorite search engine.

Take it from a poor and broke college student, they're worth it. At the advice of a friend, I bought Mike and Daz's karate gi for my site at engei.tripod.com and have been very happy with it vs. the P4 people and a free karate gi I'd gotten previously. Much more articulation, smoother joints... the list goes on. And to top it off, Stephanie for free! Can't wait to download her. It was a bit of an expense, but it was worth it.

:: While software is a powerful tool it is not photogtraphy, not even by the widest application. :: This seems to be one of the focal points of your statements. And had this been, say, 50 years ago, I may have agreed. However I think that the line is blurring now with the advent of digital photography. :: The use of composits, rendering, brushwork, selective blurs and a host of other manipulations remove the image from the realm of photography. :: I disagree. What about the editing that can be done in a lab? Softening an image, brightening, lightening. What about a composition of several images? A very good friend of mine did a composition using several pictures where he appeared to be a ghostlike form leaning on a lit stove. It was amazingly seamless, yet it was done in a darkroom. Was that photography? If not, why not? Isn't photography the art of capturing and manipulating light? What is the difference between manipulation done in a dark room and manipulation done on a computer? What is "photography" anyway? Webster defines it as: "the art or process of producing images on a sensitized surface (as a film) by the action of radiant energy and especially light". In "digital" photography, the sensitized surface becomes some form of memory. Therefore, as long as you're using that "sensitized surface" to "produce images", aren't you still doing photography? :: It teaches nothing about loghting, composition, exposure, etc. It makes all of the prior values moot. :: I guess we'll have to differ there. I have seen a number of photoshopped images that have taught me a great deal. Some of the lessons have been very subtle. But if your goal is what you describe as "pure" photography, then no electronic image would really fit unless scanned by a very expensive scanner is pristine condition that could capture in exacting detail the scanned image. Even then, it may not really be good because what looks good on one monitor can look horrible on another. :: The measure of a photographers skill, is measured on he ability to capture a image that is accurate, conveys a emotion, is properly lit, exposed, and composed. :: Yet these are all very subjective terms. What is an accurate image? I once took a picture of a martial arts instructor throwing a student with a 3 foot staff. When the picture was developed, everything was blurred. The student was a barely visible. Except for his strikingly yellow belt, you could barely make him out. The instructor was a blurred figure that could be clearly seen through him. I hated that picture for over a year. Then it grew on me. Now I look at it as one of the best pictures I've ever taken. Why? Because I've come to see it as capturing the essense of a martial arts technique. It is full of motion; no part of it is static or clear. Everything flows. Yet the picture itself has not changed. It is far from "accurate" in that it is completely not what I wanted. I chose the wrong flash setting, so it came out darker than I intended. I had left the camera set to bulb, so the shutter stayed open for as long as my finger held it (almost a second). I didn't use a tripod so my body's natural motion added camera shake. Yet in reading through books and articles of creative people, I learned that there is a certain kind of perfection in imperfection. That a distorted image can convey as much or more than a static one. It all depends on your POV.

I haven't seen the others in the series, but found myself laughing at this one.

I'll definitely try that for the next bouquet. Lately, I've been doing custom arrangements for her, and I'm going to try to take pics of them. Alpha: I'll try. It's all horribly amateurish, but hey, you guys can always give me some constructive butchering. :) Most of the stuff I do is portraiture, and the volunteer models are kinda shy. But I'm also working on an architectural project. As it comes along, I'll post the pics here.

The manipulation is cool, and certainly has appeal. The tire is very interesting with the blue tint. I really like three layered effect of the original though.

bevchiron: Yep. An engagement. PunkClown: Name's Ayer. I'm rather happy with the star effect too. Holding the 44mm filter in front of the digital camera lens was a little annoying but the effect was worth it. Caledonia: Hmm, I might be able to actually get that effect. Don't have access to any lighting boxes or rigs... not sure if I'd know how to use them if I did, but I might have something close. Of course, by now the roses have all opened, and I'm not sure if they'll last long enought to let me try a few ideas, but we'll see. Any suggestions for direction? Straight down? Angled?

Very nice image!

Put me down as a close second...

Hey kieraw, I actually used to work with someone who could be described (and was) exactly like that!

I dunno, sounds like a world of photo ops to me. The most exciting thing I ever caught outside the office window was a guy getting towed... and it might have been consentual. At least you have some drama... wanna trade?

Much luck to you!

Good luck! Maybe one day I'll register for a course so my sad, sad images can one day be semi decent.