Oh digital photography

I love photography and with all of the new technology out there you can do almost anything to a digital picture. I have also dabbled in this on occasion. I think Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0 came with my computer or I got it real cheep someplace. I've entertained the idea of actually "buying" a nice program to do some neat editing with my pictures but just haven't yet. I'm way more into sewing right now. Just this past week I stumbled upon a new feature that I really like. After I pick an image I want to edit I "sharpen" then "sharpen again" then "unsharp mask" whatever that means. I love the way these images turn out so I may be spending more time altering my pictures... that is after I finish my niece and nephew's quilts for Christmas!
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If anyone out there is reading this and knows of a super easy but super fun program to alter photos please let me know, I'd love to hear from you.