We drove home from Astoria this morning. The trip took a little over two hours. I took some pictures and when I got home I got them loaded into the free Picasa program from Google. I played with a bit last night, so I kind of knew what I was doing. I’m still learning, though.
Driving east on Oregon State Highway 30, we came upon the inevitable flagger. These guys were installing a new telephone pole. We were soon on our way. 
The highway follows the Columbia River, but we couldn’t see it much after we left Astoria. We are happy when we get our first glimpse of it again as we near the bridge that crosses the river at Longview, Washington.
While crossing the bridge, we got a good look at all the logs being transported abroad. This place was busy today!
In the following sets of photos, I am going to show you the difference between the photos I took and the same photos touched by using Picasa. All I did was apply the “I’m Feeling Lucky” and the “Straighten” options to the following photos.
Original photo:
Picasa photo:
After Longview, we turned onto I-5 south.
Original photo:
We saw more logs at Kalama, which is also a river town.
Original photo:
Another glimpse of the Columbia River before I-5 turns away.
Original photo:
Turning east on Highway 14 east towards Camas means that we are almost home. If we had kept going south on I-5, we would have ended up back in Oregon.
Original photo: (Pretty pathetic, right?)
So, my verdict is that editing my photos with Picasa is a great success. I still need to learn a lot more about the program, but I’ve made a start. Thank you to my blog followers and online friends Roberta, Al, Rick, Jerry, and Gerri, all of whom gave me advice and/or encouragement regarding my photos!
Nice job on the pics, Carol. Looks like you are definitely off to a great start with Picasa! The difference is quite noticeable just with the "I'm Feeling Lucky" applied!
ReplyDeleteGreat start with Picasa and your pics. It does make an incredible difference. Keep up the great work and play with Tuning and see the differences it makes. If you don't like the look, you can go back to original.
ReplyDeleteTake care and be safe.
Mike & Gerri
Great work on the photos. I've been using Picasa for a few months and am still learning more and more each time. It is an awesome tool. Glad you made it home safely.
ReplyDeleteYes, you are digging nicely into Picasa -- keep it up. And now Rick has added a tutorial on using Retouch and MS Paint, so I have a new learning curve to jump into. That's what keep us young -- trying new things and finding out that they work. Or sometimes finding out that they don't - so you try a different thing. Glad to have been some encouragement for you!
ReplyDeleteYep, looks like your getting a good handle on Picasa alright & you are already over the toughest hump which is simply making up your mind to learn the program. Don't worry about messing anything up with your pics bacause you can always backtrack to the original. Remember to 'SAVE' any changes you make to your photos or the next time you turn your computer on the pics will be back to their original state. Forgetting to 'SAVE' your edits is common & it still happens to me too. Keep up the good work Carol:))
ReplyDeleteWe have been using Picasa for years now and the program is great and we love sharing our albums. After 5 years, we finally had to buy more space, but it's not too expensive and really worth it.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the creative work!
Carol your pictures are great glad you gave it a try. Picasa is learning in progress (at least for me) We're going to the FMCA Rally in Redmond OR next month and will take in another class from the Geeks On Tour in hopes to learn a little more. Rick and Al have been a great help to me with their tips and tutorials.
ReplyDeletePractice makes perfect!