Image Editors

In the past week, it has come to my attention that Google's Picasa program is going to be abandoned in lieu of Google Photos. I guess it was inevitable since the former hasn't been updated in years and the average person taking photos for social media uses a small percentage of Picasa's capabilities.

Artists, however, are not average. In my case, Picasa offers tools that it's replacement program does not.
So, I spent the better part of this past week, searching for a new image editor. I think I've found one that will do, but not do as much as my old friend.
In light of how I 'paint' with my urban abstract images and then combine them into a new compositions, software tools are integral to my process.
As I ponder this reality, it occurs to me that ANY image editor affords an artist a wonderful opportunity in honing their design skills. These tools enable us to critique our own work and decide how and why we need to improve upon an average image to make it better.
You can resize, correct lighting, remove blemishes, change hues, intensity and light.
In my particular case, I can group, border with my own images and then crop the project.

I don't look at these modifications of a photograph as a cop out. I don't see it as cheating.
You are honing your design skills by using elements that can improve your photograph.
How can that be a bad thing?

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