Monday, January 30, 2012

Picasa, give it a try now, for me

 

Vignette and HDR-ish

Google has upset quite a few people by their announcement that Picnik is going to be phased out.   It didn’t really affect me, since I had tried Picnik, and found it a rather maddening wait beyond the lovely “sending request” quotes such as “chasing butterflies,”  or “picking daisies.”

Soften, and Boost

I just never caught on to it’s more complex offerings, almost all of the ones I wanted to use cost more money, and since I had discovered Picasa and all of it’s free delights years ago, I just never bothered to take the time to play with Picnik.  I am sure it’s lovely, but it’s going away, so what are you to do?  Go back and give Picassa a try, I think you might like it.

Tint and Soft focus

I have Lightroom and Photoshop, but I use Picasa for most of my blog photos, it’s quick, easy to use and now it has some fun Picnik settings to boot. I don’t need to think about what to do next when I use Picasa, I just do it. 

Border with color changes

This entire series of photos took me minutes to make. It does get easier, and that’s the norm for any program, the more you use it, the easier it is.

Holga-ish and Vignette

So go back, reload Picasa, and give it one more try.  I have the feeling that you won’t be disappointed. All of these photo effects were made with the new Picasa.   And if you would like to know what I did to them, you should be able to hover over them and the title of the photo should come up.

Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams

25 comments:

  1. Good Morning Jen Girl !
    I tried Picnik and quit pretty darn fast because I also found it maddening .. I have been a Picasa gal for a long time and really like it .. especially ?
    WARM-FLY !!!! hehehehe
    Joy ;-)
    I know .. I am naughty !

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  2. Try as I might, I just don't like Picasa very much! And I did check it out lately. I'm playing around with a few different photo editing sites.

    xo
    Claudia

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  3. Good Morning Jen...beautiful photo's!
    I downloaded Picasa again the other day but I'm having trouble with the collage that I need for my header. I'm sure I'll figure it out eventually but right now I'm REALLY ticked at loosing Picnik. Oh well...time to learn something new. I hope your day is a good one.
    Maura :)

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  4. It's not available for my Mac!

    Love the effects you've created though.

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  5. Me too. Looked at Piknik, but stuck to Picasa. Does my collages. Since it is free, I can't whine too loudly that it doesn't - let me rearrange the collage, except at random, again again OK.

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  6. I definitely use Picassa more then Picnik but I always liked the frames and extra fonts in Picnik. I love working with photos...when I have time! ♥

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  7. I remember when i first got Picasa and saw the zillion files being uploaded to Picasa, all quickly flashing before my eyes. Scared me to death. I felt like every photo I ever took would be online for everyone to steal. Maybe I was right. Anyway, I use an old Paint Shop Pro 7, but also use Picasa. I need to become more familiar with it.

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  8. I use Picasa for most of my editing but have used Picnik too. Now I have to get all my Picnik pics downloaded but I give them credit for how easy they are making it.

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  9. Jen, you have me stumped! I have used Picasa and Picnik all along and love Picnik for the different editing options but I didn't know I could do all those things with Picasa too!! Your photos are gorgeous and I noticed you used some edits which are also Picnik ones (holgaish) so where do I find these on Picasa?? Have I missed someething all along? I'll check it out myself but if you have any hints please let me know. Thanks for this post today! Pamela

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  10. I use Picasa and I love it! You are right....I never really got into Picnik. BTW....I have to tell you, you are my Pintrest idol. I have repinned more of your pins than anyone's. You have such a great eye for color and design! Thanks for the inspiration.
    blessings,
    karianne

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  11. I use Picasa for Mac ... Ladyfi you need to check again. I hardly used Picnik so probably won't miss it.

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  12. I use Picassa now. The only thing I DON'T liek is waiting for the photos to upload, but I didn't know that they had some fun options to play with...I'll have to check it out:)

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  13. Heck, I barely can take a photo let alone "play" with one! Usually heads get chopped off or they are just blue skies (I think...cuz they are blue....)

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  14. Since I got my mac I only use Picasa as the other program I was using wouldn´t work on Mac and Adobe is too advanced for me. But girl...my photos never look like yours even after I use Picasa!!! Hmmm, going to have to play around and see if I can get anything close to what you´ve presented here!!!
    All the versions were lovely!!!
    Have a great evening!!

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  15. I'm a photoshop purist. Haven't tried picnik. And, I didn't realize Picassa offered anything other than photo storage (whether I like it or not on Blogger) so... obviously I'm behind the times! :))

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  16. Jen, why don't you do some tutorials for those of us having trouble with Picasa? Maybe one for banners too. I know it's like anything else. The more you use it, the more easily it comes.
    Brenda

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  17. You know I have Picasa on my computer and I've only ever used it to make a collage. I didn't even realize it had these kind of options. I might need to take a closer look at that program some time.

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  18. I use Picasa to do my banner. I always have to google for help to remember how to do the banner. . This site has the easiest instructions. Sometimes I just need a reminder. I also edit photos in Iphoto. On my work lap top I have photoshop, but I find it far to much for me. You have great results here.

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  19. I have only had time to use it for collages and am glad to know I can do so much more..thx Jen.

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  20. Thanks for the suggestion Jen, I think I will go back and try Picassa again.

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  21. I don't think I ever tried Picasa but I will now! Thanks and the photos are lovely.

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  22. I see you are playing..wishing the days would go faster! :)

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  23. hmm.. lovely pics.
    So I like Picasa and using it.

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  24. Hmmmmm....Picasa you say??? Well, I'm with the person who said I can barely take a photo - let alone a good photo and then edit it. But a few months ago I did discover Picknic and really liked it...I could upload a photo, click "autofix" and even MY rotten photos looked a bit better. I did try Picasa once, but freaked out when it started uploading ever stinking photo I ever took ever and that's still hanging around on my pc....Yikes! So, I "uninstalled" and have been too chicken to go back. Some day, perhaps I'll "woman up" and do some more exploring. Heaven only knows I can use all the help I can possibly get. (And - yeah - I agree, a tutorial would be wonderful!! Yeah, I know....Like you have TIME to do a tutorial! Well, just keep it in mind if you get bored and run out of blogging topics.... ;o) Smiles & Hugs ~ Robin

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  25. Jen, Picasa is a great tool! I do think I have a bit of a way to go, before my photos look more like yours though!!! Your photos are always stunning! (I referred to your blog on my recent post, along with a few other 'favorites'.)

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Your comments are the flowers that bloom in my virtual blogging garden.

Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams

PS: No word verification here, sorry I cannot reply to blogs that use word verification.