The Wages of Photoshop

Biz stuff - I've just posted some new Talbert Briars, one Talbert Morta, and there are still (just!) two Ligne Bretagnes available, though I just sold one while working on this blog entry!

The folks on my mailing list have already heard this, but I've recently got Photoshop - a substantial graphics-handling upgrade from my 1997 edition of Paintshop Pro for Windows 95, with which I've done all my website graphics lo these many years.

To say that I'm stunned by the difference is putting it mildly.

Within one day of creating "actions" (Pre-programmed strings of recorded graphics commands and adjustments, such as "Enhance brightness 39%, Contrast 35%, resize to 1000 pixels width, Sharpen"), I've managed to save myself untold hours of slogging through the same menus over and over again every time I have a photo to assemble for the catalog. It's like heaven. For the past few years, doing any sort of website updating had become such a grinding slog that I'd really grown to hate it, but between Photoshop and Kompozer, it has once again become fun. I can't imagine what it might be like to use a "real" professional website editor like Dreamweaver, considering how enthralled I am with simple little freeware Kompozer after ten years of doing all my website updates with a text editor.

In coming months, I intend to completely overhaul the website. It isn't going to be redesigned, but it's going to get a lot of subtle graphics enhancements, better-looking catalog page photos, and some rearranging. If anyone has complaints, issues, or suggestions, please put them forward now! Especially due for some updating is the long-neglected Resources section. Even the main title page is getting tweaked - the logo photo above looked like the photo below only a few hours ago...