Wrangling Photoshop

Hi!

Wow… I am a bit daft.
Its been years that I’ve been using my ancient version of photoshop, but armed with a new computer and confidence I trotted off to our local Hardly Normal (OK – its Harvey Norman for those outside Australia – you can buy household furniture, appliances and tech stuff) to get myself a spanking new edition of photoshop.

So… I am seeing a stand with options. Sigh. These days no CD but a card that you have to follow instructions and with any luck, download your photoshop without any hitches and Voila!

I avoided the student/teacher version and asked the difference between the $150 and $250 photoshop elements. The more expensive one had video editing capability so I didn’t need that.

Wow I am thinking… a lot cheaper than I expected (This is where the daft comes in)

So… Home I go. Follow the instructions, get my serial number follow prompts and hit download.
All good until it stalled at 42%

Eventually I terminated the download and started again
Stalled at 10%
Yay… WHY did this not surprise me?
A couple more goes and I am like… maybe a glitch in something… shall we switch everything off and on again in the time honoured manner of all computer techs everywhere?

Okies…

Oh yes… marvellous improvement.
Now I found it absolutely impossible to navigate back to the download area using the serial number.  Adobe is like a rabbit warren!
I tried so many things then looked for online help… eventually got someone who informed me that the people I needed wouldn’t be back to work until Monday

Bangs head on desk

I tried downloading the trial version thinking I could maybe just add in my serial number to unlock.
Nah… it downloaded fine but no option using my number.
So… almost at tanty-time I gave it up as a lost cause until I got someone a lot more computer savvy than me to sort it.

(OK I will admit to a tanty since if you are going to sell something at least make it idiot proof to download)

I’d been busy for a few days so today I thought I’d buckle down and get this thing sorted.
Rang a number and got some clever lady in India to take over my computer and make it all better.
(And watching what she did kinda comforted me as there was no way come hell or high water that I would have sorted that out on my own.)
All done, all registered, all updated…
Time to open and play.

Alrighty… so. I expected things to have changed a bit but… ummmmm
Nothing resembling the fine tuning tools of the photoshop I’ve been used to using could be found.

Lets cut the long agonising story short.
Photoshop essentials is not photoshop. (duh) Its the lite version. Super lite. I’m thinking lets compare ‘finger painting’ to ‘Van Gogh’.

I rang HN to confirm my sinking feeling and yes… PROPER photoshop is over $1000 (Which as it turns out they don’t even have)
Happily I can send them an email, uninstall what I jumped through fiery hoops to install and they can refund me the $$

The trial version that I downloaded by accident is the one I need and I had a play on it today and its gorgeous! I only have about 3 days left of it before I have to do something about buying it either outright or a monthly fee or something.
My enthusiasm to investigate further today ran out.

So yeah… photoshop doesn’t cost $150 🙂
(I should have known really… I knew before about it being pretty pricey but because it had been so long and there were no other options at HN I figured perhaps within the digital world of things getting cheaper…???)

I really have missed post processing my photos properly.
All the ones here have been done on the new photoshop and were from this morning when I went to let the chooks out.

So many cool webs everywhere!

It was all foggy this morning but not too cold

A snap of the white garlic

Oh – when I got my email of my last blog posts, the photos turned out enormous… couldn’t see them all properly… did that happen to anyone else?
Would be good to know as I still have to get in touch with someone about not being able to reply to your messages!

Which brings me to Lee’s question about the carrots.
By the sounds of it, perhaps your soil was too rich. Esp if the leaves were all lush but nothing underneath.  I tend to plant my carrot seeds in where the beetroot was – without enriching or doing anything but weeding. The lack of readily available nutrients sends the carrots down looking 🙂
A lighter sandier soil is optimal too.
Always plant from seed… don’t transplant.
Thats all off the top of my head but what I think of as the basics for growing them.
Good luck – let me know how the next crop goes!

In the hothouse the potatoes are still looking great. No idea if they will be all top and no bottom… waiting waiting

Poor little self seeded tomato… finally gave it some compost and mulch and a good watering. It’s in the hothouse – it might take off…

I am so very glad I grabbed a few punnets of lettuce late in the season. Its so nice having them at hand.
An iceberg lettuce in the supermarket was going for $4.50!!!!!!
I can’t even….

Man Fern frond – so funny and hairy!

Ok… that was my tale of photoshop that wasn’t…
And a small morning stroll through the yard!

I hope you are all staying safe and healthy
Cheers!!

(Winter Bliss, wrapped in his warmed towel)