Hey–
I’ve noticed a bunch of photos in these forums that have been altered in some way by transposing one photo on another. For example, people add images of unicyclists into famous paintings, etc. I am curious…is there any kind of free software i can download that would enable me to do this? It looks like fun. If what i am describing is unclear please tell me.
Thanks,
Grant
You can give ‘the GIMP’ a try. Its open source. I’ve only used it a couple times in some linux distro. I’ve never tried using it in windows. Give it a shot though. 
Hmm a strange name for a program, I thought u were trying insult him first but after all its a program
Trev
'Tis the GNU Image Manipulation Program. And they wonder why free software isn’t making inroads into common use… 
Phil
thanks phil, ill try it out. i really oughta switch to linux, but im afraid its not gonna be user friendly. im not a computer genius, to say the least. also, i really dont see any advantages it has over windows for the simple stuff i do…o well
-grant
There was a recent thread here in Just Conversation that got sidetracked into talking about The Gimp. The thread includes links to where to get the Windows install files.
The Gimp will do what Photoshop does. You’ll be able to mask out parts of the image, cut a part out of one image and paste it into another image, erase things out of an image (like a telephone pole you don’t want in the image), clone parts of an image to cover up what you erased, etc. and more. It will do it, but it won’t necessarily be easy to figure out how to do it.
Do a Google search on ‘GIMP tutorial’ and you’ll find tutorials that will cover all of the common operations that you’ll want to do.
The GIMP is not the easiest program to use. Image manipulation is a complex activity and the tools to do it are often also very complex. It will take some study to learn how to use a tool like GIMP.
Here is a short review of the Gimp that was not very flattering. That review was the topic of a Slashdot article. Don’t expect The GIMP to be exactly like Photoshop.
I’ve used The GIMP for very basic stuff. It’s way more powerful than what I have needed it for so far. One of these days I’ll get around to learning how to do more advanced stuff like cutting parts out of an image and cloning.
I’ve actually been considering getting Paint Shop Pro or Photoshop Elements. Both retail for about $100. They both have a lot more polish than The GIMP. They’ll both do everything I need an image editing program to do. I know for sure that I’d be more productive with either of those tools than with The GIMP and that could/would justify their $100 price.
Photoshop CS 8.0 offers a free 30 day trial
I’d go with GIMP, i used it to make many of my wallpapers along with Bryce 5 (i also use photoshop)