This is Boots. He doesn't have any boots but his name at the shelter was Goober which didn't suit him at all. Boots has that same "oo" sound. He doesn't answer to either name - he just comes when he feels like it!

Thanks Ziza.
Disappointing about Virtual Painter but I'll check out your two recommendations. Appreciate your answer.

I use digitally painted photos in some of my art quilts. I had been using a program called Virtual Painter, the plug-in for which disappeared when I upgraded my Paint Shop Pro version.

Does anyone know what happened to Virtual Painter? I can find websites that offer a trial version but there doesn't seem to be any way to buy the post-trial version. The original website I had was www.virtualpainter5.com but that now goes to an odd-looking site in a language I couldn't begin to guess at. It doesn't appear to have anything to do with the VP program.

I have attached a photo of a quilt with photos manipulated in VP. I you don't know where VP went, can you suggest another program that can do similar paint techniques. I would be forever grateful!

I agree that a beautifully composed and sharp photo by a pro is so much better than snapshots from a phone or such like. But there's still a place for a lot of those instant shots people capture of their kids or pets when the phone is the only thing at hand. We are lucky these days that technology allows us this freedom. When I was a little girl, my parents didn't have a camera and only two photos exist of me before I was about 8 years old. It's disappointing not to know what I looked like. Today there are hundreds of shots of my grandchildren because there are cheap point and shoots and cell phones. I'm sure they will be happy about that when they grow up.

SarahLouise, don't be put off by these harsh replies. I'm sure your friends were very happy with your photos and that is the main thing. Be happy with your efforts but I don't have to tell you that you will get better every day. It's easy to be a "know-it-all" when you have decades of experience behind you but we all start somewhere. And here's something I've noticed while checking out so-called professional wedding photographers' websites. A lot of the stuff is awful. It's hoaky or ordinary or makes me cringe! Develop your own style and continue to learn how to make great images. Never give up!

And to those of you who commented harshly, try to develop a better approach to newbies. You can criticize their work without putting them down. Remember that at the beginning of your photographic journey, you produced a few duds yourself!

I've been trying to teach myself to be patient and hopefully get some good bird shots.

Bluejays are beautiful but quite agressive. This one sat still for a few seconds.


A senior couple visit the park often and the little birds sometimes sit on their hands - very briefly.

I suggest Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4 Classroom in a Book. It's the official training workbook from Adobe Systems. Set up in Lesson format, it's an easy way to learn the program at your own pace. I have the same books for Photoshop and InDesign which I was able to learn well.

Doesn't look like anyone gave you a definitive answer - but I guess there are several ways to do it. With any program that allows you to work in layers - such as Photoshop and Paint Shop Pro, make a black and white copy of your shot, then layer the BW shot over top of the colour shot. Then use the eraser to erase the BW apple and reveal the coloured apple underneath. It's easy if you're careful around the edges.

My sister and I recently shot a wedding in a small, darkish chapel. We approached the officiant before the wedding to come to a mutually acceptable plan for photography. He understood that the couple would want great photos of the ceremony so, before the bride entered the chapel, he spoke very nicely to the congregation explaining that they should please refrain from using their flash cameras and leave the photos to the official photographers. They all gracefully complied so that the only flashes going off were those of my sister and I. We weren't disruptive, placing ourselves in pre-arranged spots beforehand. Everyone was happy with the results. It's called cooperation!

I love it too. First portrait I doctored with this program was a pic of myself. I posted it on Facebook. One of my young nieces sent me a note saying "Wow Auntie, you sure look great!" That did it for me.

Hi Larry,
Know what you're saying about your Minolta. I have an old Maxxum that no longer works - best camera I ever had and amazing lenses. I took portraits of little kids and you could see the fine hairs on their faces. On the weekend I was wondering what to do with the 4 lenses I have. Discovered that they work on Sony digital cameras so all is not lost.

Redford, the lens is a Canon EFS 18-135mm f3.5-5.6 IS. I paid $450 for it in Toronto. It's the lens I used to shoot the cover picture in my earlier post. I've had no problems with it.

Hi Redford,
When I bought my T3i body, I didn't take the kit lens because I already owned the same lens which came with my T1i. I opted for the 55-250 zoom instead. More recently I purchased the 18-135 zoom and have found that it meets my needs so well that it hasn't come off the camera except when I'm shooting flowers, butterflies etc. Then I opt for the 100mm macro. I really haven't done much shooting with the 55-250 zoom but I would take it along if I was shooting great landscapes that had far distances. I am happy with each one of the Canon lenses.

I agree with the posters who suggested the original complainant might want to have his T3i body checked out by a good Canon repair shop. It sounds to me like he has a serious issue with his particular camera. But generally speaking the T3i is an excellent camera among the stable of top-rated Canon digital products.

Just tuned in and I must say I am astounded at the number of users reporting problems with sharpness with the T3i. I use one and also a T1i and have never had a sharpness problem with any of my four lenses: the kit EFS 18-55, my newest EFS 18-135 (love it), an EFS 55-250 and a 100 macro. I'm attaching the cover of a wedding book I just published. I think the image is perfect - and that's after photoshopping to create the cover design. Incidentally, my sister and I shared this photo shoot and she uses a Mark III. You cannot tell which shots were shot with that and which with the T3i so that convinces me I don't need to spend three times as much for a camera! Just how sharp is sharp?

Hi, I'm new to the forum - have enjoyed reading posts for a few weeks. Just wanted to say that I'm a long-time Paint Shop Pro user and just upgraded to the latest version. I think it's a great program with sophisticated tools that are right up there with Photoshop (which I also use). Some things are handled better by Photoshop and others are handled better by Paint Shop. Paint Shop is more intuitive, I think. For the price, you can't beat it - and this is coming from someone who does serious editing to wedding photos and such.