Skip to main content

Picture This

I have not investigated photo editing programs because of what I wrote in this blog post entitled, “One Foot in the Present and One Footin the Past”, I have felt like my plate was full and all I want to do is research!  I had two fellow missionaries, at separate times; tell me about this “wonderful” photo editing program.  The second missionary insisted on showing me how easy it was.  So, I watched her demonstrate the program and saw how easy it was to use. 

When I got a chance, I was able to find the program online and work with it.  It IS very easy; and my favorite price---F-R-E-E!  In fact, I found it intuitive and easy to navigate.  The online program is Pixlr found at Pixlr.com. 

John L. Jacobi,  from PCWorld describes:
“The free Pixlr is like a superclean (sic) online version of Photoshop; and considering that it operates within a browser window, the software is amazingly robust. Pixlr's various tools have a distinctly artistic bent. For instance, the pencil tool simulates using the tip or edge of a pencil, depending on how you move the cursor. The software also comes with excellent filters galore. Your first impression is likely to be, "Is this really free?"(1)

I first tried using Pixlr playing around with floral arrangements.  The first photograph, from a funeral, shows the original picture and two following photographs show the editing I was able to do the photographs.  (This was before watching any online videos.)







My son-in-law photographed a photograph, which I decided to try and repair.  It did take some time and I am sure after watching the videos and some practice, I will get better at it.   

Here is the photograph with the damage:

For the photograph repair, 
I used the tools in the Pixlr Editor program. 


For the editing on this photograph 
I used the Pixlr Express program.

For these effects, 
I used the Pixlr O-matic:



Pixlr has three options of editing programs to choose from:
Pixlr Editor:
Paint tools, photo editing how image edit tools (i.e., fill, crop, blur, smudge, etc.) work.
“Pixler Editor, Our most robust photo editor, for all your editing needs.”(5)
Pixlr Express
Adds overlays, adjusts colors and hues, stickers, boarders and text.
“Pixlr Express, A fun and powerful photo editor for making quick fixes or adding your personal style.”(5)
Pxlr O-matic 
Adds photo effects and boarders.
“Pixlr O-matic, transform your photos into cool vintage images by adding fun retro effects, overlays and boarders.”(5)

Pixlr also has two options of editing for mobile devices:
Pixlr Express for Mobile
“Pixlr Express is a fun and powerful photo editor that lets you quickly crop, rotate, and fine-tune any picture, free.” (6)
Pixlr-o-Matic for Mobile
“Pixlr-o-matic is a fun and simple darkroom app that makes it easy to quickly add style to your photos using effects, overlays, and borders.” (6)
(Please note, I have not tried either of the mobile products)

Pixlr has a blog here.


You can find Pixlr support here:  
 There are three sections under support: 

·        Ideas under Consideration
·        Common Problems
·        Recent Praise

I was able to find some valuable online short videos at ICT21st.  There are about 36 short videos, ranging in time from 1.5 to 4 minutes, demonstrating how to use Pixlr.  I have watched most of the presentations and found them very quick, useful and easy to follow.   The Riverton Family History Center also schedules classes showing how to use this product.  See the Riverton Family History Center class schedule here.

Look around Pixlr and let me know what you think. 

Sources:
(1) John L. Jacobi, PCWorld published online 27 January 2012 at PCWorld.com, http://www.pcworld.com/article/248868/pixlr_editor.html
(2) Pixlr 2010, Top Ten Reviews, online at Purch, http://online-image-editing-review.toptenreviews.com/pixlr-review.html
(3)Wolfe, Lahle, Women in Business Expert, Review of Pixlr, about.com at http://womeninbusiness.about.com/od/reviewsimageeditors/fr/r-pixlr.htm
(4)ICT 21st.com, A Short Presentation of Pixlr, from 2009 and Extras 2011, online at:  http://ictpublish.com/pixlr/
(5)Pixlr.com, online here:  https://pixlr.com/
(6)Pixlr.com mobile, on line here:  https://pixlr.com/mobile



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Walking Where They Walked: Park Hotel

Image
Park Hotel, Rock Springs, Wyoming, September 2013, RR&B 19 Elk Street, Rock Springs, Sweetwater, Wyoming The Park Hotel opened in 1914 and was the hub of Western Wyoming until the late 1950’s. It was the largest and most modern hotel in the city. Advertisements boasted of hot and cold water in each of its 38 rooms, twenty of which had private baths and toilets. The fourth floor was added in the 1920’s. The Park Hotel catered to commercial men and automobile tourists traveling the Lincoln Highway. The hotel had a boisterous barroom and a sedate restaurant with sparking white table cloths. Rock Springs Miner, 30 January 1914, page 1, Wyoming Newspaper Project online. One memory of the Park Hotel, is related by Thomas P. Cullen, “One summer afternoon while walking up Elk Street toward the C Street Crossing, my attention was drawn to the small crowd assembled near the north end of the Park Hotel. A slight man, of short stature, stood rolling up his pantlegs
Read more

What is a mortcloth?

A mortcloth, or pall, is a funeral cloth used to cover a coffin in the funeral ceremony or the deceased prior to burial.   The deceased’s family usually rented a mortcloth from the local church and after each use, the fabric was washed and readied for use again.   The word comes from the Latin word “pallium” meaning cloak. The Mortcloth case of 1792 begins:   “ For many centuries, and probably up to the 20th, the Church of Scotland was the sole supplier of mortcloths.   As the name would suggest, they were cloths used to cover the dead prior to burial, and after use, were washed ready for rehire. The Church hired these for a few pence, or in some cases loaned out these cloths, until the time of the funeral. The revenue raised by this service, typically around £40 pa, was distributed to the poor of the parish at frequent intervals.”   In the late 1780’s a local Society of Colliers decided to purchase and rent out their own mortcloths preventing the local church from making re
Read more

Bagillt, Flintshire, Wales

Image
Bagillt, Flintshire, Wales (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bagillt) The parish of Bagillt was gazetted on 23 May 1844, having been created from the townships of Bagillt Fawr, Bagillt Fechan, Coleshill Fawr and Coleshill Fechan, which were formerly in the parish of Holywell. It is located in the Northern part of Wales. (Genuki, http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/FLN/Bagillt/index.html)   The 1841 British Census finds Margaret(2) Roberts, aged four years living with her parents and siblings in Bagillt, Flintshire, Wales. In 1831, J. Poole penned: "Bagillt is a bustling place, and will continue so, as long as her smelting and coal works go on in their present prosperous state. Well conducted boats go from this place to Chester every day; with a favorable wind, these little barks make the 17 or 18 miles in little more than two hours."   (J. Poole, Gleanings of the histories of Holywell, Flint, St. Asaph and Rhuddlan, 1831 as qtd.  in http://www.genuki.org.uk/
Read more