Photoshop Express

It’s kinda like Photoshop, but free, and without an installer disk

Got the news this morning that Photoshop Express is in beta and out publicly.

Most folks are familiar with Photoshop—so ubiquitous it’s a verb. But it has traditionally been big and expensive and hard to approach. This new web version is none of those things—reducing options to simplify the interface and presenting tools as tasks.

And though we’ve had web applications that replicate word processing and spreadsheets, in my mind, this is the one that will begin to change how we think of applications and the internet.

It’s pretty cool I think, and it’s not because some of my photos are baked into the beta. Yep, thanks to the magic of fairies and good graces I have a couple dozen images scattered up there. From the home page to the sample image library you can open and play around with, you might catch some familiar images from the pages of this journal.

Go to the home page, click on the TEST DRIVE button, then click on MY PHOTOS. Select a photo and play with all the tools.

I have to grin a little, about having my images up there.

See, I love taking photos and though I want to be more serious about it, I know that many creative industries (selling music, writing professionally, and making photos) are in this big transition.

That’s another story altogether, but a big part of this change is because of hobbyists—learning these crafts and finding knacks because of information that is shared online.

Golly I ramble.

The point is: I’m pretty sure the reason I was approached is because my photos don’t look too professional. And I’m totally cool with this because I like the little flaws and bits of humanity that show through my work. (I even like my interface designs to have this quality.)

As more and more folks also learn the joys of making photographs, editing and organizing, the more need we have for tools that are powerful, simple and inexpensive. I know I’m a peace-loving tree hugger, but sometimes I have to think it’s all interconnected, good, and moving forward.

Current music: Katy Perry “Use Your Love”