It's pretty much Photoshop-specific, but you could emulate the effects if (1) your program is sophisticated enough, and (2) you are very familiar with how your program works.
I am sure paint shop can do or most of this stuff. gimp, not so sure. photoshop elements should be able to handle this as well.
I went to go buy this book at Barnes & Noble last night and it was about $20 more expensive than B&H. So, it looks like I'll be ordering it online
Re: Scott Kelby's 7-Point System (Mickey's House) Here is the "original" after shot: Now to get rid of that pesky cast member: [attachment=1] [attachment deleted by admin]
Re: Scott Kelby's 7-Point System, Lesson #1 (Mickey's House) ok, a few final tweaks (fixed some shadow issues) and here is the final version, with the color pop #2 technique added for one final boost. ORIGINAL IMAGE... FINAL IMAGE... [attachment=1] [attachment deleted by admin]
Agreed, WOW! I noticed a shadow near where the cast member was in the previous version, but I figured no big deal. But you have certainly taken care of that Tim and more. Looks fantastic.