Imaging downloads

Google SketchUp is a free and fun tool for creating 3D models. If you create a model of a building or object, you can even share it with other users via the Google 3D Warehouse. Begin by downloading the program from http://sketchup.google.com. Once it’s installed, launch the program, go to ‘Choose Template’ —> ‘Simple Template – Meters’ and click ‘Start using SketchUp’. You’ll see an image of a person on the screen and three axes. Click the Orbit tool and drag the axes to view the 3D space in a different way.

If you shoot with a digital SLR, chances are you’ll be capturing your images in RAW format. These images need to be pre-processed before you can work with them in other applications. The open-source application Raw Therapee is a great RAW processor. It can also process JPEG and other photo formats so anyone can use it. Start by downloading and installing the most recent stable version of Raw Therapee from http://rawtherapee.com/downloads. Launch the program and in the Folders view in the bottom-left corner of the window, locate a folder containing the images to work with.

When you need to edit photos, a powerful shareware application is always a good option. This month we’ll get you started with PhotoPerfect, which offers a good range of editing features, many of which aren’t found in other programs. You can download PhotoPerfect from http://www.photoperfect.com/photoperfect-introduction.html. You can trial the program for free and are asked to register it if you intend to use it for profit or any other ‘non-trivial purpose’.