What about those of us who can't afford to buy photo software? We just had a kid, so there's no budget for us to go out and buy photo editing toys. I'd like to create fun effects of my child, but I also have a Pampers habit you wouldn't believe. One thing I'd really like to do is create a picture of my boy that makes it look like it was taken years ago.

Marjani, one of the wonderful things about the world of software is that there are often free ways to accomplish what you want without spending money. Certainly, some of the commercial products might give you more control and options, but they're often harder to use as well.

For black and white effects, one cool program you might want to take a look at is BWorks for Digital Cameras. This is a slick little two-pane program that provides a variety of digital photo effects.

Because you mentioned your son, we pulled the image in Figure A from our trusty clip art collection.

FIGURE A

Awwww...he's so cute! Click picture for a larger image.

We launched BWorks, shown in Figure B, and clicked the Load button, selecting our original image.

FIGURE B

BWorks will perform a variety of effects on your image. Click picture for a larger image.

We then selected Inverse Duotone from the list of conversion options, resulting in the image on the right. As you can see in Figure C, it's a pretty nice effect.

FIGURE C

The picture looks somewhat aged. Click picture for a larger image.

You might also like the sepia effect, shown in Figure D.

FIGURE D

And now, a picture that's older still. Click picture for a larger image.

It's that simple, and it's totally free. You can't beat that with a stick!

For more than 20 years, David Gewirtz, the author of Where Have All The Emails Gone? and The Flexible Enterprise, has analyzed current, historical, and emerging issues relating to technology, competitiveness, and policy. David is the Editor-in-Chief of the ZATZ magazines, is the Cyberterrorism Advisor for the International Association for Counterterrorism and Security Professionals, and is a member of the instructional faculty at the University of California, Berkeley extension. He can be reached at david@zatz.com.