Check out JASC's Paint Shop Pro 8. Costco has it for $40 after rebate. I also have Photoshop and Elements, but PSP8 is quickly leaping Elements ... especially in the red-eye removal area and batch processing (Elements has very limited capabilities when it comes to batch processing because, unlike Photoshop or PSP8, it has no capability to do "macros", "actions" or "scripts" ).

You can also check out Oriens Enhancer GOLD. it is free so no money lost if it doesn't do what you want. http://www.oriens-solution.com/enhancer/default.asp

Try GIMP. It is free (GPL). (www.gimp.org) .
I prefer to use it under Linux but it is reasonable under Windows (as long as
you run NT/2000/XP...It also works under 98 but in my experience it does not
run as well there).

I was going to recomend "The Gimp." :) Also, there's Corel Painter 8, but it's not really a photoediting program, it's more like a painters canvus on your screen/ :)

Goto www.downloads.com and check out what they got. There's lots of shareware/free programs. That's how I found PSP.

Depends what you want the application to do. GIMP which I've recommened many time is both good and FREE. Hard to beat that combination. Also if you're serious about your hobby and haven't yet got a scanner many come with some type of graphic program. Today you can get a basic scanner and some entry level graphic application thrown in for around $100. A good investment.

I go along with those who suggested Gimp.The interface is a bit clunky but it will do much of what Photoshop does without the price tag.

The best scanning/viewing/printing/conversion utility is Irfanview. I use it more than any other gracphics app because it's quick and intuititive and will open almost anything you throw at it. It's not much of an editor, though.

What I want is to be able to make surreal backgounds.
I plan on having moving objects in front of a green screen and then inserting my background.
By surreal I mean stuff like a skyscraper protruding out of a sand dune in the desert with a purple sky, a car sticking out of a wall with a pig driving, etc. Basically, I guess you'd call it collages.
I have a basic package that came with my digital camera, but I find the feature to separate my desired objects too rough. It's fine for red-eye removal and other basic editing, but falls flat if I want something original that doesn't look patched together.
My moving objects with be stills. As a side note, what's the best transitions to use to make a more fluid movement of the characters when using still photography?

Thanks for all the help!

M

Bryce 3D is good for making surreal background landscapes on a limited budget. When I have time I like to play around with it. You saw a couple simpler samples of easily made landscapes in a couple of my tutorials that I uploaded to Kelly's site about a year ago.

Here's some examples, to give you an idea what's possible

http://www.sybertooth.ca/bryce/default.html

Photo Impact XL (PIXL) from Ulead also has some really good tools for creating works, with simulated 3D tools and LOTS of drag/drop creative tools. Sells for 99.00, with excellent book and other training media support.
Ulead makes a pretty junky video editor, but their photo editing stuff is great.

For sureal you may want to try Corel Painter. You can downlaod a demo (it just doens't let you save). I found an old version of Painter on E-Bay 2 years ago for $30. It could also be under it's previous owner names: Fractal Painter and Metacreations Painter.

Download demos and see if you like it BEFORE you buy these programs though! Nothing beats demos!

I use Ulead Photoimpact. Latest version is XL. You should also look at Photoshop Elements (or Elements plus Album), Jasc, and Corel Paint. Photoimpact is amazingly fast. Great design team from Tawain that have been working on this product since 1990. XL is the ninth release.