In a society that is increasingly focused on portable technology, digital imaging has its own established place. The expansion of smartphones and tablets, all equipped with imaging sensors, means that taking and processing images and videos is not relegated only to individuals carrying cameras, but to almost any member of society. This means that the number of people seeking to edit or store images has increased tremendously, and their background has also diversified.
Yet, most image takers have limited or no understanding of how to compose, modify, or improve an image. Their efforts to process the images are often stifled by the offerings of their proprietary cameras or costly software. This book aims to show novices how to perform several basic operations using readily available, free software. The author, a computer engineer who has some background in imaging (through a graduate degree), has extraordinary enthusiasm for the topics he covers. The book also includes a technical reviewer, yet his exact role is not clearly identified. Furthermore, the back cover suggests that the volume is a part of a larger series (identified as a roadmap). However, the purpose of this series is unclear (especially when comparing a volume on Gimp for absolute beginners, with one on beginning Gimp, with one on beginning digital processing that also uses Gimp).
The book is organized in a straightforward manner, starting with a reasonable introduction to image formation and collection, followed by several chapters on image manipulation. Each chapter usually begins with an introduction to the general concerns related to the technique, and then continues with step-by-step directions on how to use one or two software solutions to perform the technique. Often, however, the introductions are too simplistic, and many sections do not seem to provide significantly more information on the tools than what is already available in the user guides and help sections.
The book has several drawbacks. From the beginning, the promise of ease of use is not met. A reader would immediately have to go to the appendix to find out various approaches to installing the software. More cumbersome is the lack of a master list of software used, as well as a table that explains what software should be employed for certain operations.
The layout of the book could also be improved. The figures are often presented on one page, with the discussion and comparisons of various images on other pages, forcing the reader to flip back and forth. The size of many of the images is not appropriate. When comparing images, they could have been reduced in size and placed next to each other, to ease understanding. Furthermore, black-and-white printing, while cheaper, does not do many of the concepts justice. For example, one section explains the various color representation schemes and includes illustrations on how colors are mixed. Understanding the explanation is hampered by the poor quality of the illustrations.
Overall, the book fails to be the valuable tool it claims to be, especially when compared to information that is already freely available online. The argument for ease of use is not well substantiated, especially when command-line applications (such as ImageMagick) are discussed. The potential audience for the text is also not clearly identified.
