Steve -

I haven't tried any of the recent Paint Shop Pro releases (since WWG days, in fact) but Photoshop Elements 2.0 is fairly inexpensive and for photo work does almost everything the "real Photoshop" does. Some things, in fact, are easier in PSE2 than in the big one. List is about $70 US, but sometimes you can find a rebate deal or a discounter and get it for quite a bit less.

The only real distinction I've noted is that PSE2 works only in RGB color format, and the big version lets you use CMYK if you want. For photo work, that's not generally a problem, since all the printers you're likely to encounter are RGB based.

For your consideration, and also those others (ArtThieme listening?) who might be using Photoshop or PSE2, my "efficiency" and results with PSE2 took a quantum leap when LiK got me a copy of The Photoshop Elements Book for Digital Photography by Scott Kelby, New Riders ©2004, ISBN 0-7357139-2-8, ($29.99 US/$45.99 CAN/£23.50 Net UK). Even for people with "real" Photoshop, I think there is a lot of help there. Can't recommend it strongly enough. The most helpful info is when to use the "presets" and when it's quicker and better to "do it otherwise." The help on "dodge and burn" alone is worth the price of the book.

John