The short answer: The GIMP & UFRaw
The long answer:
I am an unashamed Linux guy. You may ask, “Why not use Windows like everyone else?”, “Why not switch to Mac like the enlightened photographers out there?”. Well, because it would be silly of me to pay for those things which I can get for free.
That is a very simplified answer. I have a lot more reasons, but I have not answered the original question. Because I use Linux/Unix, I do not go for the ubiquitous PhotoShop, nor would I even if I were a Windows or Mac user. Why? Because shooting the type of photography I do, I do not find much use for photo editing, and when I do, I do not need a $650 program to do it.
It really depends on what your photography editing needs are. Adobe and Corel both have excellent programs out there, and Corel even prices some of them within decent ranges for photographers with more simple needs.
The GIMP handles all my needs and then some. I am continually finding and exploring new features as I dig through the menus. And for my RAW files, UFRaw has performed admirably. If I open a RAW file with The GIMP, it will automatically use UFRaw first, then UFRaw will pass a JPG to The GIMP for editing there.
And, on rare occasion, I open up Google’s Picasa. It is “push button” easy, and for simple chores, it is faster and more effective than the more robust graphical editing and managing programs. For folks that just want simple editing features that are easy to understand, I highly suggest Picasa.
