I've used the GIMP for many years, both on Windows and on my new MacBook Pro. It runs great on OS X and has all the capabilities and plugins one could want. There is even a plugin for HDR images now. There is a great book available to show you how to make the best use of GIMP. There is also a free downloadable book called Grokking the GIMP.

Make no mistake. The GIMP is a very sophisticated program with support for the best features of the high-end programs. I think if you hunt around a little, you'll find there is a GIMP version, or variant, or add-on that makes it work a lot like the Adobe product too.

The GIMP even supports a type of CMYK color separation for commercial printing. I used this capability for the Castle Ridge CD artwork.

Another great program in this category is Scribus, a complete high-end desktop publishing solution. With the GIMP, Scribus and Inkscape---for scaleable vector graphics---you have a publishing facility that will handle the most challenging commercial tasks.

Give these a try. They're free. You can always spend money later on if you'd like.

      - Mark