Winner: Here are your random numbers:   50 Timestamp: 2011-02-14 13:21:24 UTC Congrats to # alimartell

My laptop died last month. I knew it was on it's last leg so I scrambled to save every photo, video and document onto my external hard drive. With everything saved I walked into Apple's Genius bar and begged them to nurse my baby back to health. "Of course we can restore it. It will be just like new. We'll have to erase the hard drive though."  No problem, I told them waving my trusted hard drive before them.

On the drive home I started to panic. I started to twitch. Before losing it completely, I pulled into an empty parking lot and emailed a friend in Australia. "My computer died and although I saved all my photos, videos and documents - I totally forgot to save my applications. Including your photoshop actions. I. Can. Not. Live. Without. Them! Help me Rachel, please." Rachel responded within the hour emailing me the actions I purchased from her years ago. And I finally relaxed.

What are photoshop actions? I passionately spoke about them at Blogher 2010 in the session "How to edit your photos and make them 10x better" and posted my power point presentation here (including instructions and free actions found online). Essentially photoshop actions are formulas that professional photographers create (taking a dozen steps and lumping them into one action) so that an amateur photographer, like me, can take a photo....

and with one click make it extraordinary...

Do you see a difference between the two?

That's why I frantically pulled over and emailed Rachel. Professional photographer I am not; but, her actions trick everyone in believing that I am one. Pioneer Woman's free photoshop actions do the same. Actions make photos pop.

Now. Before you scream at your screen saying "But, OHmommy... photoshop scares me and the free user-friendly picnik photo editing is good enough for me." I'd like to insert that I self taught myself photoshop (checking out "Photoshop for Dummies" at my local library) and later took a "Photoshop 101" class at the local community college where I actually knew more than the "professor". Basically. It's really not that hard. You are better off checking out a book from the library than wasting money on a community college course. Photoshop is user friendly, if you have time to play around. I won't lie, it's intimidating at first but addicting afterwards. You can download a 30 day free trial of photoshop here and check out a book at your local library.

Back to Rachel. Back to the Genuis Bar.

"We restored all of your applications. I knew you worried about those."

"Yes!"

"We were able to restore everything."

"You were?"

"Yes."

"Even my photoshop actions?"

"Yes."

The Genius bar restored my beloved Rachel Devine photoshop actions. WOOT! And an email file containing $160 worth of amazing photoshop actions (the ones Rachel emailed me during my panic attack) is now up for grabs. A giveaway. Although not transferable Rachel allowed me to pass them onto you. Her photoshop actions are priceless and they are all yours. Just describe the photo you would want to "photoshop" to perfection for your chance to win.

That is all! It's photo editing for dummies worth $160 and it's all yours, just describe a photo in the comments below.  Contest ends 02/10/11 at midnight where one commenter will be chosen by random.org.