GIMP and My First Cyberpunk Aesthetic Photo

Purple-and-Blue Cyberpunk Photos

Several days ago, while aimlessly looking for cyberpunk-themed concept art on the internet, I had an idea.

The idea was to download random nighttime photographs of, say, Hong Kong and see if I do could do it.

I suppose that the purple-and-blue toned photographs of the Shibuya area in Tokyo are a new visual cliche. Just like all of the AI-generated art that now litters the internet. Perform a simple image search for the key words cyberpunk aesthetic, and you should receive numerous search results.

Despite being a visual cliche, I really like the style of this kind of photograph. I cannot deny it.

My initial thought was to look for an app that I could use on my phone. After a short internet search, I found the YouCam Perfect app. Right on their website was the article on how to use their app to make cyberpunk photos. I even recognized the photo that is used as an example, a nighttime photo of one lane street in Seoul. I searched Google Play and there it was, the YouCam Perfect app. I was just about ready to download the app onto my LG Stylo 6 cell phone when...

I hesitated in downloading the app.

Why did I do that?

The answer is simple: I already have a copy of GIMP installed on my computer.

What is GIMP and Why Should I care?

GIMP stands for the GNU Image Manipulation Program.

A couple of years ago, I installed Ubuntu Linux onto my trusty Dell laptop. At the time, I was really curious about Linux. As a result, I bought a magazine from my local Barnes and Noble bookstore that taught you how to install Ubuntu onto your computer, how to download programs, and how to issue simple commands in Linux. In the magazine, there was a section about what programs are available for people who use Ubuntu Linux. GIMP was near the top of the list. Think of GIMP as the open-source version of Adobe's Photoshop. Basically, you had a group of programmers that created their own version of Adobe Photoshop. For copyright reasons, GIMP is not an exact duplicate of Photoshop, yet GIMP has many of the same features and options of Photoshop. Like most programs available for Linux users, GIMP is available for free at GIMP's own website. You can also make a donation to the people that are involved with creating and updating GIMP. It should be noted that GIMP is also available for Windows 10 users as well.

Unfortunately, my brief flirtation with Ubuntu Linux didn't last very long. My IT help desk job at SSA is entirely Windows-centric. As a result, I made the decision to concentrate on learning about Windows for work. Consequently, I downloaded the Windows version of GIMP onto my computer. It should be noted that GIMP is a complex program to use. There is a short tutorial available on GIMP, but it covers probably less than 1% of what you can do with GIMP. Plus, until I started to go hiking over this past summer, I was really bad at not taking any photos, so GIMP just sat there taking up space on my computer's hard drive.

Anyhow, I figured that someone out there on the internet created a tutorial on how to create the "cyberpunk aesthetic" on photos using GIMP. Lo and behold, there were several tutorials available on how to do just that over on YouTube. The tutorial that I used is titled "Synthwave Style Photo Editing" by a YouTuber named GuruGal. At just five minutes, the tutorial is short, sweet, and to the point. In the tutorial, she takes a nighttime photo of a street in New York City and makes several basic adjustments to the colors of the photo, such as emphasizing cool colors (cyan and magenta) over warm colors (yellow and green). After a couple of minutes, she has a photo that looks just as good as you can do with the YouCam Perfect app. The difference between the two techniques is that the YouCam Perfect app is using an algorithm to make the adjustments to the photo, while GuruGal is adjusting the colors until she gets a visual result that she is happy with. The YouCam Perfect app appears to be a simple app that is easy to use with various modes to choose from. You choose what tool you want to use on a photo, and you should get pretty good results in a small amount of time. In contrast, using a photo editor like GIMP (or Photoshop) will give you control over just about every facet of the image until you get a result that you like. For some people, you might not want all of the options and complexity that comes with a photo editor like GIMP or Photoshop. You just want to put elephant ears on a photo of a friend at party, then YouCam Perfect is probably what you would want to use.

It should be noted that there are longer tutorials available on YouTube for creating "cyberpunk aesthetic" photos with GIMP. At some point, I plan on taking a look at those. On a side note, GuruGal has quite a few GIMP tutorials on her YouTube page. I really should work my way through her GIMP tutorials bit-by-bit.

Anyhow, getting back to GuruGal's "Synthwave Style Photo Editing" tutorial, I searched the internet for a random photo of a nighttime street scene in Hong Kong.

 

Studying for CCNA and the Pearson Vue Network Simulator...

I'm still studying for CCNA.

Right now, I at Chapter 7 Configuring and Verifying Switch Interfaces in the Official Cert Guide CCNA 200-301 Volume 1 by Wendell Odom.

In addition to that, I have also been making my through the Packet Tracer exercises, known as Config Labs, for Chapters 6 and 7 that are available on Wendell Odom's own Cert Skills website. For the Config Labs, you can work through the exercises using a piece of paper and a pen, Cisco's Packet Tracer, or Cisco's own Cisco Modeling Labs.

Using Config Labs...

Since the Config Labs were designed to be used with just a pen or pencil and a piece of paper, most of the labs that I have worked through really don't require using Packet Tracer or Modeling Labs. So far, the Config Labs involve tasks like setting up passwords for access to the switch and inputting the commands required for setting up the switch for use. So, yes, all you really need is just a pen and a piece of paper. Plus, the Config Labs require a lot page flipping through the textbook.

Using Packet Tracer...

Since I tried working through Cisco's online class for using Packet Tracer when I was studying for CompTIA's Network+ certification, I already had Packet Tracer downloaded and installed on my computer. According to several sources on the internet, Packet Tracer is a really good tool for studying for the CCNA certification exam. The caveat with for Packet Tracer is that there are parts of the CCNA certification exam that you cannot do with Packet Tracer. That said, I do have a former co-worker at SSA who told me that he was able to pass the CCNA exam using just Packet Tracer. As a result of working through the Config Labs, I know more about Cisco's IOS that I did when I started studying for CCNA.

Thinking about using Cisco's Modeling Labs...

I must say that Cisco's Modeling Labs does look really interesting. Cisco's Modeling Labs apparently gives the user a nearly identical experience as if you had physical netowrking equipment right in front of you. Whereas Packet Tracer is a free download, a license for personal use of Cisco Modeling Labs costs $199. However, that $199 for a license from Cisco is A LOT more affordable than buying one of those CCNA exam kits that includes a router and a couple of switches among other equipment. For example, my current apartment is 550 square feet. I don't have any room in my tiny apartment to have a rack of Cisco networking equipment for learing.

Using Pearson Vue's Network Simulator Lite...

On top of that, I have been steadily working my way through the exercises available on the free version of Pearson Vue's CCNA 200-301 Network Simulator Lite, Volume 1. So far, my experience with using Pearson Vue's network simulator has been quite positive. On the labs that I have worked through, Pearson Vue guides you a helping hand by telling you what you need to type into the switch's command line interface. In other words, Pearson Vue's Network Simulator Lite focuses on learning by doing. Thus far, I would say that is probably the best way to learn how to set up a switch for use. According to the Introduction in the Official Cert Guide CCNA 200-301 Volume 1, many people have successfully passed the CCNA certification exam just using Network Simulator Lite for study.

However, there is just one caveat for using Pearson Vue's Network Simulator Lite. The caveat is that the Network Simulator Lite contains ONLY 21 labs. If you want the other 380 labs, then you will have buy the remaining labs from Pearson Vue. The list price for Network Simulator Lite is at least $150. However, Pearson Vue will cut down the price quite a bit if you use the Network Simulator Lite that comes with Official Cert Guide CCNA 200-301 Volume 1.

Final Thoughts...

For now, I will be working my way through the exercises available on Wendell Odom's CertSkills blog with Packet Tracer. Once I get through 21 free labs for Pearson Vue's Network Simulator Lite, I will probably end up purchasing the remaining labs. One thing that I recently did was search through YouTube for Packet Tracer exercises for the CCNA certification exam. I found Keith Barker's 26 video series for Packet Tracker and the CCNA certification exam. That was a really interesting find. I'm planning on watching the first video in the series as soon as I can.