Hi
Long time lurker/devourer of this thread (amongst others), particularly the photography.
<grannies and eggs time>
Don't know if you're aware but there is a freeware/open source graphic editor, with all the features you might want and more you'll never need, available at http://www.gimp.org/downloads/
In terms of cutting out the background noise without a backscene, a couple of handily placed sheets of mountboard offer a movable canvas against which to photograph!
</grannies and eggs time>