Depends on what software you need. For some commercial software you will find quality free alternatives, for others you won't.

For batch resizing/croping photos take a look at Xnview - it might be just what you need and its free
http://www.xnview.com/en/xnview.html

For uploading pics via ftp/sftp try filezilla - also free and works great for me
http://filezilla-project.org/

For the graphic work (banners, designs etc.) - nothing can beat Photoshop in my opinion so I bought it, but you might give GIMP a try
http://www.gimp.org/