You can make a selection of the empty area surrounding the image you want to blur, perhaps using your Magic Wand Tool. Feather the selection by going to Select > Feather, and choosing an appropriate pixel depth. Remember that feathering applies the effect gradually, with the line of demarcation (the "marching ants") being the half way point. So if you feather something 40 pixels 20 of those pixels will be "outside" of the selection. Then just apply a moderate Gaussian Blur.
Another way is to use the Blur Tool and selectively blur only areas that would benefit...and to different degrees. The Blur Tool is found in the flyout for the Smudge Tool.
You might also be able to get the effects with a feathered layer mask and apply the blur to the area feathered outside. This would likely make a layer underneath mandatory.
One thing I often do is make a copy of the layer first, just in case I mess it up beyond repair, and use up my history states, making it impossible to go back.
Peadge :-)
"matt" wrote in message
I'm a newbie on Photoshop, only use it occasionally for this or that, usually for fixing up CAD rendered images.
CAD rendered images have this tendency to be a little too perfect, in particular, everything's perfectly in focus. I've read the help on blur, but maybe I'm just not understanding how to apply a "progressive blur", so that one side of the image is in focus, and it progressively gets out of focus across the image.
Anyone understand what I'm saying? Anyone able to give me a few pointers?
Thanks,
Matt
http://mysite.verizon.net/mjlombard