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Hi Gary,
One easy way to make a
light gradient mask in Photoshop is to use the original image to create the
mask. Here are the "quick and dirty" steps:
1. Duplicate your background layer -
this duplicate will be your mask layer.
2. Select > All (Ctrl+A) and Select >
Invert (Ctrl+I) your mask layer to create a negative image.
3. Run a wide radius gaussian blur on the
mask layer (70-100 pixels or so on your image). If there are bright stars
in the image, or subject matter (galaxy, nebula, etc.) you may want to remove
those first with the Rubber Stamp tool (a/k/a Clone tool).
4. Select "Screen" mode for the mask layer
and adjust the opacity of the layer until the light gradients are gone (the
image will look overly bright since you are raising the luminosity levels
of the dark areas, rather than lowering the luminosity of the brighter areas in
order to balance them out).
5. Use a Levels and/or Curves adjustment to
restore the black point and add contrast back into the image.
If you would like me to email you the
Photoshop file (with the layers intact) with the above steps applied to your
image, please just contact me off list.
Good luck with it,
Scott
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