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STRETCH IT!
In the Motion Blur dialog, change the
Angle of the filter to 90° and drag the
Distance slider right so that the motion blur
appears similar to the effect seen in the
illustration. The actual amount depends on
the resolution of the image and the subject
matter you are trying to blur, i.e. you may
need to increase or decrease the value
to achieve the effect you are looking for.
Click OK to apply the change.10
MASK SETUP
To hide the motion blur in the central band of
the image we will use the Gradient Tool to mask
the effect of the filter. Click the Gradient Tool
in the Tools bar and choose the Black, White
Gradient from the gradient picker in the Options
bar. Choose the Reflected Gradient option and
set the opacity to 100%. To find the starting
point for the Gradient you can temporarily hide
the effect of the filter by clicking on the visibility
icon next to the filter name in the Layers
panel. Drag a guide from the top Ruler (press
control-R on a PC or command-R on a Mac to
show the rulers) and then switch the filter back
on by clicking next to the name of the filter.11
ADD MASK
Click the white rectangle in the Layers panel to
select the Motion Blur Smart Filter then click
and drag a short distance from the guide in the
image preview to add the reflected gradient.
Hold the Shift key as you drag to ensure the
gradient is perfectly vertical. Try experimenting
with dragging longer or shorter gradients to
change the effect.12
AUSTRALIAN PHOTOGRAPHY MARCH 2016