How can I make these effects in this pictures by using photoshop?

Question

http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/2328/300wallpaperuf2.jpg

Answer 1

it looks like theres some blurring around leonidus to add emphasis to him and also some contrast and lighting, then of course a red tint (but im not too sure)

Answer 2

Me being the photoshop expert I am, I would say that quite a bit of effort went into making this background.  If I were to quickly explain, I would say that the levels were change (Ctrl+L), and then that layer would be desaturated (Ctrl+Shift+U) and copied (Ctrl+J).  Then Posterize would be used (Image >> Adjustments) sparingly.  A new layer would be added along with using multiple different brushes with varying opacity and size.  The red touch could be many different things.  It could be a new layer filled with red and the blend setting changed to overlay.  It could also be a Hue/Saturation change (Ctrl+U) with colorize checked in the bottom right of the dialogue.  This is the quick way to explain this, I could go into quite some more detail.  If needed, send a message to my most checked e-mail address: [e-mail]

Josh A.