Photo Montage - Blending Multiple Photos

Question

I want to create a montage of 6-8 photos where each has their edges or select areas individually adjusted for transparency. In Photoshop, one creates a mask for each photo and, using the left or right mouse button, adjusts the opacity of the image up or down with each mouse stroke by using a feathered brush tool on the mask layer.
How is this accomplished, if at all, in PE6?

Answer 1

Clifford,
To elaborate on Charles' method, here's an example.
http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1N6ADLkHyMdlLjRmHJ1001s2u4W
I created an image consisting of 2 flowers on separate layers.
Set the Foreground/Background colors to default back/white.
For the top flower:
1. Added a Levels adjustment layer (no adjustment, just click OK) below the Picture 1 layer and grouped the 2 layers.
2. Activated the Levels layer and with the Elliptical Marquee drew out an oval filling a portion of the flower.
3. Inverted the selection (Select>Inverse) and feathered the selection 40 px.
4. Filled the selection with black.
For the bottom flower I used a different technique:
1. Deleted the previous selection.
2. Added and grouped a Levels layer and filled with black (same as was done for the top flower).
3. Activated the Brush tool with a large soft brush size (300 px).
4. Painted with white to reveal the flower.
The portion of the flowers revealed is defined by the mask in the Levels layers. To reveal more portions of the picture paint the mask with white. To remove portions of the picture paint with black. Use a large soft brush to preserve the feathering. You can type "x" to toggle between black & white.