Sky
The starting file has this photo to start…
Select the Rectangle Marquee tool.
Select the bottom of the picture up to where shown below…
Delete
Then click on the Deselect button or use the keyboard shortcut CTRL+D.
You should no longer see the dotted outline.
Rocks
Copy this picture into your document.
Rename the layer to ‘rocks’.
Hide the bottom ‘sky’ layer.
With the Rectangle Marquee tool still active…
Click and drag from the bottom to below the rocks area…
Delete, then click on Deselect.
You should not see the dotted outline anymore.
Now click and drag from the top down to just above the rocks…
Delete; then Deselect.
You should now have this…
Clean up Rocks
Add a layer mask to ‘rocks’…
Select the Brush tool. Set the brush to around size 80 and make sure it’s slightly soft (~80%). Make sure your colors are the default (black & white).
Draw to erase the top and bottom to show only the rocks…
Your mask will look like this..
Black & White
Now make the photo part of the layer active.
Then go to Image > Adjustments > Black & White…
Say OK to the default settings. The rocks are now gray like this…
Position
Show the sky layer again. Select the Move Tool and select the rocks layer.
Move it down like this…
Moon
Copy this picture into your document.
Rename the layer to ‘moon’ and hide the ‘rocks’ layer.
Go to the Properties tab and Select Subject.
This will select the moon.
Now go to Select > Modify > Feather…
In the pop-up window, set the amount to “5”.
Now add a layer mask.
The moon should now be isolated like this…
Resize Moon
Show the ‘sky’ and ‘rock’ layers again.
CTRL+T on the moon and resize it to this size…
[Enter] or click on Done to apply the transformation.
Levels
Then go to Image > Adjustments > Levels…
Adjust the black and white sliders more to the middle so the moon becomes more dramatic…
Your moon should look something like this…
Clouds
Hide the ‘moon’ and ‘rocks’ layers for now. Make the ‘sky’ layer active again.
Duplicate the ‘sky’ layer (CTRL+J) and rename it ‘clouds’.
Hide the ‘sky’ layer.
Add a mask to the ‘clouds’ layer.
Select the Brush tool. Set the brush to around size 80 and make sure it’s slightly soft (~80%). Make sure your colors are the default (black & white).
Brush on the mask to delete the rest of the sky, keeping only the clouds.
Move the clouds layer to the top, above the moon. Make all the layers visible again.
Duplicate the Sky
Canvas Size
Go to Image > Canvas Size…
Set the anchor to the top-middle square and change the height to 525 pixels.
Group Folders
Select all your layers (click on top one, hold SHIFT, then click on bottom one)…
Group them (CTRL+G).
Duplicate the folder (CTRL+J) and rename them ‘top’ and ‘bottom’.
Flip Bottom
Select the bottom folder…
CTRL+T to transform, then click on the Flip Vertical button.
Move it down so the rocks line up (no gap).
So you have something like this…
Distort
CTRL+T again and right-click > Distort.
Zoom out so you can see a good amount around your canvas. Pull out the bottom corners to the sides and pull down the middle to make the moon bigger.
Click off or [Enter] to apply the transformation.
Filters
Ocean Ripple
Select the ‘bottom’ folder and right-click > Convert to Smart Object.
Go to Filter > Filter Gallery … choose Distort > Ocean Ripple.
Your layer will look like this. Double-click on the arrows on the bottom right…
… and reduce the opacity to 40-50
If you’re not satisfied with the result, you can always go back to the Filter itself to make the necessary adjustments.
Bas Relief
Go to Filter > Filter Gallery. This time choose Sketch > Bas Relief.
Then change the opacity of the filter to 15% and change the blend mode to Multiply.
Adjustment Layers
Color Balance
Select the top folder, then add an adjustment layer…
Choose Color Balance
In Properties, move the sliders so you have more Cyan and more Blue
Now it looks like this…
Curves
Add a Curves adjustment layer…
Go to Properties and push the middle square to the right a bit.
Your result …
Darker Edges
Select the ‘top’ folder and insert a new layer above the ‘top’ folder.
Make sure you have default colors (D).
Fill it with black (ALT+Backspace).
Reduce the opacity to 50%.
Set the Eraser Tool …
Make it totally soft and about size 300.
Click on the layer and erase, keeping dark edges
