Sunset with Dog

Sunset_wdog2

This is an image I passed by in earlier editing because the sky was overexposed. It finally occurred to me as I sifted through images at the end of the year that I had the correct exposure on another frame without the dog. So, I blended the two images in Photoshop and came up with this beauty.

How did I do that, you may ask. Just open both images in Photoshop. Put the dog image on the bottom and the good sky image on the top. Add a layer mask to the top image. Select the brush tool and paint with black let the dog come through. I used the lines of the ocean and the rocks shadow to get a nice blend. I also had to insert a levels layer between the two images to help get the exposures to line up.

After Sunset

After_sunset

If there is one thing I’ve learned as a photographer it is to not pack up my gear and go home as soon as the sun sets. It’s usually about a half hour later that the magic starts to happen. Such was the case on this evening. I did not manipulate the colors here it really was this pink as the ocean reflected the afterglow in the sky. I opted for a painterly treatment to soften the rocks in keeping with the beauty of the scene.