There is something deeply satisfying about taking separate elements captured through different techniques and bringing them together into a single, cohesive frame. I finally got around to processing and blending my solar eclipse sequence into a landscape base layer shot out on Dartmoor, Devon.
The Workflow
Putting a mosaic like this together takes a bit of patience in Photoshop:
The Landscape Base
Shot separately to capture the rich, textured tones of the terrain and the natural warmth of the atmosphere near the horizon..
The Eclipse Sequence
A closer look at individual frames from the filtered solar eclipse sequence, capturing the moon’s progression across the sun before being blended into the final landscape mosaic.
The Blend
Bringing the layers together using a simple Lighten blend mode instantly drops the black background out, allowing the progression to sit naturally over the landscape without tedious masking.
Alignment & Scale
Grouping the sequence layers together made it easy to scale the entire progression proportionally, followed by mapping them along a clean, straight diagonal trajectory to track the sun’s path accurately across the sky.
A touch of contrast and atmospheric balancing later, and the final mosaic comes to life. It’s a great reminder of how rewarding multi-step composite projects can be when you take the time to map them out properly.
Have you ever tried putting together a multi-exposure composite or chasing a solar event like this? Let me know your thoughts or any tips you have for blending landscapes in the comments below!