This image is a composite and mixer brush painting entered into a state print competition for the Professional Photographers of America (PPA). I received a merit for this image but did not compete it at Nationals.
Here is a quick little video of my build process. I didn't include all the steps to color balance and change lighting on each element, just the process of adding them into the composite and then a few steps at the end to enhance the lighting and overall density and tone of the image.
Below are the guide images used. I am a photographer enthusiast and travel several times a year. So all of the landscapes and bird images used were my captures. The textures, clouds, rocks and some of the driftwood was stock.
