For this series of images I was trying to create an image of the moon and the earth merged into one to create a shot of the moon with the earth's surface incorporated within the sphere of the moon - an idea inspired by the fact that the moon was actually a part of the earth millions of years ago before an asteroid hit the earth and broke of a large piece which is now a natural satellite that we know as our moon.
In shooting the photograph of the moon I used a telephoto lens 400mm taken on a shutter speed of 5 seconds and an aperture of 11
The photograph of the earth I took from a web site but I had to find the correct colour variations to merge with my moon as it is very grey and a very blue one would not be correct.

Step one - here we see how I copied and pasted the earth's shot using a circular selector but I had to apply a feathering on it in modify setting it to 100 pixels to create a dissolved cut

Step two - copy the selected area and paste it into the moon shot which will create a new layer. Make sure it is on top of the moon.

Step three - move the earth over the moon and then use a scaling tool to scale it down to the right size.

stage four - use an eraser tool, setting it on dissolve and change the opacity to 30. Using this, delete the sea and parts of the earth to show through the craters of the moon on the layer behind it.

The overall effect has blended very well and created a truly subtle shot.