About the Image(s)

I started with the landscape photos and combined them because I wanted the texture of the grass but the color of the water and misty mountains. I used Subtract Blend Mode for the grass layer, placed over the blue water layer. A motion blur filter was applied to the grass layer. I used Filter Gallery > Render > Tree to create the aspen trees; I then converted them to silhouettes using the Brightness/Contrast and Shadows/Highlights image adjustment menus. Next, I added a new empty layer between the background layers and the tree layers and used a white soft paintbrush to create a bright moon that appeared as a halo under the trees. I also painted a moon highlight to the ground at reduced opacity. Another empty layer was added for the tree shadows; I just brushed them by hand since they were basically just straight lines. My original intent was to keep the image very minimal with just a slight hint of spookiness for Halloween, but my husband thought it was too simple, so I added the little girl, ghost, and spider to amp it up. I then just used a large, soft black brush at reduced opacity to darken the upper and lower edges of the image. Lastly, I used On1 to add a slight glow filter.