Composite images

So how do you make an image of a popular place and not have any one in it? Well for years before I went digital and knew photoshop at all it was quite the challenge. With the digital tools we have today this kind of image has become easier to make. Starting with a good tripod and cable release make several exposures of the scene (in this case the headwaters of the mississippi river) make sure that the people are in different areas of your images this will be important later. Be sure that your exposures are all the same

Okay so now you have your files on your computer and your in Photoshop take as many files as needed in my example I used 3. then create a new canvas and copy each file to the new canvas as its own layer. Once you have done this you can start removing the people and other unwanted objects on each layer (painting or erasing). Now try Flattening the layers to see your results, If you are happy continue with your image optimization, If not you need to evaluate the results and try again, keep in mind you may need to grab another file or two. Most importantly have fun doing it and pay attention to detail.