merging images for pan

[dfansler]

I just completed a solo sailing trip from Greece to North Carolina (YouTube "Sailing Solo at 70").  I witnessed quite a few beautiful sunsets which I took overlapping photos to make panoramas of.  Merging the sky easy easy since there is no structure.  But merging the sea is a beast.  I have tried copying a section of sea, feathering the edges and pasting it onto the image.  The feathering turns out blurry and easy to see.  I have tried airbrushing the sections together, again without my success.  Anyone have other suggestions?  Attached is a section of the lastest pan I am working on.
Thanks,

David

[Ofnuts]

IMHO The best you can do is  a layer mask with a black to white gradient to progressively merge on image to the other.

   

For instance, using two parts of the same image, the cut is very visible:

   

After adding a mask+gradient on the top one, with the gradient spanning the overlap:

   

[dfansler]

Thanks so much for the reply. I did some online searching for what you described, but could not find anything that would help me perform the actual functions described. Could I trouble you for a detailed explanation of the steps?
Thanks,
David

[Ofnuts]

Best explained here: https://patdavid.net/2011/10/getting-aro...yer-masks/

Once you have added a mask it is automatically selected for painting (otherwise you can click the mask thumbnail) in the layers list. You can also check the status area at the bottom which should say "{layer name} mask".

Then it's only a matter of using the blend tool () to add a black to white gradient.

[sallyanne]

Wow amazing, love to see the panorama after you have it together too.
I watched the start of all your episodes but read through most of the comments. Will watch and listen another day.