Coona Corona........improved "glob" version

[Ross G]

Hello,

Another photo from my last trip to Coonabarabran in April, Corona Australis.

35 sub frames consisting of a combination of 20 minute, 10 minute, 5 minute and 2 minute exposures. Total exposure was 270 minutes.

There is a slight cropping of the left and right edges to help composition.

"Correct" colour was again the most difficult part of this exercise for me.

The photo is here http://smu.gs/12KG2H6 (..improved "Glob" version..)

What do you think?

Thanks for looking.


Ross.


TELEVUE NP101 101mm F5.4 REFRACTOR
QHY8L OSC CCD
SKYWATCHER EQ6PRO MOUNT
WO 66mm GUIDESCOPE
ORION STARHOOT AUTOGUIDER
GUIDING WITH PHD

PROCESSING WITH DEEP SKY STACKER and PHOTOSHOP CS2

[RickS]

Nice colours and detail, Ross. The glob looks a little strange?

[batema]

I think it looks fantastic. Beautiful colours and very smooth. Well done.

[E_ri_k]

Really nice :) Like 2 eyes staring at you. Like Rick said too, the glob looks too round or something, doesn't worry me though. Awesome image!

Erik

[IanP]

Ross,
aesthetically speaking – it is just beautiful .......

[Paul Haese]

Great colour Ross, and I really like the field of view. I did this several years ago and I would need two panels to get your field of view. I concur with Rick about the globular. Something odd with that, but the rest looks great.

[rustigsmed]

awesome work ross, you are nailing the dark stuff at the moment!

[tilbrook@rbe.ne]

Man you doing some nice work Ross!

Don't know about you, but I find this a difficult beasty to get right. Especially that globular!
It seems me you just about need to cut the globular out while processing the nebula then paste it back in.

Cheers,

Justin.

[RobF]

Beautiful work, except agreed masking on glob needs work. The rest appears natural, which is of course easier said than done. Great data.

[Ross G]

Glad you like it Rick and thanks for the constructive advice.
I have tried to improve the glob, but my Photoshop skills are at their limit.



Very kind comments Mark.

Thank you very much.



Thanks Eric.

Yes it does look like 2 eyes. In fact, it looks like a baboon's head to me!

I have tried fixing the glob.

[Ross G]

Thank you Ian...means a lot!



Very encouraging comments Paul. Thank you.
The 540mm focal length of the telescope gives a nice, wide FOV.

I have tried fixing the glob. I was too busy worrying about the colours to notice anything else.
Trying to blend the 20min, 10min, 5min and 2 min exposures I think has resulted in the glob looking like a ball.
I have tried fixing it, but my Photoshop skills are at their limit



Very kind comments Russell.

Thank you very much.

[Ross G]

Thank you Justin.

It was a very difficult object to process.

I did exposures at 20, 10, 5 and 2 minutes, but blending everything was a nightmare!
Getting the "correct" colour was very difficult...if only everything was monochrome!
If I can manage another trip to Coonabarabran soon, I'm going to image this object again in widefield.



Thank you Rob, glad you like it and thanks for the advice.
I have re-posted a version with hopefully an improved glob.

[gregbradley]

A very nice job there Ross. I like it.

Greg.

[Paul Haese]

The second version looks better Ross, with the glob looking better. Like I said only minor really compared to the overall look of the image.

[atalas]

Nice work Ross.

[FlashDrive]

Real Nice Indeed ...I like it....:thumbsup:

Col....

[Moonman]

Wow!

[rcheshire]

Lovely part of the sky. Always a delight. Nicely done!

[alocky]

Bah! Was just about to post my salvage attempt on this from last night's cloud-affected data. Not going to now :(
Very nice, the contrast is really well managed, but the glob still looks sorta 'flat' - not sure if you know what I mean.

[ZeroID]

Nice baboon's head for sure. The Glob looks like it's been cut and pasted using a square frame. Not saying it has but it just looks too regular like it is a bit artificial, added in after.
Otherwise the rest of the image is stunning.

[niharika]

Excellent image Ross. Found the eyes very hypnotising :).

[strongmanmike]

Overall strong colouring is amongst the best I have seen on this object and at medium enlargement it looks fantastic :thumbsup:...a few imperfections show up up at full size but meeah, who cares ;)

Mike

[Ross G]

Thank you Greg.



Thanks for the feedback Paul.
I have found this a very difficult object to process. It has such a large exposure range,



Hi Louie.

Thank you. I'm glad the master approves.;)

[Ross G]

Glad you like it Col.

Thank you.



Thanks Michael.



Thank you Rowland.

[Ross G]

Thank you Brent, Glad you like it and happy that you can see a baboon's head as well!
I found this a very difficult object to process. It has a very large exposure range and my Photoshop skills were at their limit.
I had taken 20, 10, 5 and 2 minute exposures so I used the lesser exposures where the detail in the glob was visible and layer masks to blend it with the main photo, like processing the bright middle of the Orion Nebula. The blendng of the layers was the tricky part and I did a lot of versions.
There was no cut and pasting with a square frame. That's a Photoshop skill I haven't learnt yet.
Thanks for the advice and feedback.

[Ross G]

Thank you. Glad you liked it.

[Ross G]

Hi Mike, glad you like it.

Very kind comments. I'm still learning and always looking for ways to improve my photos.

Thank you very much.

[David Fitz-Henr]

That's a great image Ross; a nice wide field of view and you've picked up some nice colours in the nebulae as well! :thumbsup::thumbsup:

[Ross G]

Thank you David.

Your amazing photo of this object was a real benchmark for me.

[Shiraz]

That is a very fine image Ross - you clearly have some excellent techniques for handling OSC data.

[multiweb]

Super shot Ross. Deep as. Love the colour saturation. :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

[naskies]

Wow, you have the dust cloud looking just superb!

[marc4darkskies]

Nicely done Ross! :thumbsup: Nearly missed this one!

I know a couple of others, including David Fitz-Henry, have put more red into the dust but I'm not sure that's "right". That's not a criticism mate, just a comment / question. EG: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120927.html

Cheers, Marcus

[Ross G]

Thank you Ray. I'm still trying different techniques with Photoshop.
Getting the "correct" colour is still difficult.



Gald you like it Marc...means a lot!

Thank you.





Thank you Dave. There is so much dust in the region.
I would love to do a wide field with the Nikon 180mm lens.

[Ross G]

Thank you for the kind comments and advice Marcus...much appreciated.

I looked at many examples and did a lot of versions. It seemed each time I looked at them, I preferred a differnt version!
I still have a lot to learn.

[astronobob]

Very nice result Ross, very clean and crisp, agree the glob as well tho enough said mate, I realy digthem pin point stars tho, Im guessing the product of the QHY ? Niice, looking at one of those down the track maybe :thumbsup: great colours through out the neb and all too, great work ,

[IanP]

Ross,

Colours in astro-imagining are 100% subjective; there is no “right” version.
Who is the authority here? For me - it's my granddaughter :rofl:
Go for aesthetics: if you like it – it is right. If I like it too, that’s even better … and I DO like it … :thumbsup:

[Elio]

It's a delight image, well done!

good luck for next wide-field...

[dugnsuz]

First time I've been around these here parts for some time and I find this beauty!

Fantastic image Ross.

[jase]

Fantastic image Ross. I like the composition with the globular cluster to the upper left. Provides a relaxed eye. Strong colours on display too. Well done.

[Ross G]

Great comments Bob. You're very kind.

The QHY8L is an excellent CCD and not too expensive. However, the details and pinpoint stars are probably due to the Televue refractor. I have been pleasantly surprised at the amount of difference between it and my old WO 110mm doublet.

Thank you.

[Ross G]

Thank you Ian. Your comments are supportive and encouraging. I don't have the best colour vision....maybe I can send my astrophotos to you for your granddaughter to evaluate! :)

[Ross G]

Thank you Elio.

Hopefully the widefield will be next new moon.



Hi Doug, welcome back.

Glad you like the photo.

Are you imaging?



Kind and encouraging comments Jase.

Glad you like the photo, especially the colours.

Thank you.

[Enrique]

what a beauty,

Enrique

[Ross G]

Thank you Enrique!

[Fabiomax]

Wow!
Very beautiful colors, Ross,
Cheers,
Fabiomax

[Ross G]

Thank you Fabiomax.

Colour was the hardest part in processing this photo so I'm glad you like it.