Any better???

[LewisM]

Been going through a lot of online tutorials (thanks Mike) about processing, and found what SEEMS to be a nice balance between PI and PS.

So, I stacked, DBE'd and ACNR in PI. Saved as a 15bit TIFF, and exported to PS, where I layer masked with inverted layers, tweaked the saturation a little.

I think the overall result is better, especially when you consider it's just a little over an hour of data through a 102mm refractor in severe light pollution using a OSC.


The OLD: http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/attachment_browse.php?a=146196

The new (attached)

Be BRUTAL - I won't learn if people keep silent (sniggering away :) ).

[LewisM]

BTW, I don't like the Vegas Neon look, so the colours are deliberately not garish ;) A LITTLE black clipped, but I will do a repro.

[LewisM]

Tweaked curves a little...

[cometcatcher]

I like it very much. :)

The only thing might be to frame it a little better. It appears to be a little chopped off at the bottom.

[Larryp]

Looks good, Lewis. As previously mentioned, just the framing.

[rmuhlack]

well a big improvement i think over the earlier version, so well done. You could consider using a star mask to isolate the stars and then boost the saturation (to the stars only) to bring our the star colour a bit more.

You could also experiment with the LocalHistogramEqualization process. Try a contrast limit of around 1.5-2.5 and an amount of 0.2 for starters.

[LewisM]

I think I have looked at it too long now... :)

Last try to get something out of it:

[rustigsmed]

:thumbsup:


i know what you mean, spending ages looking at an image with minor tweaks the normal observor would not even notice ;)

but this newer one is much better, a bit brighter perhaps? looks good

[rustigsmed]

thats weird, the thumbs up went to before the quote ...

:thumbsup:

[LewisM]

Personal taste I guess... I like this one the most:

[naskies]

Nice work, Lewis :) Background looks a tad green? (Try HLVG maybe?) Perhaps a vertical panorama - another panel at the bottom - would work well compositionally?

[LewisM]

Yep, now in better contrast lighting environment, it is a touch dark. HLVG it will be - a subtle one, so it doesn't leach the golden stars.

Another panel would be great, but still need another 2 hours data MINIMUM on the main body too. Really peeves me I cropped it, but at least I can add to it as you suggest Dave.

[LewisM]

Too far now?

[cometcatcher]

I like it even more betterer. :thumbsup:

I find it a problem staring at the screen for too long. I lose all sense of colour and saturation. I have to walk away and come back later when my brain has reset.

[LewisM]

Oh, definitely have to leave it after about 20 minutes. Walk away, oxygenate the eyes, and try again. Better still, sleep on it!

[Forgey]

I like the last one Lewis :)

[LewisM]

Thanks Paula.

Looks garish to me now. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

How some people make this look effortless... I suppose great data helps.

I keep plodding along...

[LewisM]

OK, I am done with this one. No more fiddling. Finito.

Here is my final attempt with this data:

http://www.astrobin.com/55355/

http://www.astrobin.com/full/55355/?mod=none

Any YAY, the black isn't clipped any more :)

[multiweb]

Very last repro is on the money. Nice one. :thumbsup:

[tilbrook@rbe.ne]

Love the last repro Lewis! :thumbsup:

Sometimes it feels like the image will never come together.

Cheers,

Justin.

[LewisM]

Exasperated thanks guys and gal.

It really shows how VITAL a LOT of data is. This took SO much effort to bring it out, and in the end, I found such a simple technique that just made it start to look right. I thank Louis Atalasidis for that technique!

PI is still a quagmire for me, so Louis' tutorials in PS really appeal to me.