47 Tuc Redux

[Andy01]

I was inspired to revisit 47 Tuc when I saw IIS member Paul Haese's stunning version on this forum. :eyepop: Seems it's a popular target amongst us at present!

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/attachment_browse.php?a=170303

Anyway, here's my effort, 4 hrs worth of 10 min subs with a few 30 sec exposures to hold some core detail. Taken on the SBIG 8300c OSC from the my heavily light polluted backyard in Melbourne, Victoria.

Took a while to process it but I'm reasonably happy with it.
Persistance pays off I guess. I think this may be my 7th go at this thing now.:)

High res here - http://www.astrobin.com/124563/0/ looks better than the crunched thumbnail!

Thanks for looking :thumbsup:

Andy

[Andy01]

Wow, tough audience, 48 views and not a single comment - is it that bad?

[PeterEde]

No Andy I think that is great. Nice to see more detail than usual. Seems to be my go to on a bad night too

[RickS]

Andy,

Colours aren't bad but the Astrobin version is very crunchy. Too much sharpening?

Cheers,
Rick.

[Regulus]

Persistance has definitely paid off here Andy. That's as good as any Tuc I have seen. Well worth the time and effort.
Trev
ps. On par with Paul's, I think.

[Andy01]

Thanks Peter, took forever to process out the LP, glad you liked it!



Maybe so Rick, I'm 50/50 on that myself, but the feedback on FB forums and groups was overwhelmingly positive for it's sharpness, so I guess it's subjective :)

Glad you liked the colours, it was bloody hard to get them right through the IDAS LP filter. Had to use Lab colour and NIK filters in PS and astronomy tools actions to recover them, took forever!



Oh go on with you (blush), that's a very, very nice thing to say- I'm a bit embarassed now, Paul is one of my heroes!

[RickS]

I have to say that I've had a lot more useful and honest feedback from IIS than FB but perhaps that's not what you're looking for...

[Andy01]

Rick, don't get me wrong, I'm not looking for unwarranted praise, just honest constructive feedback from experienced imagers such as yourself. In fact I highly value your opinion. Your Omega Centauri image on Astrobin sets a very high standard to be measured against for Globs!

I wasn't just referring to "likes" though, as there are a great many highly experienced AP practioners on FB and other forums and Yahoo groups whose feedback is also valuable and appreciated. It's how relative newcomers like myself learn and strive to improve.

IIS however, is local and the feedback and sharing is a you said, both useful and honest :)

Cheers
Andy

[LightningNZ]

The image scale and the colours are very nice. Can't fault the roundness of the stars either - when viewed at a reduced size it looks smashing. Up close, the stars look flat and the background looks grainy and almost clipped. I think the histogram has been stretched a bit hard, so the dynamic range in the image is quite limited.

[Andy01]

Thanks Cam, that's awesome feedback. :thumbsup:

I suspect most of the issues you mentioned are probably a result from pushing the original data too hard to minimize the LP at home.

Hey do you recommend any a) online tutorials and b) using Pixinsight instead of PS? I've not used Pixinsight, but it seems to be popular!

Cheers
Andy

[Ross G]

A good looking photo Andy.

Very sharp with some nice colour.

Ross.

[kkara4]

Andy the picture is amazing! I really hope to be getting images like that very soon, just waiting for one bolt to arrive in the post lol.

Ive found that technically incorrect but visually stunning pictures will generate much viewing/liking/interest outside of a forum of astronomically interested folk, and vice versa.

To get both is a very difficult thing to achieve, a goal i am hoping to achieve in the not too distant future.

However technically wrong your image is, it is visually stunning and if i put that up on facebook my entire friends list would probably be all over it :D.

[SimmoW]

Well I reckon it's a great shot Andy, maybe a little too processed but I know that's your signature style, given your PS expertise. But the initial reaction of 'wow, thats a deep image' is a good one to have! 4hrs of data is a great effort too.

Maybe we have all grown blasé about the poor old Tuc? So many images of it lately, including by me!

I'm doing a PI demo live at the ASV ap meet this month, might be worth watching mate. I like it because I think it keeps the image true to life as possible, it's quite subtle if you let it be that way. But I wouldn't rely on it solely, as you can over process in it just as easily as PS, or just make silly mistakes like I do sometimes.

The last poster is right, we can get very picky in this forum, but showing most 'mere mortals' our images usually produces gasps of wonder. Most images posted here are pretty amazing imho, as I say we can just get a bit too blasé after awhile.

And just imagine how good your new cam and filters will perform! Can't wait to see first light images. No pressure eh!

[strongmanmike]

Hey Andy, sorry I missed comment on this one, too many 47 Tucs, I get confused :question: :lol:

At small size it looks pretty bloody good, looks sharp and punchy...but as mentioned when viewing the larger size it looks a bit over sharpened and the stars don't look natural and some colour splodging is more noticable too :question:

However, all in all though, an impactful view of this spectacular cluster :thumbsup:

Mike

[Andy01]

Cheers Ross :)



Thanks KKara, nice as it is to have "likes" on FB, to truly learn in this game one must humble down and take good constructive critism on the chin I reckon. It's reallt the only way to learn & improve. Some of the many contributers here like Paul, Rick & Mike (to name but a few) are truly gifted and knowledgeable individuals dedicated to the craft of AP.

When and if I can one day impress them, then I know that I will be close to achieving something, until then- I'm listening & learning and working on improving each time I go out there :)



As above Simmo, I thought it was pretty good at first but now I now it could and can be heaps better, and hopefully it will be next time out! I'm grateful for all the constructive feedback :)



Thanks Mike. The devil is in the detail and you're right, the details' not there - yet. Watch this space, I'll keep plugging away and hopefully keep learning and improving with input from experienced AP imagers like yourself, cheers!

Andy