The Giant Space Lamprey

[DJScotty]

I know I know... Starless isn't for everybody.

Fiddled and faddled. Come up with this.

Hope you like it.

Full version here
https://www.flickr.com/photos/80263469@N08/25243150059/in/dateposted-public/
BUT DON'T LOOK TOO CLOSELY. A few warts from the star removal are very present...
Thanks for looking. As always c&c welcomed

Ex DJ Scotty :D

[Atmos]

I personally don't mind the starless versions, reminds me of an oil or airbrush painting... Or a cross between the two :P

[Andy01]

I like the dramatic effect but the technique is letting you down. What are you using? Straton is a good star removing option, but there are several others.
Great subject for the look though :)

[DJScotty]

Thanks Andy. Yes straton is my choice of software. What other options are available?

[MortonH]

Looks like the Balrog from Lord of the Rings.

[multiweb]

Really great details in that shot Scott. Very sharp. The dark features are very well defined. Well done. :thumbsup:

[DJScotty]

Thanks Marc. I must admit I am pretty chuffed.


Thanks for looking. It does have that fiery kind of appearance doesn't it! 😆

[Andy01]

Startools has a useful feature that reduces, removes stars, I think Pixinsite does as well. Also for the Photoshop fans, both JP-Metsavainio and Troy's Astro Actions have downloadable star removing actions.

I like Straton as well, but have found it needs a few settings tweaks to get the best out of an image. On the default settings sometimes it overdoes it's job and the results arn't so great. Usually I try a combination of starshrink in Startools, then followed by either Straton or Troys' Actions.

Hope that's useful :)

[DJScotty]

Thanks Andy. That's very helpful and why I like this forum. People help you.
Thanks :thumbsup:

[RickS]

An interesting look, Scotty. I don't mind starless narrowband images.

In PI I remove stars with a star mask and a combination of wavelet layer removal and morphological transformation. It's a bit fiddly but that appears to be the case whatever tool you use.

Cheers,
Rick.

[DJScotty]

Thanks Rick. That pi program sounds more and more compelling the more you tell me about it. I can feel my grip on my wallet slipping! 😆

[RickS]

You can always go for the free trial, Scott, and see if you get hooked. It's a taste that not everybody acquires ;)

[strongmanmike]

Yeah as you say, as long as ya don't look too closely ;) it looks quite majestic even magnificent :thumbsup:

Mike

[Slawomir]

A pleasant image to look at, but detail is washed out IMO. I am afraid without a quality corrector and precise spacing, it will be quite challenging if not impossible to take a full advantage of your very capable and large CCD, no matter what software you use for data processing.

Hey, but the main point is to have fun with this hobby :)

Looking forward to seeing your next image Scott :thumbsup:

[DJScotty]

Thanks Mike. That's high praise! 😆

[DJScotty]

Thanks slawomir.
We can only do the best with what we have. And I am certainly having fun!

[Atmos]

That is all that matters, as long as you're enjoying yourself!

[DJT]

Looking good Scott. Bit of practising with the various star removal processing techniques and you are off and away

What's the scope and CCD combination here?

[DJScotty]

Thanks David. Practice practice practice. .. never ends but all worth it in the end.
The scope is a 10" f4.5 newtonian. 1150mm fl. Imaging with the atik11000. Baader mk3 mpcc to try to flatten the field a bit but can't get it close enough due to the filter wheel. Mounted on the azeq6.