How to Tame your Dragons...

[Andy01]

Now with 7 hrs Ha, 8 hrs O3 & 8 hrs S2 5nm Astrodon filters all 30 min subs.

I've probably pushed the artistic side of this image with the processing about as far as I can, so it's probably a bit self indulgent, but that's what hobbies are for I guess!

High res here - http://www.astrobin.com/245950/B/

Thanks for looking :)

[MLParkinson]

Now that's what I would call a brilliant composition.

[Atmos]

That's brilliant Andy, love it! I am so envious of what you have done with your stars, how long do you spend making a mask to do that?

Your narrowband images are always outstanding! Not that I see dragons although I will admit, it is a bit difficult to get a nice view of it when looking on my iPhone with the sun slowly setting (sun set in an hour from now on Phu Quo Island) behind me :)

[pfitzgerald]

Absolutely stunning Andy - beautifully composed and processed. :eyepop:
Now stop shifting the b****y goalposts for the rest of us! :P

Paul

[gregbradley]

Great image Andy. I also like the orientation, it works well.

Greg.

[Regulus]

Lovely detailed piece of self-indulgence Andy. keep it up :-)

Trevor

[marc4darkskies]

Awesome image Andy! Crisp with pleasingly vibrant colours!

Cheers, Marcus

[Andy01]

Thanks Murray, it seems to suit the subject ok - cheers :)



Thanks Colin, startools helps with star sizes, as does Annies Actions, Astronomy tools & a nice 5nm Astrodon Ha filter!
Enjoy your holiday :)



Cheers Paul- thanks for the kind thoughts.
My imaging is coming along, but still has a looong way to go :)



Thanks Greg, it's a very cool subject to image :)



Thsnks Trev, I just shot this one for myself, with no intentions of award entries etc, it's nice to get out there just for the sheer joy of it!



Cheers Marcus, I'm a bit surprised how it came up considering most of the data was captured from home under a full moon!
Thanks for your kind feedback :thumbsup:

[Slawomir]

Colours, detail, composition...everything is top notch Andy :thumbsup:

[multiweb]

Great final. For the cool wall. :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

[RickS]

Nice work, Andy, but I bet it's not your last 6188 :lol:

[Andy01]

Thanks Suavi, Marc & Rick - I really appreciate the positive feedback and kind comments.

Rick, I'm sure we all have our favourite targets and you're right, this is certainly mine - but there's always something to try to improve on.

Hmmm, Might start a seperate thread about one's favourite targets...

[niharika]

Top image Andy. Really like the FOV and color.

[astronobob]

Yeah haa, damn beautiful Andy, think you need to push it further to go past what I reckon this field can handle, one that works all the time with the 'X' factor in my books,
Triumphing Image there man :thumbsup:

[Placidus]

Looks truly magnificent, Andy. Great work and very pleasing.

There seems to be a lot of red. Is it strictly Hubble palette, i.e. the red is pure [SII] ?

[Rigel003]

Not self-indulgent at all. It's magnificent. One of the best I've seen of this object.

[strongmanmike]

Nice work Andy and overall more pleasing than your version from last year. The only thing I would prefer is for the stars to have a little more brightness and snap (not larger) they are just a bit muted.

The wide field scope is working out well it would seem :thumbsup:

Mike

[Andy01]

Raki, Bob, Graeme, Mike & Trish - thank you for your kind comments, all very gratefully received.

Bob, I had another version that is a bit softer and more painterly, sort of more "Sistine Chapel-ish" (with apologies to Michalangelo) that I kinda liked but departed from at the last minute, as it was uber heavy on processing and even more self indulgent - but I suspect would not be well received on this forum!
Maybe one day it will resurface though :)

M & T, colour is very subjective as you know.

Yes there's over 8 hrs of S2 but it seems to be more of an overall wash of red than areas of clearly defined detail.

That said, it's been pushed - a lot, and then a combination of Nik filters (Tonal contrast, Sunlight & Skylight) have certainly added to the overall warmth of the image.

I'll freely admit that I'm first and foremost a creative photographer and "pretty picture" maker, sometimes at first I have no clue as to what some of the discussions are about here on the forum and I really have to work hard to try to follow the discussions about well depth, arc seconds per pixel, strehl ratios, QE, sampling etc.

I do try to absorb as much as possible, but then like the bee with wings to small and a body too big that it doesn't know it shouldn't be able to fly, but it just goes out and flies anyway, I just get out often and try my best!

I like sci-fi and was good at art but hopeless at algebra and math at school, so it's been a really steep learning curve getting my head around some of the geek/tech in this craft, but like many here, I just love it although I only started doing this 3 years ago!

That said I'm extremely grateful for the feedback, honest critique and encouragement that we get here. I sincerely hope that it continues :)

[Atmos]

I can only hope to be at your level at only three years into the game :) I am slowly encroaching on my first year :)

[Paul Haese]

I like this palette Andy. Composition is great too. There are a few blown areas in 6164 that should be addressed a bit in my opinion.

[Ryderscope]

Seriously amazing!

[Andy01]

Mike, Colin, Paul & Rodney, Thanks for your kind compliments :)
Mike I agree about the stars, I had originally planned to replace them with RGB versions, but I have so far been unable to get it to work properly. One day I'll share a tutorial on replacing NB Stars with RGB ones, as soon as I get my head around a foolproof technique that's 100% reliable!

Paul, I agree that 6164 needs more attention, I locally masked the O3 to bring it up, but probably overdid it - and then it suffered further in the not so subtle overall post production. Rick S has a great version with good detail that's probably a reliable reference for that region.

Colin, I too was overawed when I looked at the images on this forum when I first started out - but everyone has been generous with their feedback and we all continue learn from one another. :thumbsup:

[Paul Haese]

Hmm me too, further down my gallery.;)