Oh what tangled webs we weave ...

[Andy01]

So anyway - this is a complete reprocess of data gathered last year on NGC 2070.

In my previous version I was going for drama and artistic licence, (I look back at it now and wonder what was I thinking!) so this time around I'm attempting to be more subtle, and to let the object appear more "natural", although it's a narrowband image of course! :)

With the words of Martin Pugh and Strongman Mike in earlier threads ringing in my ears - "Always respect the data" and "It needs to look like an astronomical object", I have attempted to rendered a gentler, more pleasing image.

Seems that I had an incorrect spacer on the OTA at the time, so some star repair work has been done in the corners. :rolleyes:

Data gathered from my suburban Melbourne back yard, and the dark sky site at Nhill.

20 hrs of N2, S2 & O3 - 30min subs and 15x1min RGB for the stars.

Big one HERE (http://www.astrobin.com/full/303647/0/)

[el_draco]

Absolutely beautiful!

[Bassnut]

Geez, thats excellent Andy. Close ups of NGC2070 usually look a bit messy, but this wider view (and colour balance)
is very attractive, well done!.

[gregbradley]

That's a very immersive image Andy. Terrific dynamic range and alive.

Now don't go too conservative on us.:lol:

Greg.

[astronobob]

1st impressions on opening the Image,,, was, B-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l ,,,
pondered for a while, absolutely liking the colours here Andy, and although others think Mono, and how it should be represented, , well, I am only using a 'colour cam' anyway, but this is just that, a beautiful piece of work, complementing colours, and a detailed image of a tricky piece of sky :eyepop:
Bl**dy Well Done Champ , Love this one :thumbsup:

[traveller]

Great image Andy,
Plenty of detail in the outer structures. Colours look "natural" too ;)
Bo

[RickS]

Definitely a more natural look, Andy, but still high impact!

[leon]

I thought you had some alternative motive for your imaged, that is brilliant.

Leon

[Andy01]

Cheees Rom, thanks for the nice compliment :thumbsup:



Hey thanks Fred- I agree that the wide field helps keep the tangles constrained so we can see the complexity without getting lost within. Cheers :)



Ha! Thanks Greg!
Maybe I'm mellowing a little, maybe I'm just learning to see when how far is too far? There's a bunch of world class imagers on this forum, one cannot help but be influenced/inspired by them as the journey continues...



So, you like it then Bob? Lol, cheers - it took several days to rework it so thanks for the kind words. :thumbsup:



Thanks Bo- I reckon another 12 hrs of N2 would help lift up the feint details even more, but that's for another day. Glad you liked the palette too :)



Hey thanks Rick- in truth though, it's an amazing & unique DSO, hopefully this time around I've done it some justice!



Thanks Leon, I showed a really early test version (http://www.astrobin.com/full/264040/0/) to my wife which she immediately liked, and much more than my previous (http://www.astrobin.com/271620) published effort!
She's an objective master photographer as well, so I was inspired to rework the data with fresh eyes, and revisit some excellent constructive criticism here on IIS. :D

[mountainjoo]

I think this shows more structures and has an improved representation of the dynamic range than the previous version, worth the rework :thumbsup:

[Placidus]

Yum.

Food for thought, too. Had some fun looking at the NII SII difference (which is quite clear and nicely shown). Even more fun wondering what it might mean, to no avail. I suppose NII is processed star-stuff, and SII is even more processed.

Excellent result, Andy.
Best, Mike

[Atmos]

Looks nice Andy! Not quite the same as the Andy colour palette that I'm used to ;)

[Andy01]

Thanks Jerome, sometimes it seems that less is indeed more when it comes to processing for visual impact :thumbsup:



Cheers M&T, If you ever figure it out I'll be keen to know as well! Thanks for the feedback :thumbsup:



Lol :rofl: this result surprised me as well!

[Retrograde]

Very smooth and subtle which works really well here as you have great depth in this image. Lovely :thumbsup:

[bratislav]

Somehow it just works ... mesmerizing.
This is the most beautiful area of the sky in the eyepiece too. I never get bored scanning this through a big Dob, with or without filter.

[Andy01]

Cheers Pete, as always even more integration time would help, but I worked hard to get the most out of what I had, and I'm grateful for your comments :)



Hey thanks Bratislav, I too love all the gas globules here, reminds me of a string of cosmic pearls - it's a facinating region. :)

[topheart]

Hi Andy,
Fantastic!! I love the composition and the high impact originality!
Very well done!
Cheers,
Tim

[multiweb]

Nice colours Andy. I like those violet tints. Cool field. :thumbsup:

[Stevec35]

That's a striking image Andy! Initially I wasn't hat sold on the colour palette but the more I look at it the better I like it.

Cheers

Steve

[Ryderscope]

That's a great result Andy. I agree with the 'natural' look. The mapping of the colour palette is informative as well as visually appealing.

[Andy01]

Cheers Marc, sometimes a complete reset of one's mental operating system yields surprising results! thanks for the nice comment. :thumbsup:



Hey Tim, Composition credit largely due to inspiration from an old image by Bert (Avondonk), but interpretation by yours truly has now yielded a completely different result. I study a lot of images when selecting targets, to see what might suit my fov, gear & conditions - occasionally the research pay off - Cheers :)




Good on ya Steve :thumbsup:
I worked hard to keep it "natural" and still show three wavelengths, without resorting to the traditional Green biased HST palette.




Cheers Rodney - as stated above - the intention was to back off the traditional "Andyfication" a bit and attempt to let the data speak for itself.
Hopefully, I've put this one to bed now :lol: