Horse head and Flame

[RyanJones]

We've had so few clear nights in the last few weeks and now the moon is rising but I've managed to sneek in a quick session before the moon ruins it all.

387 frames @ 22sec
Iso 1600
Skywatcher 102
Canon 5d

[xelasnave]

Good capture Ryan.
Ibet there is more data in that image.
Alex

[RyanJones]

Thank you Alex.

I think i need to learn a bit more about extracting that data. Any suggestions are welcom.e I've watched some YouTube videos and read some things but they all seem to be a bit different and very few I've found explain what you're actually doing. I've heard " I create a gentle s curve " so many times and only just worked out that that is to increase contrast.... I think....

I know there is more dedicated software than I'm using ( DSS and PS ) but surely the way these programs work is by doing things for you. Great for the end result but not great for an inquisitive mind.

Thank you for your encouragement Alex :)

[xelasnave]

Try an extreme stretch that blows out the core and merge that with an image not stretched much..play with the combination in laying...not exa tly the right way but I have used such an approach...or in the dark areas run the dodge tool around..
Alex

[ChrisV]

Looks great Ryan. As Alex says, give it a stretch.
Stars look a bit egg shaped? Are you guiding?

[RyanJones]

Thanks Chris :)

Ok, so here's a first one. When you say give it a stretch, what exactly does that mean ? What am I actually doing to the image ? I'm assuming that means increasing the length of the data area in the histogram ? And how do I go about this in PS ? Most of the processing I've done is trial and a lot of error.

In answer to your question about guiding, it's actually something I'm working out if I can do with my mount. At the moment I'm on the 4SE Alt-Az mount on a wedge. I'm well aware this is a terrible mount to be playing this game on but it's what I've got and so im making the most of it :) I do like a challenge :rofl:

[ChrisV]

Now the short subs make sense - the altaz mount.

What are you using to process your images? If you don't have any software at present I could recommend startools. It's reasonably priced and very effective - although idiosyncratic. I started on it then moved to pixinsight. There are others which some can suggest. Or even fitswork (free) - you can do some basic 'stretching'. Stretching moves your image from linear-to nonlinear - brings out the intensity region of interest. But with that you need to do noise reduction etc which is what dedicated AP software will give you

[RyanJones]

I'm using DSS to stack then Photoshop CC '18 to process. A fellow iceinspacer Karlsberg has told me about startools. I downloaded the demo to give it a go and it kept freezing so I parked that idea but the more I hear about it, the more I think it's time to make that small investment and try it.

Thank you for your input Chris :)

[xelasnave]

Star tools can make your stars round.
Anyways given you are not using an eq mount I think your results are amazing.
You can use the dodge tool too lightwn behind the horses head ...again not proper but it brings it out.
Alex

[Karlzburg]

The freezing is that your RAM is at max load, it will continue after a little bit. It'll happen in when opening such a large image and binning, it does get quicker after that.

[RyanJones]

Thank you Alex. I really appreciate what you've said and your input and also to Chris who has taken the time to give me suggestions. The next few days are cloudy and even if they weren't they are full of moon. The pair of you have inspired me to get the lappy out and concentrate on my processing techniques. Thank you guys :thumbsup:

[RyanJones]

Thank you Karl. I think it's time I stepped to star tools properly lol

[Karlzburg]

A bit of contrasting added

[ChrisV]

There must be some Photoshop users out there who could help?

[redbeard]

Hi Ryan,

I'm no expert at this but import your image into Photoshop or similar and use curves and levels to adjust your image. Those tools 'stretch' the image, extract/bring out the data. I'm sure there are many ways to do it, but that's a starting point for me. Make small steps at a time with each adjustment. Experiment though and there should be a few tips on the web related to that.

Cheers,
Damien.

[skysurfer]

The result is nice, but 387x22 seconds ?
You can better take longer exposure times, e.g. 1, 2 or even 4 minutes per frame. That requires far less subs and even less total integration time.
E.g. 60x1 minute suffices.

[RyanJones]

1,2 or 4 mins on a Celestron 4SE Alt-Az mount ? I'd be posting my photos in the star trails forum.

[cometcatcher]

A mid-tone stretch in levels with Photoshop with help with star blowout. But it also tends to leave a few gradients which need to be smoothed with something like gradient xterminator.

[RyanJones]

Hi Kevin,

I read about gradient exterminator in a site last night after the other guys had inspired me to delve deeper. It was on Astrobackyard. By the sound of it, a few Astro plug ins are available for PS so it's a toss up between getting plug ins for what I have or going dictated Astro software. Any thoughts ?

[xelasnave]

Get them all.
Alex

[xelasnave]

Think about it this way.
It is said processing is 50% of the game....how much have you invested in gear? You got the best you could afford because you wanted the best you could afford ...so now lets get some processing softeware...sure but I dont want to spend too much...and so the potential of your initial investment in gear never gets to the potential you paid for.

Get star tools and any plug ins that sound useful each will do something and the result will be you will start producing the images you set out to get in the first place...
Alex

[RyanJones]

Haha. It's funny you should say that. My missus said exactly the same thing. She said you spend plenty on the stuff to capture the data ( relatively speaking ) it's a bit of a waste if you don't get the proper software to make the most of it.

Ok.... You're both right.

[xelasnave]

Star tools is $60 ...put $10 a week away for 6 weeks and go for it☺
Alex

[Gavin1234]

Hi Ryan, I started off subscribing to PS and used it for a while along with DSS. I was able to get a lot of data to come through just using levels in PS to stretch it out. I did use curves but didn’t really get to the point of being able to use that properly. I bought a plug in pack for $20 which helped a lot.

But after a few months I bought PixInsight which was expensive and a steep learning curve but I’m glad I spent the money. It made a huge difference. I’ve never tried star tools but it’s probably just as good. I would recommend going to something more specialised, whichever one of them.

[cometcatcher]

PI seems to be the software of choice these days. I'm still using photoshop, but have been for donkeys years. I don't know if I could handle having to learn something all over again, but if you're early in the game go PI.

[RyanJones]

Hi Kevin,

After committing myself to buying something, I didn't think it would be that hard to give them my money. Request forms, licencing.... I've filled in my applications but while we're at it, as you are an accomplished PS user, what plug ins would you suggest? I wouldn't say I'm entirely new to it but by the sounds of it I'm not getting what I should be from my data.

[ChrisV]

+1 for pixinsight or startools. I've never used Photoshop so no comment on it.

I started with startools which is excellent and I got a hell of a lot out of it. Ivor has some great YouTube's on how to use it. Plus you'll get results out of it pretty quickly.

PI does so much more - from stacking through to processing. But it's a major learning curve. I'm still scratching the surface after nearly a year.

So I could recommend either - starting with startools (much cheaper also) or just biting the bullet and going straight to PI. But if you do the latter you'll have to be patient. Again there are good books (inside pixinsight) and online lessons (lightvortexastronomy) for PI.

[cometcatcher]

Gradient xterminator, starshrink and Noel Carboni's astronomy tools. Go easy on star shrink though, lest you get worms from star bridging. Noel Carboni's astronomy tools is a cool little automated script that does many functions. Hasta la vista green is great for removing evil green colour casts.

http://www.rc-astro.com/resources/GradientXTerminator/download.php

http://www.rc-astro.com/resources/StarShrink/

https://www.prodigitalsoftware.com/Astronomy_Tools_For_Full_Version.ht ml

http://www.deepskycolors.com/archive/2010/04/26/hasta-La-Vista-Green.html

[Gavin1234]

Noel Carbonis is the one I used. It was very handy.

[RyanJones]

I tried Pixinsight and wow what a program. Not sure if I want to outlay $350 though while I still haven't upgraded to an Equatorial mount. I tried Noel Carboni's plug ins and they're good too and they work with the software I already have. I'll do a bit more work with both to compare them... I've got 42 days of trial left to decide.