A couple of very different lagoons

[codemonkey]

I've had this data laying around for a while and decided to go back to it. The data is good (10hrs of HaRGB) but I wasn't happy with my processing. To be honest, I'm still not sure I am. For some reason I can't make up my mind on this one, maybe because none of them are "right"

Anyway, here's my latest attempts at it. One brooding and ominous, the other light and pastel. Which do you prefer?

Also, bonus starless version of the broody one.

[gregbradley]

Wonderful Lee. They all look marvellous to me.

Greg.

[Andy01]

Nice work! :)
I prefer 1 & 2 - the leading lines draw you into the heart of the lagoon nicely.
Watch the residual star spikes on the starless version - (they can easily be cloned out).
The moody presentation suits the subject too - well done! :thumbsup:

[codemonkey]

Thanks Greg :-) They're both definitely better than my first attempt at processing the same data.



Thanks Andy :-) Yeah, 1 & 2 are growing on me too.

I made very little effort to clean up the starless one, only thing I did was mitigate the big blue spots left behind where the stars were... I made no effort to clean up the "luminance artefacts". If I ever take that image seriously I'll try and clean up those artefacts too, though I think cleaning up what's left of the bigger stars will be difficult.

[Placidus]

They're all yummy, but we like 3 the most, because you can see the dark dust features beautifully, yet the hourglass is crystal clear. Even the open cluster itself looks good in 3.

Looking forward to seeing a Big One.

Best,
MnT

[codemonkey]

Thanks MnT :-)

I've since uploaded both of them to Astrobin (not the starless one though) so big ones can be found here (https://www.astrobin.com/full/6mus8h/) and here (https://www.astrobin.com/full/tbxkb8/)

I think #3 is a bit flat looking, and frankly pink's not my favourite colour but it does show off a lot more of the details than #1/#2

[Paul Haese]

Last one ticks all the boxes for me. The luminance is near perfect and the detail excellent. Great colour tops it off.

[strongmanmike]

Excellent Lagoon Lee :thumbsup:

I know, I've become a bit of an overt Fan Boy of your work Lee :cheers: :2thumbs: but sheesh, what you are achieving with such modest equipment is pretty cool. You have mastered the use of sharpening tools to get excellent but subtle natural and more importantly "real" detail in your images. Love to check out your processing flow some day...maybe at Astrofest? ��

Mike

[codemonkey]

Thanks Paul :-) Lookin' like #3 has it if the comments here and the number of likes on Astrobin are any indication.



Thanks Mike :-)

I remember when I subscribed to DSW's wide field rig... I saw what others were doing with the exact same data and realised how much I had to learn with regard to processing. Honestly, I don't think much has changed since then. I've learned a couple of new tricks, but not many.

I think my data is usually good and that's probably the key, more so than anything that I do in processing. I use Topaz Labs AI Denoise which also sharpens (often way too much) on all of my images now which definitely helps in terms of detail.

Happy to show you how I fumble through things one day and if you're definitely coming up for Astrofest I'll make the effort to go out there for once :-)

[Bart]

Number three for me!! :lol:


Great stuff that number three, lovely colour, great detail!


Winner, winner, chicken dinner! :D

[multiweb]

+1 bit of a fanboy too. Excellent M8s. :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

[Geoff45]

All good Lee, but I prefer number 3 for the neb and number 2 for the stars.
Can you put the #2 stars into the #3 nebula?

[Ryderscope]

They are all excellent Lee. I vote for number 2 with a few stars in the field and nice soft glow through the nebula. A splendid lagoon to immerse oneself in. Thanks for sharing.

[codemonkey]

Thanks Bart, appreciate you taking the time to provide me with some feedback :-)



haha... aw, you guys! Thanks Marc :-)



Thanks Geoff! I generally prefer small stars too, so I tried to do exactly that but haven't been able to get the small stars to look right on #3.



Thanks very much Rodney :-)

Looks like there's a mix of preferences here which is interesting. I still can't decide which I prefer... maybe that's a sign that there's something better in between.

[LostInSp_ce]

Delicious! All three are worthy renditions. :2thumbs:

[topheart]

Nicely sharp Lee, all 3....

Cheers,
Tim

[codemonkey]

Thanks LostInSp_ce :-)



Thanks Tim!