ngc 1365 processing ( redone)

[Alchemy]

With the weather being wet the only thing to do Astro-wise is process images, ive been going over things i have done trying new techniques to try and improve.

this image was submitted recently as a full shot, i have cropped it to show at top... stacked calibrated image only
Middle.... my previous best attempt using curves levels etc
Bottom ..... 6 steps and complete.

i have put in a small jpeg pulled from APOD i think its fron the VLT telescope as thats on the name of file (should you wish to check its listed as a ngc 1365 shot there somewhere) ...so credits applied as needed for that one, i have only used it for comparison of colours and detail so i dont go too far from whats reasonable.

to start with given i am only using a 350d camera with a sub 1000 dollar OTA i reckon ive got stacks of detail...

in case you are interested i used the following process.

1. deconvolution in AIP4Win Van Chittert 27 levels at 2.22 point spread.

2. Shadow/ Highlight in Photoshop (Image-Adjustments-Shadow/Highlights) using only the shadow section turning highlights to zero

3. Brightness/ contrast in photoshop(Image- Adjustments-Brightness contrast)

4.Hue/ Saturation in photoshop( Image-Adjustments- Hue/ Saturation using saturation only.

5. Exposure in photoshop ( Image- Adjustments- exposure) but just lowering the gamma value.

6. Colour balancing and such in Lightroom.

you can repeat sections 2-5 in smaller increments and may get a better result im still experimenting.

While it may not be technically advanced i like the result i got and detail was better by a factor of 2 i reckon.

Still learning.......bye for now

[leon]

Now there is nothing wrong with that image, i love it, well done indeed.

Leon

[jase]

Not bad Alchemy. A quick way of testing the quality of your data is to perform a quick DDP stretch on the combined image. This will show the noise in the dim areas that may need attention (noise reduction) or alternatively more exposure time.

Here's a PS tip for you which I use now and then depending on the target object. I call it Selective Contrast Masking (SCM).

It makes the image look sharpened/deconvoluted when in fact all you've done is selectively altered the contrast to bring up the highlights or drop the shadows. Other than deconvolution, I don't use any form of sharpening in my typical work flow. Unsharp masking etc, only works well if you've got really clean data which in my experience is not easy to obtain under a few hours of acquisition. Anyway, this is what I do...

When you're close to the end of your image processing routine and have flatten all layers, do the following.
Create a new layer by dragging background layer to new layer icon in the layers pane (duplicate it in other words).
Optionally, name the new layer. I typically call it SCM
With the new layer highlighted, go to Filter > Other > Hipass (~6 pixels) - experiment here. 5 or 6 does it for me.
Switch layer mode from normal to overlay
Now create a layer mask for the SCM layer - This is very important. You might think the overlayed SCM looks pretty good at this point as its done some tricky "stuff" to the image, but watch what it does to your stars and noise etc. Not nice. Hence you need to create a mask to selectively highlight regions/details.
Layer > Add layer mask > hide all
select brush tool B
use brush (white) to selectively unhide areas in the mask
use brush (black) to revert to hidden if needed
Once satisfied – Layer Flatten Layers and save
Enjoy!You can obviously alter the opacity of the SCM so your images don't look too "plastic". Be careful you don't over do it. This will be all for now - not giving away all my image processing tricks - even if its Christmas.;)

[Alchemy]

thanks leon and jase.

special thanks for the processing tips jase, i will try these over he holiday break. ive also had a play with your minimum filter too. Its part of what this forum is all about sharing ideas and such.... however we dont expect youll give up all your ideas..... not just yet anyway:D

im off to the beach so i wont be around for a little while, happy new year to all.

[Garyh]

Certainly pulled out more detail there!
I think your middle frame looks pretty good, thou the bottom one a little more contrasty but noisey. just needs some color balancing!
I find myself doing the same with all this cloud and wet weather lately!
cheers Gary

[Ric]

A lovely image Alchemy, the dust lanes that are running across the core look great with a lot of detail as well.

A very nice image.