M8 first time

[Jeffkop]

Hi to everyone

Well the skies cleared a little last night up here and since seeing that amazing image of the Lagoon Nebula that won the APOD I have been keen to get my version of it. So here it is ... I know I could have framed it better however I was mucking about with Pempro for awhile before I got to imaging and well ... sometimes its just like that.

I cannot for the life of me produce some of the nice deep noise free images I see, I just dont get enough data in the time I have between the object clearing the house roof and then disappearing behind the trees in the back yard ... mind you they would be at a reasonably low declination by then anyway ... so my guess is that Im missing out on 1/2 as much imaging time as I could get because of the house. What Im not certain of is ... will THAT much time make the difference.

I dont know how much time people spend processing their images in photoshop, perhaps that is where you can make it all happen, if so I need lessons.

So this image is made up of 10 5 minute subs each for LRGB ... so 50mins for LRGB. That will explain a lot to most of you I know ... 200mins total.

This is first light with my new Astrodon series 2 LRGB filters. I have to say I have noticed an improvement in image quality especially in the luminance as the clear filter is near IR blocked. The over all colour seems to be deeper to. All the images stacked together with much less fuss as the blue ones seem to focus almost the same size as the red and green. I have kept an open mind about them and in my opinion they are much better than the custom scientific set I was using.

I have also included an image that I mucked about with ... I call it the Laprune Nebula.

Jeff

[Alchemy]

its a bit harsh to put up an image and no-one has a comment,

200 min of data is enough to get a good image. processing takes a bit of learning, if you like there are a couple of good books (ive got one called photoshop astronomy which is quite good) it can be quite amazing what can be done by someone whos really good at it. there are methods to reduce noise and enhance fine detail. your image looks as it has all the ingredients and youve got a good camera. it does take a while to learn some of the tricks, and experience is a good teacher.

cheers clive

[aworley]

Hi,

There is a thread with photoshop tips:
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=33180&highlight=photoshop+tips

If the link doesnt work, just type photoshop tips into the search bar of Iceinspace

There are far more qualified photoshop folk on this site, I personally just use curves and levels, but I am just learning really....

Alex

[peeb61]

Jeff...just love the it mate, stunning. Great work.

Paul

[Jeffkop]

Thanx for your inputs Clive Alex and Paul.

Yes, as is the same for most facets of existence .. you cant beat good old fashioned experience. I have learnt a lot in the 5 months Ive been at this hobby, a lot of the time the answer to one question leads to 3 more questions in a short space of time.

Most things software can be fast tracked if you can sit with a guru for awhile and get to see how its done .. wish that could happen here, this however flies in the face of the timeless idea that its not the destination its the journey ... so maybe sit with a guru for an hour :):)

Thanks again for your comments, everyones input helps

Jeff

[Matty P]

Great work Jeff, good detail and lovely colour.

Well done and I'm looking forward to more. :thumbsup:

[Garyh]

Not bad at all Jeff! :thumbsup:
All the channels have come together nicely.
In another 5 months you will come back to this and work some more Photoshop magic to it!
cheers

[Jeffkop]

Thanks Matt and Gary .. I hope I cant come close to your expectations, Im a chance seeing as my own mirror yours. I plan to do this one again but this time rotate the camera 90 deg to fit the whole thing in .. Well I will get more than this photo ... Who knows, maybe tonight .. I will be out for sure just hope this wind eases, it usually does here at night.

Thanks for your input

Jeff

[Ric]

Hi Jeff, just caught up with this image. I glad I did, very nice indeed.

You've captured some great detail and natural colour in this one.

[theodog]

5 months and you've got those impressive images;
I'd say you're rapidly climbing the steep learning curve.
Well done Jeff.