M16 repro

[marc4darkskies]

With the weather thwarting my attempts at imaging again I decided to do a Sidonio and reprocess something :D. I usually tweak images for a while after posting but this is a complete/from-scratch rework.

There were some things I didn't like about my M16 processing (data from earlier last year). Inaccurate star colours, too much sharpening creating an overly "crisp" look around the eagle, under represented Ha and framing (I often do my final processing after composing/cropping). With some experience under my belt and and some better techniques & tools I was curious to see whether I could improve it. I think it looks better - slightly wider field, more Ha visible, much better star colours and less crispyness around the eagle.

Small:
http://www.pbase.com/gailmarc/image/99807021/large

Large:
http://www.pbase.com/gailmarc/image/99807021/original

Attached below is a tight 2x scale crop and a low res full frame showing the before and after versions (new versions on the right). I still see at least one problem - can you spot it?

Cheers, Marcus

[AlexN]

so sharp... I would type more, but I need to run and get band aids for my eyes... :)

Stunning, the colour looks better and the overall image seems sharper and more detailed. Much more extension in the nebula too..

[gregbradley]

Oooh a guessing competition!

Nice redo. Nice and smooth and fabulous resolution.

Only nit pick would be some stars look a bit sqaure in the crop repro?

Do I win a prize?

Greg.:rofl:

[renormalised]

Exceptional, Marcus....great shots:D:D

Well, I can see compression artifacts and the stars look a little bloated (especially the bright ones) in the last pic.

Also, like on either side of the last pic...looks like some artifact introduced by the sharpening process (vertical line and noise behind it).

[jase]

Arrggg Repros! They're so 1984.

I like what you've put together here Marcus. Last one tickles the palette - very nice work. Thanks for sharing.

[strongmanmike]

:rofl:I am not only offically weird, according to US Astronomy magazine... but now I have a processing technique/tendency named after me too :2thumbs:

Your Sidonio looks very nice marcus! :P

Mike

[multiweb]

:eyepop: The last one is awesome marcus. :thumbsup: But you're right I can see the problem. Your old picture was awesome but you repro is super awesome. Am I close? :lol:

[marc4darkskies]

Cheers Alex! I've learned a few things since processing the original - including how to better bring out depth & detail without leaving too many artefacts.



YES!! - you win the prize Greg! :) I will have to go back to my stars layer and do some finessing! The stars were particularly difficult to manage in this data (taken before I was able to autofocus) and I left the stars a teensy bit square. Should be easy to fix though - I just need to redo that adjustment layer ... but I promise not to post it ;)



Thanks a lot Carl! - I think you're just seeing compression artefacts. Have a look at the large version link (full res).



Thanks Jase! ... and sorry for my Sidonio :);) But I've limproved my processing skills since the original was processed 15 months ago so I thought it was worth posting. I love the more subtle variation in colour tones in this object. Even the small reflection nebulosity came out better in the repro too. BTW, you're keeping a low IIS profile these days, where have you been?



Aaaah, I've learned from the best mate! ;) Thanks! BTW, you're not weird, you're just misunderstood!:D



:lol: Thanks Marc, yep you nailed it :) Yeah I'm pretty obsessive about my own processing, frequently zooming in to 300% to see and fix problems. I was surprised (& a little bummed) to see I missed the square stars.

Cheers, Marcus

[multiweb]

Wow! You guys are real good. From square to round stars isn't to bad at all. For my stars I usually manage to fill in any geometric shape that you could think of between an oval and a seagull :doh: ... and that's without even zooming in :whistle::lol: :thumbsup:

[renormalised]

That's what it was Marcus...as I mentioned, compression artifacts:D

You should post them here as .png's. They don't have any compression artifacts (lossless compression).

[atalas]

Beautiful work Marcus!

[marc4darkskies]

Hmmm - seagull shaped stars? ... yep, I could see that catching on :question: :) Mine are now nice and round though :D.



Thankyou Louie!

Cheers, Marcus

[RB]

The repro is beautiful Marcus !
Full-res version is gorgeous, I love the colours.

The only fault I could find is that I can't produce an image like this. :sad:

Cheers mate.
:cheers:

[Hagar]

Well MarcusSidonio, This repro looks great. The Hi res image really tantilizes the taste buds.
Beautiful......... What subs did you use in this capture, ?Narrowband or just RGB. The detail is great and the contrast is something else.

[DavidU]

The Sidonio's(:D) came up well ! Nice and smooth and improvement in contrast.
Well done Marcus

[marc4darkskies]

Cheers, Andrew. Nah ... If I can do it anyone can - especially if you have a TOA!! :thumbsup:



Thanks Doug! This was a LHaRGB image. My Ha subs were 30 mins, LRGB 15 mins. My initial processing did not fully exploit the Ha data that I had - the repro does.



Thanks David! ... and I promise not to do any Sidonios again for a while :).

Cheers, Marcus

[renormalised]

It's the other Sidonio's I'd be more worried about...trying to carry a 150kg lump of rock whilst wearing a kilt!!!!:eyepop::P:P:D:D

[David Fitz-Henr]

Stunning images Marcus !! Are they really yours, or did you cut & paste them from the Hubble Space Telescope website ????

[marc4darkskies]

I'm obsessive enough to do a repro-sidonio, but not silly enough to do a lifting-rocks-in-a-skirt sidonio ... my legs are nowhere near as shapely as Mike's I'm sure! :D



Thanks David - cheque's in the mail! :P Anyway, who needs a Hubble when you have a ....... Takahashi!!! :2thumbs:

Cheers, Marcus