Moon mosaic – Mewlon 180 and Canon 40D (+ colour saturated)

[Dennis]

Hello,

Like Matt, I was outside last night battling some gusty winds in an attempt to generate a Moon mosaic using the Canon 40D with the Tak 1.6x Extender on the Mewlon 180 F12, giving an F19.2 system.

I had to shoot 6 panels to cover all the Lunar real estate, with very generous overlaps to give Photoshop CS4 something to work with. CS4 has amazing Auto-Align and Auto-Blend functions that made this mosaic very easy to produce.

I produced a B&W version (1600x1700) and a slightly smaller colour saturated (1516x1612) version.

Thanks for looking!

Cheers

Dennis

[sheeny]

Aristarchus is blue!:)

Love the saturated image, Dennis. I have a mosaic to assemble myself... 15 avis collected on the DMK41 covering the whole visible moon from a couple of nights ago...

Al.

[matt]

Very nice, Dennis.

I actually prefer the mono image....but they're both good:thumbsup:

Isn't PS just a boon for astro and terrestrial photographers!

[Dennis]

Thanks Al and Matt,

I’ve been a little jaded astronomically of late, just not motivated or willing to take on any challenging projects. It was an absolute pleasure to use the large sensor of the 40D and the automated routines in CS4 to produce the mosaic.

I think my days of labouring with 640x480 pixel panels and manually stitched mosaics may well be over!

Cheers

Dennis

[sheeny]

Well, we do this hobby for pleasure, so when the shine goes off a part of it, it's perfectly valid to move on to something else:thumbsup: ... a new challenge or just something different.:)

Al.

[DavidU]

Fab Dennis. I like 'em both ! Very sharp. I must get some moon shots of my own going.

[dpastern]

Love the saturated image Dennis, although the mono is really nice as well. How did you do the saturated image may I ask?

Dave

[Dennis]

Wise words indeed Al!:thumbsup:

Cheers

Dennis

[Dennis]

Thanks! The Moon is a dear, old friend – she was the celestial object that kick started my love of astronomy with a Tasco 60mm refractor.

Cheers

Dennis

[Dennis]

Hi David

In CS3 or CS4, I copy the Background Layer and then Saturate it around 90% then Blend it in as Saturation and I can then adjust its opacity until I obtain the desired effect. I usually have a Sharp Layer on top (Smart Sharpen, 200% at 0.5 pixels), set to Luminosity and 50% Opacity just to give the final image a bit of life.

Cheers

Dennis

[dpastern]

Thank you Dennis for kindly providing instructions - that is really appreciated. I might have a bash with my moon shot from months ago! Inspired I am!

Dave

edit: I only have CS2 though, so, *fingers crossed*

[telecasterguru]

I think both images are fantastic and I am amazed at the clarity of the 40D. Mewlons are just beautiful.

Frank

[Inmykombi]

Wow, they have to be the best Moons I have seen for ages.

Well done.

I like them both.

[Matt Wastell]

Nice work Dennis - a very pleasing result.

[Dennis]

Thanks Frank, Geoff & Matt.

The mosaic is made up of 6 panes with each pane itself being made up of 3 sub-frames. I shot each sub-frame at 1/30 sec at ISO200 and then used CS4 to Auto-Align and then Auto-Blend the 3 sub-frames to produce a final pane for the mosaic.

From what I observed of the process, the Auto-Blend procedure appeared to take the best/sharpest details from each of the 3 sub-frames and generate an optimised composite – quite a nice feature!

I then used the Auto-Align and Auto-Blend procedures on the 6 panes to generate the final mosaic and once again, it seems the best/sharpest areas of each pane was selected for the final image with CS4 also adjusting the tones.

Cheers

Dennis

[Kevnool]

There great images of the moon Dennis.
I never seem to look at it anymore,This maybe the inspiration.
Cheers Kev.

[Dennis]

Thanks Kev!

By the way, Starry Night Pro Plus 6 has just been released at 6.3.6 when I checked for update this morning! Your sig shows you at 6.3.3.

Cheers

Dennis

[Kevnool]

Thanks for the info Dennis i,ll download it and change the sig.
Cheers :thumbsup: Kev.