Final M42... Promise! Laer Masked

[Robby]

Hi All,
Last night I travelled 1.5hrs to a dark site and was determined to nail a couple of objects.
This is one of them.
I did two sets of images of M42. A set of 1min & a set of 3min then used layer masking to try and prevent the center washing out with processing. Here's my first attempt. I think I still have a way to go with Layer mask techniques...
Details..
6x1min + 6x3min ISO800, Canon 300D DSLR
C8 & f/10, guiding via Star-Mate and K3CCDTools.

Cheers

[iceman]

Very nice, the trap area looks great when it's not washed out..

Good stuff!

[rumples riot]

Ooo Ahhh, Very nice Robby, good quality stuff. Love it.

[cometcatcher]

Very nice mask job and photo!

[[1ponders]]

Brilliant Robby. You should right a book. (or at least tell me your processing secrets :) )

[Robby]

Hey Paul,
I have no secrets! Just tell me what you want to know & I'll see what I can do.
This was my first forray into Layer masks and it was surprisingly easy!