M42 & ngc1977

[TheDecepticon]

I know this is pretty popular and I'm sure it is going to get done to death, but here is my M42 & Running Man for the season.

12x10 min
5x3 min
QHY8
Bintel N200 f/5
EQ6 and EQMOD
Guided

http://cid-10df761f0508a820.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/.Public/Astrophography/Framed%5E_M42%5E_NGC1977.png

I am actually after colour feed back. Also, is there somewhere in Photoshop CS3 that I can just adjust an individual colour, say white, or do I have to fiddle with the RGB settings in curves?
Thanks for looking!!:D

[jjjnettie]

Image - adjustments - selective colour
Thanks to Barb for that handy hint.

That's so nice. The defraction spikes really make it extra special.

[TheDecepticon]

Thanks JJJ!!:)

[jjjnettie]

Regardless of how many m42's are posted, I still love to see them.
Everyone has their own interpretation and we can learn from all of them.

[Jeffkop]

Nice image ... I always marvel at that object. You cant see it too many times either IMO. An A4 size colour print of M42 on my wall is a major objective this summer. Hopefully I will be up and running by end of Feb.

[dpastern]

Tis a nice image to be proud of - well done.

Dave

[multiweb]

Great data Graham. :thumbsup: In the processing though I reckon the dynamic range has been a bit muted. Looks a bit flat. I know you got the core right down but the whole picture took a hit IMHO :shrug:

[TheDecepticon]

Cool, thanks for that! What do you reckon I screwed up?:eyepop:
And I suppose, can you suggest a fix?:thanx:

[mexhunter]

Hi Graham:
A very attractive M42.
You have an excellent photography.
Many greetings
Cesar

[Paul Haese]

Just a couple of small things really. The colour seems fine but as pointed out the image looks a little muted with dynamic range. I can see where your layer mask is too. That is a little on the gray side.

Personally I think all it really needs is some curve work to really give it the pop it should have. However, some might see this as being fine the way it is at present.

Lots of good things happening in the image for sure. You might want to work the green just a little too. There is definitely green in this nebula when you view it through a big scope, so it should be in an image of it too.

[multiweb]

I used to do that a lot in processing Ha on the tarantula for instance. There's always a part of the picture that is burnt and you still want to see the faint stuff. So naturally you tend to lighten the background and dim the bright core ans surrounding and in doing so you end up with something flat because you draw both ends of your dynamic range closer. So the bright is not so bright anymore and the faint is brighter, so it looks uniform. Does my rambling make sense? :lol: I guess in the process of tweaking your image it's good to sit back, have a look at the original then the stage you're at. If it's flat it'll show when you flick and you'll know you've gone too far. At the end of the day it's trial and error and personal taste. :thumbsup:

[TheDecepticon]

Thanks for the input guys. Certainly lots to think about. Sometimes I wonder if it is the monitor that I'm using. On this one, it does look pretty good, but then on the other two, it looks washed out, lacking in colour and quite flat. I'm going to borrow my brothers Spyder next weekend and do all of my monitors to see where that lands me. Well, I'm of to reprocessing land!!:D

[TheDecepticon]

Ok, so I tried to repro and used a different monitor. Let me know what you think.

[jjjnettie]

I still like your original rendition more.
it's a lovely image.

[AlexN]

The core area looks much nicer and more natural in the second, however I think it looks a little clipped in the darker areas.. Make sure to watch your histogram in photoshop when you're attacking levels and curves.. if the histogram goes off either end of the scale, you're losing valuable data! :)

Great work thus far... I like them both but find number two to have more pleasing colour and blending of the core..

Alex.

[TheDecepticon]

Thanks JJJ and Alex. I appreciate your comments. I must admit that I'm at the end of my processing ability with this. It is honestly the best I can do. I will take it all in and go through some of my literature again and see what I can do next time. I had a lot of fun!!:D

[Paul Haese]

core area looks a lot better, but the surrounding area does look a little flat. M42 itself does look better overall though.