M104 and a few jewels

[Garyh]

Well, it`s still cloudy lately and after a wait my copy of Imagesplus finally turned up :). So got busy having a play and in processing some pictures which have been waiting for some attention..
Still trying to master the digital development and Convolution...but making progress. Must say it does a pretty decent job of it too..:thumbsup:

Ok here`s M104 with that beautiful little star grouping to the right which I just love for the colors..Image is a stack of 31 images at 5min @ iso 1000.
Calibrated, DDP and some convolution in Imagesplus ans finished in PS..
Still had some minor banding issues but nothing PS couldn`t fix..
Cropped and reduced to around 75% in size for viewing..
Must admit it would be one of my best attempts, only wish the seeing was a little better!
Cheers and clear skies :thumbsup:

[Mighty_oz]

Looks good, always enjoy m104, how did u get iso 1000 ?

[Bassnut]

Excellent and unusual composition with the stars on the right, made it very pleasent to view, and the processing is smick. Colour and diffraction spikes top it off nicely.

Thats a lot of exposure time, worked well.

[telecasterguru]

Great image and well put together.

Frank

[RobF]

Beautiful work Gary. Looks like IP is starting to pay for itself already! :thumbsup:
I'm surprised at the detail and scale you have there, even with cropping. Was this with the 8" Newt? No barlow used?

[Paul Haese]

One image that I have balked at attempting. I really like this image, detail in the dust lanes too. Like Fred I like the composition with the stars to the right, especially since at least one star is a different colour.

Nice going Gary.

[RB]

Very nice shot Gary !
I too like the composition on this.
Like Fred and Paul said, it makes a very pleasing view.

Love the luminosity (and detail) in M104 too !

:thumbsup:

[allan gould]

Really love the composition of your shot as it gives a new dimension to an oft photographed galaxy. Well done.

[Garyh]

Thanks Mighty-Oz, Fred, Frank, Rob, Paul, Andrew and Allan!
I love that little grouping of stars to the right so thought I would make it a part of the composition. I think it works pretty good for M104..

Still a lot to learn in Imagesplus, so hopefully things shall only get better! :)

Mighty-Oz, With the 40D you can set the iso to 1/3 stop or 1/2 stop via the menu.

Thanks again for the positive comments..:thumbsup:

[multiweb]

Pretty unusual framing. Looks very cool to see both in one field. Beautiful details in the galaxy too. :thumbsup:

[gregbradley]

I would have thought M104 would be challenging for a DSLR but you have pulled it off nicely. Also some very arty framing which always makes for a spectacular image when done well.

Greg.

[renormalised]

Nice shot Gary...well framed.

The Ol' Sombrero looks real spicky :)

[bmitchell82]

I have to admit.! looks pretty darn good.!

[lacad01]

Ripper shot, like others have said the framing is super :thumbsup:

[iceman]

Nice Gary, I really like this!

[spearo]

Gary,
I love it
top framing i think
well done
frank

[cybereye]

Gary,

They say a picture is worth a thousand words... in the case of your take on M104 I think it should be "a thousand superlatives"!! Wow!

Mario

[tonybarry]

A really nice image. Thank you for posting. Unfortunately my envy index is rising :-)

Regards,
Tony Barry

[strongmanmike]

GARY!!! fabo image mate!!! :eyepop:

I saw Scott Hamonds recent shot of this field using his AP and 16803 chip so I put it on my (loooong) list of possible targets for my new PL16803 and my AP...your shot has spured me on even more now :thumbsup:

Here is Scotts incredible image:
http://creatorsview.com/pages/gallery/messier/m104.html

[mill]

Very nicely framed (i like).

[Garyh]

Thankyou everyone!

Thanks for the link Mike to Scotts wider field image! Beautiful and deep! look at that halo around M104 :eyepop:

cheers and CS