Out of Season Image

[marco]

First of all happy new year to all the list, this is my first post after a long time of no imaging (:)) so just to avoid to post another M42 or Horsehead (saw many very good here lately) I decided to propose a out of season classic :D

Here I am with a classic summer view in the core of Sagittarius with nebulae M8, M20 and NGC6559 dominating the image. What is less usual is the visibility of both HII regions Sharpless 22 and 34, not so often spot in similar fields of view.

http://www.glitteringlights.com/Images/deepsky/13667287_YtYhj#1146049997_TZzY4-X3-LB

Total exposure was 4 hours (HaRGB) with the usual Pentax 67 300mm f/4. It took me long time to process this image also because, despite the easy objects targeted, I was not able to obtain a satisfactory color balance. I hope to have succeed in rendering pleasantly this rich field.

Nebula appearance of M8 and M20 was improved by adding to the lens image details from two other former images I took with a TEC 140 (RGB) and an SDHF75 (Ha).

Clear skies
Marco

[strongmanmike]

A beautiful field there Marco.

You have produced some remarkably vivid colours and high contast.

Yes those two bits of HII aren't usually as noticable.

Mike

[richardo]

Wow insane view Marco, the colours are just so vibrant... all the HII areas look very 3D.

I can just imagine how hard this was to process with all the different areas of emission, reflection, dark neb, then the star fields to contend with.

Nice depth. Great job!

Rich

[gregbradley]

That is a very vivid image Marco. I love the background colours you got. The neb colours are very strong but then its a colourful area.

Funny, I just did the same the other day. I reprocessed an old image of this area I was never happy with. It is tricky as it has the background that can easily look dull and the colours that are easily dominated by the Ha.
I am still not quite happy with mine and plan to redo it from the ground up.

Greg.

[marco]

Thanks Greg and Rich, you are right, this part of the sky is very colorful but it is very difficult to get a color balance that is both pleasant and "real". Processing only the M8/M20 is way easier, what I found difficult was to keep the star clouds neutral while enhancing the nebulosity without having the latter becoming too strong. I am happy to have got it :) There is still a little problem of RGB alignment on some background stars, didn't realize it while processing since I was too focus on the main subjects, I will try also to fix it soon.



Thanks Mike!

Clear Skies
Marco

[David Fitz-Henr]

That's a great widefield image Marco - well processed with good colour in both the nebulae and stars! Nicely done!

[marco]

Thanks David!
Clear Skies
Marco

[multiweb]

Saturated to the max. Bit too much to my taste but great field and lovely details. :thumbsup:

[Hagar]

Very nice Marco. Huge field with a lot to take in. I like it.
Well done.

[iceman]

This is a beautiful image! Appealing to me!

[Leonardo70]

Marco ... absolutely stunning image...incredible colors...

Congratulations,
Leo

PS finalmente posso commentare in pubblico una tua foto, grande !!

[marco]

Thanks Marc, actually since I uploaded a version correcting the slightly misaligned stars on the background I have also reduced the saturation a little bit, however I believe it will still be a little to high to you, I understand that not everybody likes very saturated images


Thanks Doug!


Thanks Mike!



Thanks Leonardo, nice to find you here :welcome:

Clear Skies
Marco