[AdamJL]

Originally Posted by Crater101

Loving the colour and the detail here, the image has real depth. Lovely work.

Thanks, Warren! Glad you like it. The colours were something new to me; I learned a lot processing this one.

Originally Posted by marc4darkskies

Oh yes! Very nice! Keep working on it Adam! Resolving that core is key. You have the makings of a really great image there!
Also, suggest you lift the darker regions a bit (with a curve) to better bring out the fainter wisps = greater depth. It makes a big difference to overall impact!

Wow, very nice comments, thanks Marcus. I have edited the image above to include the core a bit more. I did also do a heavier stretch that made the outside edges a bit red. I'll see if I can get some more data. I know there's a lot more hiding if I pull back with a 0.77x reducer so maybe I'll try that one day too. Thank you

Originally Posted by Startrek

Adam,
Great start on the Tarantula with your excellent Mono set up
Those 3nm Antlia’s certainly do the job
Love the colour too
Well done !
Not a fan of a blown out main body and core , there’s so much incredible nebulosity clouds to expose in that area
From memory, I think you have Startools ?
Just a thought, if your interested, maybe try a reprocess in ST , it will definitely tame that core and even out the detail and dynamic range , brightness across the main body using AutoDev and then HDR. The centre area you can use Shrink with a dim preset to tone it down as well
That’s how I tamed my Tarantula the other day , no layering or anything like that , it just knows what to do without special masks , curves and you can throttle the aggressiveness to taste. So easy

Looking forward to seeing your final image after you collect more data

Cheers
Martin

Thanks mate
I've edited the image now to include more core data and have included a (low res!) image on this post. I'm not sure if I want to push it too far, as I do want some brightness there but without the data being lost as well.
Your suggestion of using StarTools is a good one. In fact, it's one I used on my Horsehead and Flame image here

StarTools is great at HDR, it's one of the strengths of the program. It's just difficult to then match the colours to the colours produces in PixInsight. But it's certainly a great tool to use!

Originally Posted by Stephane

Very nice Adam. I'm not surprised this is your favourite region, it's beautiful. Your image is packed full of colour, detail, and dynamic range. I'm looking forward to seeing how you progress with it. Keep going!

Cheers Stéphane! Hope you also like the re-pro

Originally Posted by RyanJones

A lovely image Adam. I love the natural look and full range you’ve used. Especially as you move wider out on these bright nebulae, leaving the core naturally bright gives the image context. I’m a big fan of the region at about 4 o’clock from the core. Nice tight stars too. Well done 👍

Thanks Ryan! I agree with you about keeping the brightness in an image; it's just hard to figure out where the balance is between brightness and detail. Hope this reprocessed image fares a bit better in that regard.

And you're also so right! The areas around the main core are stunning. It's definitely an area I want to hit with a long focal length scope one day. Cropping into a few areas is throwing up all sorts of cool things. I can't believe how many objects are in this area.