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Old 15-07-2011, 07:18 AM
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RBA (Rogelio)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gregbradley View Post
Thanks Paul. I had a look and yes I agree. I did another version yesterday that is darker and very contrasty. I looked at it again tonight and I thought naw - it doesn't show enough of the extended nebula. But a bit darker does bring out more detail and folds in the nebula etc. I have posted the new darker version and I think its a bit better.
Your last version definitely shows a lot more detail in the lagoon area, but as you said, the fainter stuff around it is a bit harder to see.

Adding contrast to bright areas without sacrificing the hard earned fainter signal is not hard. I'm not a big fan of curves - most people can achieve good results with them, but I just can't

For this, I think in Photoshop the Shadows and highlights tool might be your friend, I don't know if that's what you used. In PixInsight the HDRWT tool will do wonders, especially if used with a luminance-based mask that protects everything but the brighter areas.

But in the end it comes down to what your goals are, of course!
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