Starved of data...so here's three 40D Repros

[Tamtarn]

Haven't contributed to the forum for quite some time due to our gear being dismantled for a few months having a pier made and David building our ROR observatory and other commitments.

Until we get up and running again we have been starved of new data so I have spent some time recently reprocessing some taken last year.

Sorry to only give you repros but it's all we've got at the moment and it's nice to go back and improve on previous data and I hope I have done that.

Can't wait to get going again soon and try out our C9.25 on our new pier

Barb



Skywatcher 8" Newt .. Canon 40D unmodded

Processed PS CS2

NGC 4945 - 16 lights .. 8 darks .. 7min exp .. ISO800

NGC 5128 - 14 lights .. 7 darks .. 7min exp .. ISO800

NGC 5139 - 7 lights .. 6 darks .. 5min exp .. 1 light .. 2min exp .. ISO800

[AlexN]

3 brilliant images! They have a very classy look to them..

I look forward to seeing the C9.25 in action! And I feel your excitement also, as I have a pier in my back yard now that has not been used yet... Its being rained on quite a bit though

Alex

[Tamtarn]

Thanks for the comment Alex. It sure gets frustrating with the pier all ready then three weeks of being smoked out didn't help and now the moon.

Ah well hopefully we'll get out this new moon.

[lacad01 (Adam)]

Wow, those images are amazing

[Paul Haese]

Nice 4945. I like the colour and resolution looks very nice.

[multiweb (Marc)]

three nice and tidy pictures. Very cool.

[Tamtarn]

Thanks Adam Paul and Marc appreciate your comments

[jase (Jason)]

All lovely images Barb. I enjoy viewing a panel of different images side-by-side. Tells a little story of the how the person has handled the data based on the object. Really great stuff. NGC4945 is certainly a treat with the contrasting rich colours. Well done.

[RB (Andrew)]

Wonderful work guys, even re-pro work, nothing wrong with that, have to stay in practice right?

Can't wait to see your new stuff too with the C9.25 when you have the chance.
Good to see you back posting on here.

[Tamtarn]

Originally Posted by jase

All lovely images Barb. I enjoy viewing a panel of different images side-by-side. Tells a little story of the how the person has handled the data based on the object. Really great stuff. NGC4945 is certainly a treat with the contrasting rich colours. Well done.

Thanks Jase I must admit I was very happy with NGC4945. I wonder if you may have some suggestions on how to improve on NGC5128

Originally Posted by RB

Wonderful work guys, even re-pro work, nothing wrong with that, have to stay in practice right?
Can't wait to see your new stuff too with the C9.25 when you have the chance.
Good to see you back posting on here.

Sure had plenty of time for practice Andrew. Hopefully we can get out this coming new moon

[jase (Jason)]

Originally Posted by Tamtarn

Thanks Jase I must admit I was very happy with NGC4945. I wonder if you may have some suggestions on how to improve on NGC5128

I think 5128 looks pretty good to be honest. Perhaps a subtle magenta/blue hue to the image, but that's minor. The highlights of the image look well defined in my opinion. If anything, you could boost the shadows a little using an s-curve (first image) - make sure you use a secondary (top right) anchor point to maintain the highlights (as mentioned, I don't think they need much adjusting). Should extend the faint halo in an aesthetic manner. See if that makes a difference that you like. A quick fix for the colour balance (shown in second image), boost the green a few points in the shadows. That should address the hue previously noted. Have a play around with these tweaks. PS curves are extremely powerful. Don't be afraid to work the data over a few times. May lead to a few surprises as to how far you can push the data. Once again, good work.

[leon]

Worth the effort Barb, very nice indeed,

leon

[Tamtarn]

Thanks for taking the time to give me some tips Jase I very much appreciate it.

I agree that 5128 does have a majenta hue and I will try a few tweaks and see what I can do.

Thanks again for the encouragement

[strongmanmike (Michael)]

Three excellent reprocesses, I think I remember how they looked and these seem a bit more vibrant, I like 4945 the best

Mike

[Tamtarn]

Thanks Leon and Mike glad you liked them.

Jase I tried your s-curve. I just used it a little less agressively as the background wasn't too good with full strength it did extend the halo a bit more. Also adjusted the majenta balance.

Thanks once again for the tips

[jase (Jason)]

Nice one Has provided a little more punch to the surrounding halo. If you want to give the dust lane more contrast without sharpening i.e using a HPF or USM which I don't think you need to do as it looks good already, you could try using the multiply blend mode.

• Duplicate the currently layer
• On the new layer, stretch it hard with curves (don't be too concerned about the noise)
• Select the Multiply blend mode. The image will turn rather dark.
• Drop the opacity of the layer, focusing on the dust lanes. Drop to taste where the dust lanes are looking aesthetic (don't worry about the background).
• Create a hide all mask for the new layer and paint the dust lane characteristics. If you're not happy with the contrast, either adjust the layer opacity to suit or alter the brush flow and opacity.
• Blur the mask (not the layer) to provide a smooth contrast enhancement transition.
• Subtlety is the essence.
• Flatten and enjoy.

Cheers

[Tamtarn]

Jase I have tried a few of your suggestions and pushed the curves a bit harder removed more majenta and tweaked the dust lane.

Don't know if I've been successful though! As you say it's a matter of pushing to see what's there without ruining the background. A bit of trial and error to eventually get to a point you are reasonably happy with the result.

I will probably do better now if I go back to the original stack and start over and try to get everything coming together.

David and I really appreciate your willingness to share your tips to help us improve our images. Thanks again

I have included a before and after

[jase (Jason)]

Good Job! Indeed, working on the original stack is always preferred given the bit space.