Hi Matthew
It looks like your data collection capability is ahead of your data processing capability. If that is the case, then I was in a similar situation until my big “aha moment” a couple of weeks ago when Jase reprocessed, or perhaps more accurately correctly processed, my M16 LRGB data.
Bearing in mind I am talking LRGB versus your 1 shot colour from the DSLR, I would still encourage you to swot up on LRGB processing as I’m certain you have really good data and your capability there appears not to require any significant improvement from what I can see.
I was very fortunate to have Jase’s M16 file which has helped me gain a quantum leap in understanding on the LRGB workflow. Prior to this, I was just thrashing around. I think an understanding of the following are vital to producing nice colour images:
- Histogram reading and analysis for Lum and RGB subs.
- Understanding how to inspect and set the Black and White points.
- Stretching the data using Curves to better reveal the (subtle) tones in the data.
- LRGB stacking related specifically to faint objects such as we encounter in astro photography.
- Controlling colour noise.
- Using Layers in PS to make various adjustments.
I’ve been swotting up on a few general PS books which have been helpful in understanding most of the above and I also recently acquired R. Scott Ireland’s book on Photoshop Astronomy and that is helping tune my developing knowledge specifically for astrophotography.
However, Jase’s example really helped to put all of the above into a specific context and by decoding and re-tracing his steps, I was able to improve on my previous effort, although the results are still short of Jase’s reprocess.
And, I’m having fun doing it, just as Jase advised!
Cheers
Dennis
