This is 7h of Sii, 5h of Oiii and 4h of Ha accumulated bits and pieces over the past few weeks. Luminance done from a stack of the three channels. I weighted the ratios 4:1:2 then tweaked until I got whitish stars. Turned out pretty blue and green but the stars didn't go too pink or red so I figured I had the ratios right. Googled up a bit of M8s on the internet, saw some red ones, some green ones etc... and it looked like the blueish green was the way to go. Anyway it's NB so the issue is moot but I managed to keep the processing "natural" as I had so much data to play with.
There's a full frame here at: http://www.multiweb.com.au/astro/M8_SiiHaOiii_f.jpg [2.4MB] if you want to have a closer look. Comments/tips most welcome (besides it's too green ... the little green men made me do it ... )
Last edited by multiweb; 06-08-2009 at 02:36 PM.
Reason: Reprocessed Sii and curves
Very nice effort indeed ! One of those Eerie shots.
If you could tame the pink stars it would be superb, however I realise this is not an easy process.
I like the overall balance of the image. I think the green and the pinky purple reddish stars look OK.
Nice image Marc and good to see the effort has paid off.
Hi multiweb, nice going! Hope you don't mind, I tried a little trick to tame your stars. Do you think it's better? Now you could overlay RGB and give your stars more natural colour. Nice smooth detail and good extended nebulosity, too.
Hi Marc:
Pretty Lagoon Nebula.
Generally the people think that they are startling colors.
But it give the time double, to the Sii filters and Oiii, you will see a radical change.
Many greetings
Cesar
Very nice effort indeed ! One of those Eerie shots.
If you could tame the pink stars it would be superb, however I realise this is not an easy process.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CoolhandJo
There is lots of detail in there Marc! Many hours of imaging worth! I like it and the stars are sharp (but pink in sections).
Thanks guys. Yeah pink stars are a by product of pushing the reds a bit.
Quote:
Originally Posted by strongmanmike
Yes it is sort of uniformly green I guess but overall it is quite an impressive image Marc
The magenta stars look good I recon
Mike
You're right. Looking at it again this morning it is uniformely green. Got to work out how to bring the Sii through without screwing things up.
Quote:
Originally Posted by telecasterguru
I like the overall balance of the image. I think the green and the pinky purple reddish stars look OK.
Nice image Marc and good to see the effort has paid off.
Frank
Thanks Frank. It's smooth alright but I have to improve the colors definitely.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheDecepticon
Hi multiweb, nice going! Hope you don't mind, I tried a little trick to tame your stars. Do you think it's better? Now you could overlay RGB and give your stars more natural colour. Nice smooth detail and good extended nebulosity, too.
I see ... star mask master Yeah I know the trick My mates, don't like it either, they call me a "painter"
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ric
Hi Marc, a very nice NB image with lovely depth and clarity.
You've done a top job with this one.
Cheers
Quote:
Originally Posted by troypiggo
Great dedication to get that much data.
Quote:
Originally Posted by peter_4059
Very nice Marc and as Troy says great dedication to get 16hrs worth.
Peter
Thanks guys - glad you liked it. 7h of Sii didn't seem worth the effort though. Bit peed off about it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mexhunter
Hi Marc:
Pretty Lagoon Nebula.
Generally the people think that they are startling colors.
But it give the time double, to the Sii filters and Oiii, you will see a radical change.
Many greetings
Cesar
Thanks Cesar. I don't know, I kept shooting Sii until I got 7h. How much more? May be 20min subs are not enough and I should go for 30min, 40min subs? Bit lost at this stage. Or these are processing issues.
Super effort. 16 hours is bigtime serious imaging effort. Nice round stars
and lots of things done really well.
There is plenty of red in the image. Its all in the processing
in how to bring it out. You don't need more S11 etc its already there
overwhelmed by the strong Ha signal which of course as Ha is assigned
to the green channel easily becomes overly green.
We are used to seeing a balance of red green and blue in an image
so when one colour is dominant it isn't an ideal effect. Whilst you can
make it what you like in narrowband I think the images that get the
compliments have a nice balance of RGB going. There can be some really
nice mustard colours in narrowband as well as some lovely blues. That in
my opinion is where the beauty is on a nicely done narrowband image.
Martin Pugh's running chicken nebula image of last year is a good example.
So are ken Crawford's narrowband images. He is one of the very best.
I can email you (or post a link here) a version I reprocessed to show a more balanced RGB with
various tweaks.
How you handle the red stars is up to you but there are a few choices that I am aware of:
1. Shoot shorter RGB for the stars and use tricky Photoshop layers techniques to replace the red ones.
2. Use techniques to minimise the stars (not the minimum filter although in mild use it might be OK).
3. Use Photoshop tools to select out the stars and work on the colours
using standard photoshop tools.
Its worth learning a few more Photoshop techniques as 16 hours worth of capture time means its worth it.
Cool! Thanks for the link Gray - Didn't know that method. Will try it on that image. Got some RGB data somewhere.
Quote:
Originally Posted by RB
I agree with Mike on this, the magenta stars do look good.
They blend in well in this palette and instantly identifies the process as NB IMO.
Anyway excellent work mate, wow 16 hours !!!!
Thanks RB - been chatting with Greg about PS curves. I'll post a reprocess when done. Managing to push the red through bits by bits. It will look heaps better I reckon.
Well here's my new version. I'm much happier with it. Big thanks to Greg for pointing me in the right direction and all of you guys for your suggestions. Sii is off the naughty list, for now...
Colors are more in line with what's expected of NB images. The pink stars mob will still be disappointed but I'll do a star mask with some RGB data later. Gives me an excuse for one more repro.
Hope you like this one better. I know I do.
Last edited by multiweb; 06-08-2009 at 02:34 PM.
Reason: spelling
but I managed to keep the processing "natural" as I had so much data to play with.
... the little green men made me do it ... )
Got to work out how to bring the Sii through without screwing things up.
