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Old 12-02-2021, 04:32 PM
Hotpies (Brad)
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First Ever Post - Orion and Running Man - 2 Panel Mosaic

Hi,

Long time Lurker around this forum. Feel like it's time to get a little more involved

Purchased an old Newtonian and mount on ISS in March last year to have a crack at astrophotography and recently gave up on the unmodified DSLR and moved to an ASI294MC Pro, again purchased 2nd hand on ISS.

I don't think I have missed one clear night since getting the scope, there is SOOOO MUCH to learn. Every clean night is a chance to learn and improve.

I feel my images have improved a lot since starting 10 or so months ago.

The wealth of information and help online is amazing. Looking forward to a lifetime under the stars.


As for this image.

I know I have blown out of the core in this image, but I haven't yet worked out exactly how mask in those bright stars.

Any feedback about any aspects of this image is absolutely appreciated.

Date taken - 11th December 2020.

8inch GSO f/5
NEQ6
Approx. 80 subs for each panel at 120sec a pop, so 160 subs in total.
Used the 294MC Pro and Orion short tube as a guide cam.
I use N.I.N.A for the image acquisition.


All processed in Photoshop.

Thanks so much for looking.
Brad.
Attached Thumbnails
Click for full-size image (Orion Nebula - small.jpg)
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  #2  
Old 12-02-2021, 05:16 PM
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xa-coupe (Jeff)
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just bloody stunning... welcome aboard and I'm looking forward to seeing what else you post up.
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Old 12-02-2021, 07:42 PM
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Karlz (Karl)
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That looks great Brad, nice colours through out.
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Old 12-02-2021, 08:41 PM
Hotpies (Brad)
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Thank you


Looking forward to sharing more and continue enjoying everyone else's incredible art
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Old 13-02-2021, 07:09 AM
Fernando
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Hi Brad. Great image. Love the colors. Congratulations!
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Old 13-02-2021, 10:26 AM
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Well you sure know how to make an entrance ;-)

Superb detail and colours. This is a wall hanger!
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Old 13-02-2021, 12:27 PM
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PKay (Peter)
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Well done Brad!

I second all the praise.

Make sure to keep a log of each night and processing details and back up your data.
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Old 13-02-2021, 12:33 PM
Startrek (Martin)
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Brad,
Great effort there with a fairly big scope ( I have the same scope but on an EQ6-R pro mount )
You sure you haven’t been doing this for years and years
Lovely image and love the details and colours
Well done !!
Martin
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Old 13-02-2021, 02:30 PM
RyanJones
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Wow ! What a cracker Brad. Well done.

Cheers

Ryan
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Old 13-02-2021, 10:51 PM
Hotpies (Brad)
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Thanks so much for the kind words everyone. I am proud of this photo



It is funny how each time I create a picture, I am very happy with it, but then you look at others and you notice how much more detail, or less noise, or nicer stars, or better contrast, colours... the list goes on. The scope for improvement is as deep as you want it to be. Its a real rabbit hole.



As for doing it for years and years.. I wish! I wish I had gotten into this hobby sooner lol. The information online allows people to really learn extremely quick, however it has not come without many disappointing nights under the stars and frustration that's for sure.


I have had so many near misses with the scope nearly crashing into the mount overnight and so its amazing I still have equipment. I think most those issues are out the way now. Again, every small issue I have, I read about every possible cause and go through the whole process of elimination which is painful to do and it hurts to waste time under clear skies to trouble shoot. But, we all need to start somewhere.



I read forums every night, its turned into a bit of an obsession over the last 12 months.


I do keep a separate HDD. I was blown away by how much Space ummm Space? lol takes up on the PC.



I keep all my subs and files labeled well, but I haven't taken any details or logs on processing yet. At the moment I am doing a little bit of fiddling around in photoshop. Most photos I have been following Trevor Jones's guide on processing and recently a little of Astro Ed.


I have read that its best to keep a log. I do save my main Photoshop files with the layers, so I can always go back and see how I got a result.



I think writing it down would be beneficial though
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Old 13-02-2021, 11:04 PM
assbutt94
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Fantastic image Brad. I wouldn't have known it was a mosaic if you didn't say so.
It's one of the biggest rabbit holes, with plenty more of those nights.
The effort can be worth it though
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Old 14-02-2021, 09:50 AM
AdamJL
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hotpies View Post
I know I have blown out of the core in this image, but I haven't yet worked out exactly how mask in those bright stars.
2nd set of subs at shorter exposures
Orion (and to a lesser extent, Carina), is a nebula that will destroy the dynamic range capabilities of any camera, with the exception of the new ones like the 2600/6200 and QHY equivalents which can hit 14 stops. So take shorter subs, maybe 10-15 seconds, process them separately and then blend as a layer in Photoshop and you'll have a nicely processed core
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Old 14-02-2021, 10:15 AM
Hotpies (Brad)
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Thanks
I did take I think around 10 or 30x 30second subs of the core during this imaging session. I haven’t done anything with them yet lol.

The whole layer blending thing is something I need to sit down and learn.

Your advice is spot on though and I may have even over done it at 30seconds.

I will sit down at some point soon and re-do this entire image using a few new techniques and try and mask in the core

Ps. I am now about to frantically google what “14 stops” means
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Old 14-02-2021, 09:38 PM
AdamJL
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hotpies View Post
Thanks
I did take I think around 10 or 30x 30second subs of the core during this imaging session. I haven’t done anything with them yet lol.

The whole layer blending thing is something I need to sit down and learn.

Your advice is spot on though and I may have even over done it at 30seconds.

I will sit down at some point soon and re-do this entire image using a few new techniques and try and mask in the core

Ps. I am now about to frantically google what “14 stops” means


30 seconds can be good too! Depending on ISO/Gain. You won't know until you process that stack to see what you have, but even 30 seconds will bring more of the core out anyway.

14 stops just refers to the "stop" of light that's measured in photography. Gaining a stop doubles the amount of light, losing a stop reduces it by half.
You can do this through combinations of aperture, ISO/Gain, shutter speed/exposure length.
Modern cameras are starting to hit 14 stops of dynamic range which is awesome.
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Old 15-02-2021, 05:36 PM
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Top effort hotpies . Love the colour .
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Old 16-02-2021, 06:15 PM
Hotpies (Brad)
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Thank you. The colour wasn't intentional, just kind of came out the way I stretched and processed. I must admit, it is pretty cool.


I am now working on taming the core and so far its coming out pretty good I cannot wait to share.


Thanks for explaining the "Stop" of light. Last night I checked and stacked my short 30sec exposures. They are probably a little over done. So you were spot on about the sub length. But so far it looks to be working. The inner stars are bright, but it looks like I can get the core looking pretty good with those 4 stars visible


Again, cannot wait to share once done
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