California

[oska (John)]

I was hoping to shoot this as first light from the new obs but it seems Elon was in charge of the production schedule, so I had a go at Cali before it disappears. The O signal is very low and I probably (obviously) stretched it too far as I got big blue halos that I've then tried to minimise. I was thinking of doing a rainbow palette but I just can't work it out (all good practice ) so I've gone for a more traditional palette. I rode it all the way down to about 7 degrees each night, surprisingly ok (not great obs.) subs, one of the rejects had horizon in it . Framing would be better if it had a little jaunty lean to it I reckon. I had a vignette/amp glow type issue that cal didn't totally remove and I couldn't get ABE or DBE to fix it so I tried GraXpert, champion!

ASI1600MM + Antlia 3nm
EON85 + 0.8x reducer
EQ6R
NINA + PI

300s 200g 250 -10C

3hrs Ha & S2
4h15 O3
50 x D+F+DF

Tips, tricks and criticism most welcome

[xelasnave]

That is absolutely excellent but you do need more "Dodge and Burn".
Well done I think you can give up your day job and do astro full time.
Alex

[oska (John)]

Thanks Alex, I kinda have the past 6 months

[Bodon (Steve)]

John I love the colours in this pic. With halos I know all the gurus seem to hate them, but I like them. To me it gives it a touch of flare. Im only new to the game and I need to look at some pics on the net to get an idea on shades of colour etc. But I see a ton of pics of the Horse Head with halos and all done with colours of the rainbow. Like those and your pic...I like it.

[oska (John)]

Thanks Steve, they were big hard circles before I tamed them a bit. O'l Horsey is a MF for halos, I can't get a shot without them but others certainly can. I have a sneaking suspicion it's the seeing, need a really clear night to minimise them, maybe, just guessing.

[Bodon (Steve)]

Watching gurus on the net in regards to filters.... that Antlia 3nm was right up there in regards to halos; does it help you at all?

[Stephane]

John, a really nice rendition of the California Nebula. As it's so far North, we don't see many of these on this forum. Thanks for sharing. Some nice detail in there given it's so low on the horizon. Well done.

[oska (John)]

Originally Posted by Bodon

Watching gurus on the net in regards to filters.... that Antlia 3nm was right up there in regards to halos; does it help you at all?

Pretty sure you're right but the over-strech doesn't help. Usually, Alintak notwithstanding, it's the high humidity/dew I get every night, which makes matters worse. I've had one non dewy night in the last 6 months, still had high humidity though

Originally Posted by Stephane

John, a really nice rendition of the California Nebula. As it's so far North, we don't see many of these on this forum. Thanks for sharing. Some nice detail in there given it's so low on the horizon. Well done.

Thanks Stephane, I tried really hard this time to stay away from the saturation tool, well I tried

[Stephane]

I don't think you overdid colour saturation; in fact, I think you're spot on! I really like your rendition.

[oska (John)]

Cheers mate.

[oska (John)]

And a touch of Foraxx (now with dodge & burn), just for fun. I think the palette, at least here, hides much of the fine detail?

[AdamJL]

Both most excellent versions

[oska (John)]

Thanks Adam