Give me Some Constructive Criticism

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Comment by Marc Basti on July 8, 2011 at 6:01pm

Derek, I'd go w/3rd time is the charm, but seems pretty close to #1. Not crazy about #2 too washy, not enough contrast (for my tastes). Marc PS Don't shoot me I'm only the piano player, lol.

Comment by Derek Baker on July 8, 2011 at 3:37pm

Thanks Barry! I am just about to upload a third one. I'd be interested in how it compares to the first two.....

Comment by Barry Brence on July 8, 2011 at 3:04pm

It's a close call, but I guess I would pick the first one.....it looks natural. The second one looks slightly over-processed. It comes down to personal preference I think.

Comment by Derek Baker on July 8, 2011 at 2:57pm

Ok....On my page I have uploaded two versions of a two-frame mini-mosaic of NGC7000. Which do you prefer?

FYI, the data was acquired using an STL11000M ccd camera with a Takahashi FSQ106, and each of the two frames was built from five 600s luminance subexposures.

Calibration & stacking were done with the latest version of MaximDLPro, and the processing was done using PS CS3 with Noel Carboni's Actions & Annie's Astro-tools.

Which version do you like better, and why? Is one more 'natural' looking than the other? Is one more 'accurate'? Any comments, feedback, and constructive criticism would be most helpful ! :-) Thanks! :-)

Comment by Derek Baker on July 5, 2011 at 8:40pm

The original data came from an image I took with my U16M ccd camera & Takahashi FSQ106N, while in Chile in March 2010.

I had wanted to get more data, but a power outage prevented me from doing so.

Recently, I did some remote observing and gathered a bit more luminance data using an STL11000M and Tak FSQ106N. This also encouraged me to reprocess all the data from the ground up, using the better software I have plus my improved processing skills.

Folks, I'm interested in your assessment of this image, as compared to my previous version (also in my photo folder here). Are the colours too bold? Is it too contrasty? What was done better this time, or more poorly done this time? Let me know! :-)

Comment by Derek Baker on June 24, 2011 at 10:40am

Hey folks. I have been taking images of IC4592 and other parts of the Blue Horsehead Nebula remotely with a Takahashi FSQ106 and an STL11000M camera. I am posting a luminance image that I have processed, and I'd like some feedback on it. For starters, I know there is some faint nebulosity in the area near the head of the horse, but I worry that I'm just accentuating noise or sky background. I am trying very hard to avoid clipping the blacks while having the subtle nebulosity stand out against the darkest parts of the field, however I'm not 100% sure I have pulled it off. I could use some feedback, including those who know this object and may have imaged it before (I see some gorgeous shots of The Blue Horsehead on this site!). Here's my workflow so far: a. 6x10min lum shots. b. save as FITS (IEEE float) c. remove bad pixels/columns d. Align, Stack & Sigma clip combine. (a. --> e. in MaximDLProv5 then open in PS CS3) e. Two passes of Noel Carboni's 'Remove Space Noise'. f. Several Coarse & Medium passes in 'Gradient Xterminator'. g. Some levels & curves to bring out nebulae. h.Use Annie's Astrotools to remove stars to process just nebulosity. i. Levels/Curves several times to stretch image of nebulosity then Carboni's Remove Space Noise. j. Sharpen stars & levels in stars-only layer k. Merge stars only layer back with nebulosity only layer. l. final tweaking of brightness/contrast, then m. save full res imge then, resize for web and save that image for sharing. I know that this is a lot of steps, but that doesn't mean that I have done it the best way possible, so I'd appreciate your input!! Thanks! Derek

Comment by David Klooz on June 9, 2011 at 3:10am

Thanks Marc....always used star reduction with my sbig, but think they look so small compared to what they used to I haven't used it with the Canon. I'll give it a go - also I'll start laying off the 'star filter' and see if both help the overall look. Continuing to learn with the ddp, stretch and curves in Neb2 so very good point. Like my colors on my shots I always need to work on holding back!!. In for a few days of rain, then going to try some neb shots with just the telephoto and see how they look. Starting to feel more comfortable with the Canon and the Neb2 program. Dave

Comment by Marc Basti on June 8, 2011 at 6:08pm

David, if it were mine, I'd work on the stars a bit. Maybe some star reduction and/or 1-2pix blur. To me, the stars are hogging the pic and not letting the nebula be the main attraction. Good contrast inside the neb, maybe mess w/that some more w/curves and a layer mask. You got a lot for short time- good job, Marc

Comment by samiam on June 7, 2011 at 4:06pm

Steve , you're killin' me with your group photo. I almost peeed my pants ! LOL

Comment by David Klooz on June 7, 2011 at 3:55pm

All of these are taken with about 1 1/2 hours Ha and 1 hour LRGB and combining. The only one I haven't combined is M20 and M8-not enough dark sky yet in the morning. Anyway, let me know what you think. Dave