Two Images From A Beginner

[JoLo]

Here are two recent images from my frontyard outside of St. Louis, MO. I am getting more comfortable with the processing, but still have a long way to go....all criticism welcome, straighten me out! The Pleiades were 30x1m subs, ISO 800, through my AT65EDQ. The western Veil (or is it eastern...?) is 20x3m, ISO 800, through my AT106.

Both were taken with an unmodded Canon 450D, Atlas mount, stacked and calibrated wtih MaximDSLR and processed in CS5.

Thanking you in advance for your comments and suggestions.

Joe

[JimStan]

From a fellow neophyte photographer, I sure don't see too much wrong with those images ! The Pleiades seems to be pushed a bit too hard in the blue channel, because the stars in the background have a somewhat bluish cast to them. But I don't seem to notice that in the Veil nebula, so it is possible you have already figured out that little kink in processing.

I am sure that some of the guys that have hundreds of hours of photo work behind them will have more to say about these pictures, but to me, they certainly look like something to be proud of !

Jim S.

[JoLo]

Thanks Jim, I appreciate your comments. Yeah, color balance is an ongoing challenge for me...I want to enhance color, but not to the point of pushing too hard and distorting the remainder of the image.....still learning, and will be for years to come.

Thanks for looking.

Joe