Processing getting me down - How long before you were happy with yours?

[swag72]

Another 7 hours worth of data over a couple of nights, so another nebula to process. Again, more hours spent pouring over tutorials and forums on the net. The image was processed, then I went back and looked at it the next day. Not happy with it, more tutorials to follow, more star masks, and after another marathon I finally get to something I'm happier with.

Now not happy with it again!!I'm sick to death of constantly seeing issues that I struggle (or fail abysmally) to sort. Goodness knows how many hours I have spent getting to something I am still not happy with.

I tell myself that this is all still new really, I've only started really being really critical over the last 4 or 5 images I have processed, prior to that I was just happy to get something. But I can not go on like this, I am getting frustrated and depressed about it.

My question to you is how long after you started imaging were you happy with your processing in general? After what period of time did you finally look at an image and say 'yep, that's good I couldn't process it any better'?

Interested to hear your thoughts on this and whether it really does 'click' after a while. The reason I am thinking that maybe it does, is that in my working life I have always found that after 6 months of so it did all click together and I went to work one day and thought 'Yes I can do this now'. I have a lot of experience of this within work, but image processing .......... Googness only knows. Does it eventually click so to speak?

[Tim]

I'll let you know when the day comes Sara...............

[laser_jock99]

I'll let you know when the day comes Sara...............

I think we'll all be tinkering/learning indefinately.

[martin_h]

Still learning here...

In a way its art and art is subjective and depends on your mood, one day its good, next day not so.....You may not like your image now, someone else looking at it might say WOW look at that!

[Skybrowser]

Depends on what your targets have been. Have you started off on planets with a webcam and got that nailed? Moving on to DSO's some are a lot easier than others and most are tough. Everyone tries to go for M31 and those lovely dust lanes but they can be difficult to tease out. After that M1 and most of us struggle to even find it!

If you're seeing improvement on your first efforts, then stick with it. I am one of those who does imaging occasionally as it takes up so much time and for me personally, I prefer to be out there doing something (like observing).

I think the mistake many people make is to invest in expensive cameras and other kit but there is a lot of skill in the processing which needs to be fully understood and learned. Photoshop is complex, others are a bit easier, but overall for me, it's often the skill of the processing and not the capturing that's the hard part.

Good luck - have another go!

[ollypenrice]

You never get there. The thing is you can always get better but as you do so you also get to be a better ctitic...

I used to be realy pleased with utter rubbish when I started. Now I may feel pleased wiith an image for six months but then I look again and think, 'You clown, what did you do it like that for? Look at the clipped sky. Look at the saturation. What's that green doing there? Etc Etc.

Just keep your original data. You can always go back to it after a while.

Olly

[RobH]

I'm with Olly......I'm never 100% happy with my results....there's always room for improvement and it's a continuous learning process.

Rob

[swag72]

Interesting comments guys - Not really what I was hoping to hear!!!!

It's just so disheartening at times

[philj]

I know exactly where your coming from Sara I am at that point.

Taking the photos is easy compared to the processing. I have 4 hours worth of colour data I captured on M42, an other 3 hours on M1 and each one I did a cursory process and found I just got bogged down and have left it till I have more time and patience.

Because of this I find myself doing more Ha and lunar and planetary, far less faffing on my part:)

Thankfully all those hours of clear sky havent been wasted because I always make sure I do visual astronomy with another scope whilst the imaging rig is whirring away.

Philj

[lostboys]

Well I am at the bottom end of the scale where all I can produce is a white static effect, after a week I still don't have even a basic picture, I am using a stalight xpress mx5c colour ccd, a fast 2 parallel and a celestron 5se.

I thought I would get some sort of picture by now, even a poor quality one would be great.

[Catanonia]

Whilst I agree with the posts here I too have felt the pain Sara.

I have developed my standard method of processing images, it has taken some time, but I have a method that gives me good results.

All images get processed this way ready for posting and moving onto new targets.

If I have a quiet spell, I resort back to the calibrated images and try to refine my method. Using this manner of working, your "prefered" method gets better with time and you can keep producing images you are happy with.

[JohnM]

I have been imaging for about 18 months and like to think I can get a fair picture from my data.

But then I look at some of the fantastic images on sites such as this and realise there's still a long way to go.

That said, you then look at what you were producing a year ago realise how much you have learnt and improved.

John

[steppenwolf]

Sadly, Sara, I'm with the others, I'm never completely happy with my processing and visit and revisit old data all the time in an attempt to improve on previous versions. To be honest, it's all part of the hobby and I don't ever expect to arrive at the end of this journey, just get a little bit further along each time with a severe case of diminishing returns!

[swag72]

Great input from you all - A bit depressing though!! I think I'd like to have a method of processing that gives acceptable results, instead I jump around all over the place and don't seem able to find a groove so to speak.

[Earl]

I look at it this way, regardless of my skills today I have the Data and can always go back to it when ever I want, as I learn new tricks, I can then go a play again and look at the results.

When I was in a band, I was not popular for always saying... humm it could be better, but in reality everything can always be better, it just might not be the day for it to be so.

[ollypenrice]

I don't think you should be depressed. Like anything worth doing it's difficult and yet the vistas ahead of you, both in the sky and in terms of your own learning, are huge. Think of artists and scientists. They never 'get there.' The journey is all.

Olly

[swag72]

Sadly Olly, I am neither artist nor scientist! I don't like journey's, although I do like it when I get to where I am going. I am more of an autopilot girl myself. I'd like to be able to press 12 buttons in order, perhaps making it a little difficult by specifying a length of button press, then let something else do the hard work while I kick back and enjoy the view.

Unfortunately, I think I picked the wrong hobby!!!

[Tim]

Well you have Pixinsight Sara. You should be able to knock out a decent image in less than 30 mins using a standard processing format.

The thing that takes the time and hours and hours is the devil living in the detail. Just because there are so many things you CAN do with an image, doesn't mean you should But its fun to play and learn when there is time.

[MartinB]

Like the others here, I'm on that never ending rocky learning curve. Here's my advice for what it's worth.

A gently processed image is better than one that pulls out all the details but shows loads of processing artefacts. Less is more. Learn how to stretch the histogram, then some basic sharpening and smoothing. At the first hint of artefacts appearing reduce the processing. Avoid applying global changes to an image to reduce artefacts, you substitute one problem for another. You may not end up with the gob smacking image you had in mind but it will be better than one you've flogged to death.

[swag72]

Well you have Pixinsight Sara. You should be able to knock out a decent image in less than 30 mins using a standard processing format.

The thing that takes the time and hours and hours is the devil living in the detail. Just because there are so many things you CAN do with an image, doesn't mean you should But its fun to play and learn when there is time.

In 30 mins you say?!! I wish!!!

I do agree with you Martin, I have flogged a couple of images to near death in trying to attain perfection!! Failed every time as well as just making it all worse!!

[redfox1971]

Well sara i no exactly how you feel,I to am learning the ways of pixinsight,I have watched Harrys totorials over and over,but would be nice if someone could do little video on just combining lights and darks also differnt debayering ways (Harry) please help,as i have not ventured into flats yet,but i think im on the right path,im out putting images,just not happy enougth to post on site yet.I just keep trying and reading the pixinsight forum,I do find if i am to tired that i wonder why i keep trying,but with no lady in my life i have time to keep trying to improve,sorry my spellings not great thats something else ive always struggled with.Keep trying thats the name of the game.

[swag72]

Just when I though I'd got a little of PI sussed, it seems not!