First go at M51

[drumsolo]

After a year out I am at last getting back to imaging and had a go at M51 for the first time. This was around 80 mins of subs, no darks or flats unfortunately so I had to do a lot of of post processing in CS6 which I am still learning but think I am getting there. Anyway please comment on the pic and processing and anything I could do to improve it.

Many thanks

[Mr Bergman]

Looks really nice for 80 mins with no flats or darks!

[cfpendock]

I am not sufficiently expert to advise on improvements for your image. But I would like to say that your stars are particularly pleasing - sharp, focussed, and no sign (on my screen) of any trails. It seems that you have made a fine start, but it would be useful to know your image exposure times.

Chris

[Gina]

Agreed, very good srars And M51 is pretty good for a start. More data (imaging time) would help as always and you'll get better with the processing with practice - it takes time. Careful use of curves will probably let you get better cores - they're currently rather washed out. Yes, it's a pretty steep learning curve but also very rewarding. Good luck

[drumsolo]

Thanks for the positive comments. I was also wondering how I can get more colour out of my images, I am using an unmodded Canon 1100d at present and trying to bring out the colour in CS6 but not really sure how to go about it?

[JamesF]

Looks very nice indeed.

James