HaRGB Processing Help Please!

[Astrosurf]

Thanks Sara. I still can't get it to work. Thanks so much for offering the Teamviewer tutorial. Please tell me when you're ready. I'm pooped so don't expect a fast brain!

[ollypenrice]

Select and copy the Ha layer.

Activate the RGB image.

Channels - Split channels.

Minimise B and G channels to clear the screen.

Paste the Ha onto the red.

Go to Layers and open the drop down menu and choose Blend Mode Lighten.

Lift the Ha in Curves if it isn't doing anything. You need to see the Ha affecting the red channel in places.

Don't worry about overdoing it. Flatten.

Merge channels (in RGB colour) with R in R, G in G and B in B.

If you like it leave it. If you like some of it, paste the HaRGB onto the RGB and use the eraser and the opacity control in Layers to get the result you like best.

Olly

[Astrosurf]

Thanks sooooo much Sara and Olly. You've been amazing! XXX

[Rush]

Hi Olly,

One issue  is not clear for me, You said (The RGB image is fully processed. The Ha image is fully processed and aligned to the RGB)

Should i strech the RGB channels seperatley before adding Ha+ red to Splitted RGB.A bit unsure about the processing part streched or unstreched (:.

Ha i streched it to the maximum and RGB not.

I tried your workflow and this is what came out.Green was synthetic.  Appreciate if u could judge.But this pink shades looks a bit  plastik,))) How doi get rid of it?

Thanx much,

CS

Rush

[ollypenrice]

Well, if the green isn't green I really don't know where to start. I've no experience of synthetic green.

However, in terms of stretchng RGB I combine them in linear form at equal weighting for each colour channel to make an initial RGB. Then I take this RGB into Pixinsight, give it a screen stretch (not a real stretch) and run DBE. This gives a great colour calibration. I then return to Ps and stretch the RGB as one image and get it as good as I can. This is now my final RGB. I might add a luminance layer to that if I want LRGB. And this is the image in which I add Ha in Blend Mode Lighten to the red channel.

Olly

[Astrosurf]

This is what I did with my processed RGB of the Wizard Neb. It was aligned to the Ha during DSS stacking. If you want me to tell you how to do that, let me know, but it looks like you've done it! I think that's what Olly means by ' . . . aligned to the RGB.' I think my processing was OK, but I'd not done this before. Comments and criticisms please!

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/40828105/WIZARD%20PROCESSING%201.odt

[Astrosurf]

It's still not quite working for me. I did what you suggested and, following another HaRGB thread on here, I added the Ha as Luminance set at Lighten with the opacity set at 15%, as Olly suggested. The Ha looks by far more detailed than the HaRGB, however hard I try. Maybe I haven't enough data. Plus, how do you get rid of the hard star halos? I've tried G Blur and Noel's Actions 'Make Stars Smaller', but I don't really know what I'm doing!

Ha:

HaRGB:

[Phillyo]

Use Pixinsight...so much easier

Phil

[swag72]

Use Pixinsight...so much easier

Phil

Are you kidding? Easier? You need a to understand quantum physics to work PI..... I find it more difficult than crawling through setting concrete

[carastro]

Use Pixinsight...so much easier 

Phil

Are you kidding? Easier? You need a to understand quantum physics to work PI..... I find it more difficult than crawling through setting concrete   

 Ditto Lol

Alex, if you're still having problems, I know the method that Olly uses to add Ha as I stayed at his place a couple of years ago, so would be happy to do a Teamviwer session with you if you like.  It is similar to how Sara combines her RGB i.e. she starts with separate channels, but to add the Ha you need the split the channels, add the ha as a layer to the Red channel - blend mode lighten (might need to alter %) and then re-merge channels.  

It's easier to show than explain.

Carole 

[Phillyo]

PI is super easy!! Especially for combining channels. You can use either the channel combination tool or pixelmath. I prefer Pixelmath as it gives you the chance to set how much strength to give each channel inluding the Ha channel if needs be.

Then again, I haven't used PS to edit my images in a while as I never found it particularly accurate

Phil

[carastro]

PI is super easy!! 

I have watched 3 demonstrations of PI and came away absolutely confused with what was going on.  Decided there and then not to even attempt it.

I am happy with PS so why make life more difficult than it needs to be?

Carole 

[Astrosurf]

Thanks all. Thanks so much for the offer, Carole. I had an excellent TV session with Sara, doing what you suggested. I just think my data isn't good enough.

[carastro]

Glad you're sorted Alex, 

 I just think my data isn't good enough.

Yes I have had that problem sometimes when imaging from home which is very LP.

Carole 

[swag72]

Thanks all. Thanks so much for the offer, Carole. I had an excellent TV session with Sara, doing what you suggested. I just think my data isn't good enough.

Can you put your data into dropbox and I'll take a look at it? 2 subs required - 1) The unprocessed RGB combined tiff and 2) The unprocessed Ha tiff.

[Astrosurf]

Many thanks Sara. Will do! As soon as I get home.

[Astrosurf]

Hi Sara,

Here ya go! I thought I'd give you the separate channel files, as I'm not sure I've combined them right.

Blue:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/40828105/Wizard%20Blue%20enlarged.tif

Green:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/40828105/Wizard%20Green%20enlarged.tif

Red:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/40828105/Wizard%20Red%20enlarged.tif

Ha:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/40828105/Wizard%20Ha%20ST%20Done.tiff

Good luck and thanks!

[Phillyo]

Hi Alexx,

I just had a quick play with these in PI out of curiousity but it won't let me merge them due to dimension differences. Did you bin any of the colour channels 2x2? Did you align them all together?

Phil

[Astrosurf]

Hi Phil, they should be OK. Yes, I binned 2x2 but I doubled the image size. Here's the combined RGB:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/40828105/RGB.tif

[Phillyo]

I can merge the RGB but it won't then combine with the Ha channel for some reason

[Skipper Billy]

One of the images is 1 pixel bigger - I think its the Ha from memory.

I have never merged HaRGB before - or LRGB (until recently I was an OSC guy - just bought a mono outfit but not used it yet) but thought I would have a play.

I know this is a rubbish attempt - its pushed way too far - I am a rank novice - but there is data in there ....... this is less than 5 mins from start to finish in PS (I havent got PixInsite) ......

lrgb.tif

[Skipper Billy]

Sorry - posted the tiff (large!) - here's a Jpeg to save downloading the tiff......

[Astrosurf]

Thanks SB! Yes, a bit pushed, but it shows what can be brought out.

I can't understand the difficulty with combining as I've had no problem with Photoshop. Darned pixels!

[Phillyo]

Ok now that I removed that extra pixel, this is a quick run through PI.

Phil

[Astrosurf]

Thanks Phil. Looks tons better than mine, though the blue in the stars isn't there.

How did you remove the pixel? PS doesn't have any proboems.

I wish I could afford PI! Plus, the brain to understand it!