Losing Details while Colouring (Warning contains images)!

[Macavity]

It has been noted (particularly by me!) that some of my H-Alpha Disks look a bit
"washed out"... Particularly when I add the (commonly accepted) "Sun" colour!

Having had a recent session of constant (albeit un-spectacular) seeing, I have
been trying to address this to my satisfaction! Was I over-exposing everything?

Typically, my MONO images look like a bit this:
Neither the worst or the best I've seen? 

Typically, my COLOUR images look like a bit this:
(Details / Contrast lost? Highlights burnt out?)

Although limited to GIMP for processing, I started to pay more attention to the "Levels"
(histogram) at every stage! The basic MONO images "levels" look reasonably OK - Even
after my semi-random Wavelet twiddlings in Registax! I colour using GIMP "Curves"...

Therein, I am adding quite an aggressive upwards curve to the RED channel, countered
by and equally aggressive downward curve to the BLUE channel! The unfortunate result
I was unwittingly pushing the levels significantly over the (histogram) top. Aaaargh!

Levels & Curves are interchangeable(?), so I decided to adjust the Red/Blue LEVELS  
 via the "Gamma Slider".... Frankly I I'm happier with using the "spinboxes" though.
I think this is a BIT BETTER tho? Notwithstanding Lunt50THa & personal limitations!
I am retaining more Disk Detail and not *destroyed* the "Roots" of Prominences? 

From the times of Office Door slogans: "If we knew what we were doing, it wouldn't be research"! 

P.S. No "Granny-Teaching" intended! If we include images, my wibbles will hopefully be OK, Mods?)

[Davey-T]

Hi Chris, I use the shadows and highlights thingy in P'Shop to increase the contrast, don't know if Gimp has anything similar.

Dave

[Lowjiber]

I don't have GIMP, so this may not relate exactly.  I use Photoshop CC, but most processing software have a High Pass Filter option that is similar.

To try to help, I grabbed the original surface capture from yesterday; applied only Wavelet #1 (iteration setting 12); and threw it in Photoshop.

I normally would slightly correct the shading imbalance across the disk first, but omitted everything for this example.

I applied a High Pass Filter set at 6 pixels in "Soft Light" mode to the disk.

In the otherwise untouched images below, you'll notice that the details "popped out" a bit sharper.  That will let you add your color without losing details that may have been too faint in your original capture.

As Dave mentioned above, Shadows & Highlights adjustments work well too.

Note: The "After" image is in post below.

Clear Skies

 

[Lowjiber]

Here's the After image...  The colored image is below.

[Lowjiber]

Here's the finished image as posted yesterday...

[Macavity]

All "Grist for the Mill", Guys! I'm sure GIMP has... somewhere. (Thanks for ALL suggestions)
My interest in learning stuff is "somewhat episodic". But, at the moment, I'm "inspired". lol
Seriously, for this, I'm indebted to my recent foray (SGL'er interest) into Solar Imaging!

I sense I will be HAPPY, once I have derived some sort of "prescription" for processing
basic full-disks / proms from the Lunt 50! Aside: I have also made progress with modest
2x2 Barlowed images. Worthwhile in many ways, clearly! (But that's for another wibble?) 

[Macavity]

3 minutes ago, Lowjiber said:

Here's the finished image as posted yesterday...

I really LIKE it... Slowly moving from the "Pristine Jaffa"...
to the "slightly-outdated Satsuma" look! Good stuff! 

[Stub Mandrel]

Here's your second picture, after being subjected to 'multi-scale contrast' in Astra:

[Stub Mandrel]

Can't resist a bit of deconvolution too:

[Macavity]

Well, I've often thought of "subcontracting" all my image processing.

[David Smith]

I do all my colouring via the gamma slider in GIMP's levels dialog. Your image certainly seems to have more contrast for it.

[Stub Mandrel]

Just upload your raw files to SGL and the community will do the rest ;-)

[Steve Ward]

You're working on a mono image one assumes ...? 

I find it better ( albeit on photosphere images ) to get the Levels/Sharpening-Blurring and Contrast issues sorted first on the mono image and then I just use the "Colorify" function rather than the "Colorize" .

This allows you to simply pick a colour that you are happy with and apply it as what is effectively a colour-wash to the whole thing ( with maybe a tweak on Levels and Contrast after)

I've always found Curves to be unnecessary and too aggressive personally , especially when tweaking colour.

[Macavity]

3 hours ago, Steve Ward said:

I just use the "Colorify" function rather than the "Colorize"...

Hi Steve,

I am absolutely with you re. reasoning on that. When I started doing this stuff,
I did indeed use "colorify". But then rather forgot where it was in the menus!
But I rediscovered it recently for colouring my prominence layer (I like RED).

But I do like the idea of getting it "about right" in the MONO image. At one time
I actually used to know e.g. #FF9900 was fairly "Orange"! Must try again...