Heart of the Soul

[Rodd]

This image pales in comparison to Steve's.  its amazing how you don't even know something is amiss until you see the real deal...then its as clear as day.  That is the most mysterious aspect of this hobby for me.   perhaps ignorance is indeed bliss after all.  This is a crop at normal scale of a larger image that depicts the entire Soul Nebula.

np101is STT8300 about 20 hours total Ha, OIII and SII

[steppenwolf]

I think you are being more than a little hard on yourself, Rodd - your image is full of nice detail, is imaginatively cropped to frame the most stunning portion of the Soul Nebula and displays an established and recognisable narrowband palette. What's not to like!

[Rodd]

It ain't yours, that's for sure.  Its hard to explain.  I really liked this crop--and the whole image from where it came, for a long time.  I still do, but when I saw your image I felt like I was sitting in a pretty fast commercially available sports car when you pulled up in your dragster.  It kind of underlines a point I tried to make a while ago when someone asked me why looking at other peoples images (from an emulation standpoint) was so important to me.  I finally have the answer.  because oft time you don't really even know there is something wrong with the image until you see one at the next level.  Then its like a "I could a had a V8" moment.    Now I know I have to shoot thye Sout region again, for I know I can do it better.

Rodd

[Xiga]

As Steve says, you're definitely being too harsh on yourself Rodd. The detail in your version is actually remarkable, and i like how you've managed the brightness levels too.

I certainly won't show you my DSLR attempt having see yours! (there's always a bigger fish, isn't there, lol) 

[Rodd]

23 minutes ago, Xiga said:

As Steve says, you're definitely being too harsh on yourself Rodd. The detail in your version is actually remarkable, and i like how you've managed the brightness levels too.

I certainly won't show you my DSLR attempt having see yours! (there's always a bigger fish, isn't there, lol) 

Thanks Steve.  You are right about there is always a bigger fish. Sometimes I feel like Yogi Bear, he picks up 6 little fish then drops them to pick up 1 large fish.  

[Xiga]

2 minutes ago, Rodd said:

Thanks Steve.  You are right about there is always a bigger fish. Sometimes I feel like Yogi Bear, he picks up 6 little fish then drops them to pick up 1 large fish.  

It's Ciaran, actually. But you can call me Steve if you want, I won't mind. Especially if it means i get to inherit his street cred too 😅

[Rodd]

7 minutes ago, Xiga said:

It's Ciaran, actually. But you can call me Steve if you want, I won't mind. Especially if it means i get to inherit his street cred too 😅

Sorry Ciaran. I am on my cell phone and the screen is s bit small.  Apologies.

Rodd

[Xiga]

1 minute ago, Rodd said:

Sorry Ciaran. I am on my cell phone and the screen is s bit small.  Apologies.

Rodd

No need to apologize. It gave me a chuckle 😁

[teoria_del_big_bang]

I can on reiterate what is being said above, by anyone's standards that is a cracking image with great detail and superb colour.

I think if you look around there are always other images about, on this forum alone, that you will consider better than yours (I think we all are generally very self-critical) but an image like that is definitely something to be proud of 🙂 

Steve

[Rodd]

10 minutes ago, teoria_del_big_bang said:

I can on reiterate what is being said above, by anyone's standards that is a cracking image with great detail and superb colour.

I think if you look around there are always other images about, on this forum alone, that you will consider better than yours (I think we all are generally very self-critical) but an image like that is definitely something to be proud of 🙂 

Steve

Thanks Steve.   I do like it.  Looking forward to reshooting it 

[bottletopburly]

Very nice I’m sure would look great on a canvas on a wall 👍

[simmo39]

just love it! v nice Rodd.

[geeklee]

Just echoing the comments above, but that's a great image.  The overall colours of the image + detail and contrast within all the structure is excellent!

Edited December 13, 2019 by geeklee

[Rodd]

8 hours ago, bottletopburly said:

Very nice I’m sure would look great on a canvas on a wall 👍

Thanks Burly Bottle Top!--I have found that prints do come out pretty decent and can hide the issues that may be seen on a monitor.  I have printed a few images on metal. 

Rodd

Edited December 13, 2019 by Rodd

[Rodd]

1 hour ago, geeklee said:

Just echoing the comments above, but that's a great image.  The overall colours of the image + detail and contrast within all the structure is excellent!

Thanks Geeklee--much appreciated!

Rodd

[Rodd]

1 hour ago, simmo39 said:

just love it! v nice Rodd.

Thanks Simmo!

[assouptro]

Hi Rodd

having lurked around on this forum for the past 10 years wishing I was capable of producing images such as this and  Steve’s I can see how wonderful both images are in their own merit. 
You both have slightly different styles and if you were to put them side by side and ask 100 people which they prefer, I think the room could be evenly split.

I too kicked myself as I felt I had  overcooked my last image (rosette) once I saw Steve’s IC 1871 and then John’s IC1396! They appear to have an effortless clarity that I would love to be able to emulate.

Having said that, I love the composition of your heart of soul, The impact of the colour and the clarity of detail, it’s stunning! 
Basically, I get where you’re coming from but honestly, hold your head up high! This is a cracking photo that is unique to you and there will be more than a few people here thinking, “I’m gonna try that!” 
 

thanks for sharing 

Bryan