IC405 & IC410

[Adamar98]

I've wanted to take my astrophotography up another level for a while. So, I bought a new scope. I've done a lot of reading up on processing (I've a lot more to read) and I'm trying to put into practice what I've learned. I'm still struggling with my stars. They're either bright and sharp or dull and lifeless. I need to find the middle ground. Any constructive criticism or a point in the direction of a good tutorial is very welcome. Here are my efforts. I hope you like.

Askar FRA400 @ f3.9, Atik 460, Heq5

36 x 600 ha

30 x 600 Oiii

30 x 600 sii

16 hours 

Thanks for looking.

 

Edited January 22, 2022 by Adamar98
wrong image

[souls33k3r]

Excellent mate. Would be interested in knowing what you've been reading

[ollypenrice]

Your stars dilemma, either too bright and sharp or too dull and lifeless, is dead easy to resolve in any layers-based program. You simply paste one onto the other as a different layer and adjust the opacity of the top layer till you get what you want. This is the mainstay of my Photoshop processing but can be done in the free GIMP as well, I expect. If it's only the stars you want to blend, there's a MartinB tutorial on the Imaging Tricks and Techniques part of this forum which tells you how to isolate stars. (Alternatively you can use Noel's Actions in Ps to select brighter stars. It's now sold as Pro Digital Astronomy Tools.

Nice image. No question.

Olly

Edited January 23, 2022 by ollypenrice

[Adamar98]

4 hours ago, ollypenrice said:

Your stars dilemma, either too bright and sharp or too dull and lifeless, is dead easy to resolve in any layers-based program. You simply paste one onto the other as a different layer and adjust the opacity of the top layer till you get what you want. This is the mainstay of my Photoshop processing but can be done in the free GIMP as well, I expect. If it's only the stars you want to blend, there's a MartinB tutorial on the Imaging Tricks and Techniques part of this forum which tells you how to isolate stars. (Alternatively you can use Noel's Actions in Ps to select brighter stars. It's now sold as Pro Digital Astronomy Tools.

Nice image. No question.

Olly

Thanks Olly. That makes a lot of sense. I’ll definitely have a look at your suggestions. I’m sure they’ll be a way to do the same thing with pixelmath. More investigating and reading to do. 

[Adamar98]

11 hours ago, souls33k3r said:

Excellent mate. Would be interested in knowing what you've been reading

I’ve been reading up on masks. How to make them, how to use them and where to use them. And I’ve also been learning about pixelmath. It’s a minefield but it can do things I didn’t think possible. Both areas have definitely improved my images. Well worth learning about.