M13 (What a difference a year makes!)

[Aza]

Hi

M13 was one of the first DSOs I imaged last year.

Here is a comparison to show what a years progress looks like

These are both a total exposure of 1 hour.

Can you tell which is which??

Disclaimer: Its not really a fair comparison though. My latest shot is with a modded camera, from a darker site, and with longer sub exposures.

[Dave Smith]

That's a fantastic difference - you must be chuffed. :headbang:The pressure is on now for next year

Dave

[Aza]

Cheers Dave! I am pretty pleased with this one

[steppenwolf]

That really is a very nice image - you must be pleased with your progress!

[Beyond_Vision]

A vast difference Arran. Your latest capture looks tack sharp and colour is spot on. Thats definately one for the album

Regards

Kevin

[Psychobilly]

Very nice indeed Arran

Its been a very productive year

Peter...

[ollypenrice]

Great, and those two bright stars, the red and the blue, are perfect. They really make the image.

Olly

[Aza]

Cheers chaps

I have used a few new photoshop techniques for the stars and colours. Seemed to work quite well for my first try of them.

[CELESCOPE]

And thats what its all about , Progress, stunning image

Rog:)

[Aza]

Thanks Rog.

Thats all down to this forum! I would never have even been able to take the first one, nevermind the latest one, without all the help I have got from here!

Cheers everyone

[blinky]

Can you share how you increased the star colour? I often find that the DSLR does not pick up as strong colours, even increasing the saturation is often not good enough.

Very nice image BTW, I would be chuffed with that!

[daryl_lincoln]

Blinkey

Here's a link to a video guide on star proccessing in photo shop

Star Shaping and Color Enhancement Tutorial

[Aza]

Sure thing.

Instead of saturation, use MATCH COLOUR. It works really well as does not increase the noise too much.

For extra colour in specific stars, I used the SPONGE tool (where the dodge and burn tools are). Set it to saturate and have the brush size so it covers the stars and click away.

A handy tip for increasing/decreasing the brush size to fit, is to use the [ ] keys.

[MartinB]

Amazing how M13 has changed in 1 year, I thought these things changed over millenia. That is a corker Arran

[Doc]

What a difference a year makes....

Wonderful colour in a fantastic image.

[Aza]

Thanks! Its great when you learn some new processing techniques, makes a lot of difference.