M 17 (Small Swan)

[qcdougn]

Here's the Swan taken with my WO 80 mm SD piggybacked onto the LX-90. Taken with a Canon XT....stack of 18 @40 sec. at ISO 800.

Doug

* I took another go at the swan with the LX--90 at f/5. This is a stack of 35 @20 sec. - f/5 (Cheap Paul Rini FR) and the Canon XT - ISO 800.

[daz]

That's a beauty Doug!!

These little 80mm's are certainly very popular!

[CELESCOPE]

super shot again Doug , love the FOV as well mate , great image

Rog

[qcdougn]

Hey Rog,

How are the hols..? I'm still up late, or is it Early? I'm trying to take a few images of M8 & M20...

Thanks for inviting me to this forum....Hope you got my Link?

Doug

[MartinB]

That's a great wide view shot doug. The Swan actually looks like a swan! Is the LX90 on a wedge or in alt-az?

[qcdougn]

Hi Martin,

I have the LX-90 on a pier with a Standard Meade Wedge...and basic polar alignment. I've never done a drift alignment. The wedge makes a huge difference in using alt-az concerning field rotation... I hope to upgrade to a more strudy wedge this year. Once you get accustomed to the strange feeling / mode of using a wedge, you'll not want to go back to alt-az...at least for imaging.

Doug

[OXO]

Thats a wonderful image Well Done!

James

[FLO]

Hi Doug,

Hope you don't mind; couldn't resist playing with No 2

[qcdougn]

Steve,

I like how you got the red background out...I didn't know how to do that without taking away color from the swan.

Thanks

Doug

[FLO]

Photoshops 'Levels' allows you to isolate each of the Red, Green and Blue colour channels and adjust them. Try playing with all three sliders (click the preview box on/off for the before/after results), you will soon get the hang of it. Heres one for starters

[MartinB]

Another even neater way is to use a mask Doug. You said you haven't got to grips with this, neither have I really but am in the process of learning and it's really useful. One easy way is to make a duplicate and apply a very strong blur - this eliminates the stars but retains the shape of the nebula. The blurry nebula can then be used to form the mask. Changes to the initial image can then be made to all areas except those covered by the mask. Easy in ImagesPlus esp after looking through the video tutorials supplied with the software. ImagesPlus is a great piece of software and worth it just for the videos alone.