NGC1977 & M42

Enterprise · Post by **Enterprise** » Sat Feb 12, 2011 1:49 pm

love the colors! [smilie=admire2.gif]

CHINKAHSHIUAN · Post by **CHINKAHSHIUAN** » Sat Feb 12, 2011 3:05 pm

Nice Picture!! Actually I have took the M42-43 photos yesterday. Can you please explain to me how you edit it? I really need your help! Thank you.

cataclysm · Post by **cataclysm** » Sun Feb 13, 2011 11:29 am

Nice Picture!! Actually I have took the M42-43 photos yesterday. Can you please explain to me how you edit it? I really need your help! Thank you.

I use Nebulosity to capture, calibrate and stack the sub images. Then RGB combined and further tweakings with Photoshop. Orion nebula has a very wide dynamic range, its very bright in the core, but the outer nebulous tendril are pretty faint. I had separate exposures for the core and the outer regions and then layer combine them with photoshop.

timatworksg · Post by **timatworksg** » Sun Feb 13, 2011 2:25 pm

Nice work in the process cataclysm. Yes M42 has a very wide dynamic range and layering the different exposures bring the whole image too life! Nice work in PS!

@CHINKAHSHIUAN
For something like M42, subs are taken at different exposure lengths. Short sometimes 10-30s subs to expose the core, 1-2mins for the outer regions, 5mins for luminance and the tendrils, darks for all exposures, flats for all exposures...sometimes different exposures for LRGB channels. Then masters are created for each exposure stack, then combined in the software or in PS whichever is easier. In PS, one master is used with the core exposed nicely and layered with the nicely exposed outer region, etc etc...masking is applied to subtly bring out the detail! Then flattened and levels adjusted to taste!

cataclysm · Post by **cataclysm** » Sun Feb 13, 2011 4:27 pm

Thanks Tim, you are very thorough in you explanation.

timatworksg · Post by **timatworksg** » Sun Feb 13, 2011 6:19 pm

Erm,..np thanks! If you have a different approach please edit or subtract as needed! I could have made it worse and gone into details..lol!

Besides masking and layering is a Digital Imaging thing and used in various ways for hiding blemishes, allowing different exposures to come through and giving more depth of field to an image, just to name a few. Very common in product photography where you see items such as watches all evenly illuminated and exposed without any glow or shine from lighting! Different exposures for each area and masked away!
Kinda like bumps and bruises on pretty gals on mag covers which we never get to see! haha!

Must come K'po during one of your imaging runs bro! I still have room to learn more on Astro Imaging! If you don't mind that is...lol!

chip · Post by **chip** » Tue Feb 15, 2011 5:00 pm

Nice.