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My first M42


Guest VikN46

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Excellent start Vicky - Well done!!


 


I'll bet one of the imagers will process that for you and bring a lot more detail out of it. Fabulous first deep sky image. :)


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Good start :) If you haven't already, install GIMP or Photoshop CS2 (both are free). You'll be able to tweak your images and improve the colour balance, remove the light pollution etc. I did a 5 min job on it (hope you don't mind!) but hopefully you can see what the camera caught minus the light pollution


 


vickym42.jpg


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hi Vicky, 


 


good first effort,


 


to get the pic on your post, on flicker select the html/bbcode but make sure you select the bbcode tab below the copy txt, otherwise you'll get links not the pic.


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Firstly, I used the Hue/Saturation tool and dropped saturation of the Y(ellow) to zero. Perhaps not the best way, but for this image (which is strong in red and blue) it'll suffice. I then used the Levels tool and moved the Black along to the right, stopping when I was happy that the background was dark enough. Don't go too far or you are throwing away data. I then used the Curves tool, to boost the contrast at the bottom end (the curve looks a little like a hockey stick). I then used the Color Balance to up the red a little and the blue by a small amount. That's pretty much it! Give it a go and let us know how you get on.


 


Once you've got that sorted, take a series of M42 shots in RAW and stack them in Deep Sky Stacker. You'll be amazed how much detail you can then reveal (I know I was).


 


Good luck :)


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Nice one Vicky, you should be well chuffed with that, it's a great first go.


 


You are now at the top of a slippery slope down to the dark side. :)


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