NGC6357 - RGBSHO Lobster Nebula

[Doogs38 (Alex)]

Hi All. My interpretation of the Lobster Nebula ... or the War and Peace Nebula as it's sometimes called. It depends on whether you see a crustacean or a skull and dove. I see a crustacean, which proved hard to process in RGBSHO I will have another go at this data [done] as I found it hard to move from a comparatively bland, low-colour linear image to something that still looked natural-ish but had more detail, unless it was pushed a bit.

Details: SW120ED, ASI294MC, AOG/ASI290MM, Antlia RGB Ultra, Antlia Ha-Oiii, Antlia Hb-Sii, APP, PI, PS. About 2hrs RGB and ~10Hrs each of Ha-Oiii and Hb-Sii. I used the Ha-Oiii as luminance. APP used to split NB from BB data. RGBSHO data combined/edited in PI and PS.

Hires here. Thanks for looking. Alex

EDIT: Added 2nd image (hires) that hasn't been pushed as hard and looks more 'subtle' ... I prefer this image.

[triplej3 (Jordo)]

these are really good alex i like the 2nd one (:

[Doogs38 (Alex)]

Thanks Jordo. Yep, the more I look at the gawdy image the more I'm convinced that it's heading straight for the bin. The other image however is a keeper. We live and learn Alex

[2CRAZY (Heath)]

Yes I too like the results! yeah I think more natural-ish is best!

[Nikolas (Nik)]

Yes I prefer the second one as well.
I always have trouble getting the blues out. What method are you using?

[AstroViking (Steve)]

I like them both. The first is bright and garish whilst the second is moody and dark.

[Shano592 (Shane)]

The depth-of-field is excellent. Great pic!

[Doogs38 (Alex)]

Originally Posted by Nikolas

Yes I prefer the second one as well.
I always have trouble getting the blues out. What method are you using?

Hi Nik. I predominately use three methods in PI (in addition to the standard curves a sat): (1) generate a blue mask that I'll often tweak to ensure it's tight and opaque enough for my areas of interest, (2) use the 'selective colour' script to tweak blue colours (and others too) to push up blue sat and lightness, (3) combine L (either real or synthetic) into RGB images to make the colours and detail 'pop' with some tweaking of LRGB tool parameters to produce something that satisfies my taste. PI probably has another 100 ways to achieve the same thing! Alex

[Doogs38 (Alex)]

Thanks Shane, Heath, Steve and Nik :-) Alex