Lagoon nebula

[FrancoRodriguez (Franco)]

Hi folks,

I had quite a bit of trouble getting detail out of the centre of this image due to the high signal in all narrowband wavelengths. Tried the usual tricks with various stretch methods and masked HDRMT but can't seem to be happy with the result. I know there is data there because it briefly appears with a very soft stretch. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

I made hydrogen orangey gold, sulphur a rusty red and oxygen teal. Stars taken in RGB.
Not quite happy with the odd palate but I'm happy with the data quality.


As always, constructive criticism greatly encouraged and appreciated!


https://www.astrobin.com/0aau33/

[joshman (Josh)]

That is delightfully sharp!
I've had very similar issues with managing the huge dynamic range with this one as well. In the end i think i settled to accept it being a little blown out in the core. One method i found help was to be a little less aggressive with my stretching of the component channels.

I don't mind this palette, especially for NB, it's a little less garish compared to some others. A great image regardless, thanks for sharing and Clear Skies.

[gregbradley]

Very nice. I like the palette.

Greg.

[CaptainCook (Gary)]

Hi Franco,
I used the HDR process in PI and the core revealed itself. My image is below for reference.
Cheers
Gary

https://astrob.in/fg0ae0/0/

[FrancoRodriguez (Franco)]

Awesome detail in the core mate. I had trouble with HDRMT. I'm thinking that I stretched it too aggressively before using it

[alpal]

Very nice Franco,
Photoshop can easily combine 2 layers using a blurred layer mask
to do exactly what you want.
cheers
Allan

[FrancoRodriguez (Franco)]

Yes I think you're right--that's the way to do it. I suppose the trick is to blend it just right so that the core is brighter but not that much brighter than the surroundings. I've had trouble in the past with this. It's very easy to get a lackluster core if not very careful

[alpal]

Originally Posted by FrancoRodriguez

Yes I think you're right--that's the way to do it. I suppose the trick is to blend it just right so that the core is brighter but not that much brighter than the surroundings. I've had trouble in the past with this. It's very easy to get a lackluster core if not very careful

Yes Franco,
and the simplest video tutorial I've seen on blurred layer masks
is from Louie here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8V9j66g1ro

I use - select, refine mask, feather - as well, to have more control
over the mask. It takes a few goes to get it right.

cheers
Allan

[gregbradley]

I think you captured the bulk of the detail at the centre. You can always use shadow/highlights tool in Photoshop or the HDR tool and use a mask to selectively apply the result.

Also I like that palette and it's one of the better narrowband palettes. Narrowband can be a tough thing to accept in a lot of images. The better narrowband imagers get a palette they like and seem to stick with it.

Martin Pugh and Russell Croman come to mind as good artisans of that craft. In my opinion, a more subtle nuanced palette is more preferrable than an in your face type palette.

Greg.