Workflow Video 2

I just finished my second video clip, showing more intermediate processing techniques that I use.  This time the target was Orion, dealing with a very high dynamic range and how I preserve the core from becoming blown out while getting the most extreme faint dust lanes to pop out.  I also show a couple of tricks on how I subdue gradients and noise that begins to manifest after so much data stretching, but preserving star sharpness and extended object sharpness at the same time. 

AP Workflow Video 2 - Orion

For those who missed it, here's my first workflow video, showing more fundamental processing steps that I use on a majority of my deep sky images.  I recommend starting with this one.

AP Workflow Video 2 - North America Nebula

Comet Panstarrs and Crescent Moon

My daughter Aurora and I set out tonight to view Panstarrs and the new Crescent.  We walked out behind our house which is relatively remote, just northwest of Rio Rancho, NM, giving us dark skies and a wide open field of view.

We set up the cameras just before sunset and waited.  It was probably 20-25 minutes after sunset before we had our first glimpse of the new moon (which was only about 28 hours old in this cycle) and Panstarrs.  The atmosphere was so stable and clear that we were easily able to see the tail prominently without visual aid.  Here are a few images we captured tonight.

Workflow Video 1

I recorded my post-processing workflow on the North America Nebula and annotated the steps.  This is mostly basic processing techniques that I use almost ubiquitously  across many of my Astrophotos.  Sorry about the compression.  It makes the initial portion of the video appear a bit grainy, but it is still very clear what is going on, and you'll begin to see the image build into the final product.  I'm also including the exact same raw stack of data below, open for anyone to use to test this workflow on.  I'll record a few more advanced post-processing videos of more difficult objects - i.e. Orion - as soon as I have a little spare time.

Workflow Video 1 - North America Nebula

Download raw FITS file, pre-calibrated, unprocessed