Request for constructive criticism
It’s too dark IMO. I would expect quite a bit more detail with 70+ hours. I like your stars. They maybe could have been stretched a little bit more. The colors are nice, but the biggest issue I see is being too dark.
Quinn Groessl · Oct 31, 2025, 10:50 PM
It’s too dark IMO. I would expect quite a bit more detail with 70+ hours. I like your stars. They maybe could have been stretched a little bit more. The colors are nice, but the biggest issue I see is being too dark.
Its ~47 hours of NB+Lum with ~24.5 hours of IR as an experiment. The IR part, next time I do it, will go with much shorter exposures to control star bloat.
I agree with Quinn. It is recommended to decrease the contrast between the background and the nebula, especially when it comes to faint or diffuse nebulae. That way, you will be able to see even the faintest parts of the nebula. Good luck and clear skies!
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Below I’ll link my version I posted the other day. I know it’s not apples to apples exactly since mines mono and yours is OSC.
Your IC59 and 63 look better than mine in my opinion. The contrast in colors between the two objects for sure is better. But looking more at the region as a whole is where I would say yours would be improved by raising the black point some.
Also, I’m not saying you should raise it as high as mine either. Mines probably a bit too bright. But there’s a happy medium there.
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I agree with Quinn, it’s too dark for my tastes. There has to be more detail in the image that’s not being brought out. I also think that Gamma Cass is far too minimized. This is a bright star and while I agree, it needs to be controlled, I don’t think it needs to be pushed back this far. You loose the feeling of the star actually causing the nebulosity in the frame by doing so.
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@AstroÅmazer perhaps your monitor brightness settings are incorrect.
Nothing can beat a proper monitor calibration under a current ambient lighting condition.
However, the following simple grayscale picture allows to check/adjust the brightness settings of your monitor.
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