Luminance mask and Sh2-142 help required

[Redshift]

Hello,

I'm processing Sh2-142 the Wizard nebula. I've stretched the main part of the nebula and I now want to reveal more of the wispy stuff that surrounds it. I've made a Luminance mask and applied it to the main image and then inverted it. I can see that the mask appears to be protecting the main part of the nebula and stars. But when I do a Histogram Transformation it still stretches all of the image.

I wondered if anyone could offer any guidance to where I'm going wrong?

Thanks in anticipation

Dave

[lucchett]

Hi, may be the mask is not strong enough?
you could binarize it and see if that is the problem.
May be is not the best way, but i prefer to apply curves where i fix the intervention values, masking only the stars if necessary.
Andrea

[Carlos Milovic]

1.- Check that the mask is enabled
2.- Check the console output, if there is feedback from the masking process.
If both tests pass, then there may be something wrong with the mask itself.

[Jack Harvey]

Try this and make the mask stronger as mentioned above.

  Open your Wizard color image and clone it by click and hold on the name and drag it to the right.  Now open ACDNR and in the bottom of the tool check Preview on Luminance Mask and enable the real time preview button (be sure the cloned image is selected in the dropdown) on the bottom.  Adjust the Midtones for the amount of masking you wish to have applied (you monitor this in the Real Time Preview Window).  You can also adjust shadows and highlights to fine tune the mask.  Now drag the triangle in the ACDNR tool onto the cloned Wizard image.  Now you have the mask to apply to your original Wizard image.  Proceed with histograms or curves to bring out the dim area.  WHen finished remove mask.

[Redshift]

Andrea and Carlos,

Thank you. The mask wasn't strong enough, I made it stronger and got results. 

Jack,

I tried your method as well, that worked also. 

I now need to learn how to refine them.

Thanks and regards

Dave