What does 'progress' look like in your astrophotography post editing skills?

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To help you find information quickly on this blog, you can

• use the search bar using key words e.g. Asiair mini
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What does progress in post editing skills look like? 

In this brief post I share with you some images I have been working on whilst I have been ill and laid up. I am using SIRIL v1.4 with the Veralux Suite of python scripts. 

You can find details about my post editing workflow using SIRIL in this post: 

https://undersouthwestskies.blogspot.com/2025/12/beginner-tutorial-workflow-for-using.html

and it might be worth you popping across to read this blog post first. 

So here are four images of roughly the same area of our celestial neighbourhood - around the Orion Nebula M42 and also the Horsehead and Flame nebulae. 

All were taken using the following equipment: 

• Canon 800D (astro-modded in 2025)
• Samyang 135mm F/2.8
• August 2023 - skywatcher star adventurer 2i wifi tracker on Benbro carbon fibre tracker
• August 2025 - EQM-35-PRO mount and also using autoguding system comprising ASIair Mini, ASIair 120mm mini guide cam and RVO 32mm F/4 Guide scope

My first image of  M42 taken from south of Spain using a 70 - 200mm canon kit lens

Post edited in Affinity Photo

Taken in winter 2023

Another one from south of Spain 

First outing for Samyang 135mm  winter 2024

Post editing again in Affinity Photo 

In this image, colour and structure definition is better - longer integration times helped during data collection

Winter 2024 

A sudden jump in understanding regarding using my tracker, and getting better integration times out in the field; also in the collection of calibration frames

Better colour, definition, sharpness, less noise

This one was edited in Siril - my first effort using that software andf then finished off in Affinity Photo

The image above and the two later ones below come from data collected during August 2025

This was also using the EQM-35-PRO mount and the guiding system as well. 

Longer subs, more calibration frames, improved guiding, longer integration times.

But, also improving understanding of how SIRIL works. 

Here in these two images you can see my progress in understanding SIRIL and also my improving use of the Veralux and Cosmic Clarity python scripts - particularly Veralux hypermetric stretch, curves, alchemy and vectra - to get that better definition, structure, texture, clarity and colour balance

So what are my next steps? 

1. to continue using the Veralux suite and gaining more familiarity with the various applications and work flow order
2. to take longer subs out in the field - increase the integration time 
3. on targets like M42, to take a variety of different length subs - to capture all the details within a nebula. This will also require me to learn how to stack different data sets and then combine/blend them during post editing