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Processing a Glob

Edward Smith
in PixInsight
I've been following the Fundamentals Path combined with Workflow Examples to work on processing my first image from raw data through, eventually "World-Class Beautiful Image."  I'm up to the Stretch Academy now and am learning a ton.  

Now, I'll admit that I probably should have chosen an easier dataset for my first real foray into processing, but I'm working on M13.  I've been using some of your galaxy workflow examples as guides because some of the problems are similar (REALLY bright core, but external detail you want to capture) but am having trouble bringing out that nice sandy texture in the core while still getting the fainter stars (and the little galaxy in the background).  

I went through all of your examples and I see nebulae and galaxies, but I don't seen and globs.  Is there one that I'm just missing?  Or are they so uninteresting that I'm kind of on my own here?

Mark

Comments

  • BlockHeadBlockHead
    Just temporally.
    I announced recently I will be creating a course for this called Deep Sky Academy.
    I believe I do have a simple globular example here:
    (the fact that it is OSC doesn't matter for your purposes).

    However, in the future there will be more content to directly demonstrate best methods. 
    I just need to finish the new website first.

    -the Blockhead
  • Edward Smith
    All you need is unlimited time!

    Thank you.  Is the Deep Sky Academy going to be part of Fundamentals or Horizons?

    Mark
  • BlockHeadBlockHead
    On the new site I will have courses (Deep Sky Academy will be a course). You can get any course you want as an independent thing. I will also have "packages" (bundles) which will be collections of courses. Deep Sky Academy will likely go into a package/bundle the I would have put into a Horizons-like group on my current site. 

    I hope that makes sense. The new site shifts the organizational idea of what is what just a little bit. Similar flavor...but hopefully easier to understand.

    -the Blockhead
  • Edward Smith
    It makes a lot of sense.  There is a ton of information there and it can sometimes be hard to sort through it to find what you are looking for.  
  • Zak’s Astrophotography
    Sounds like an amazing course idea Adam!

    Further to what Edward said, would members of Horizons/Fundamentals be able to have access to the Deep Sky Academy course when it releases eventually, or would members have to purchase all future courses separately?
  • BlockHeadBlockHead
    What I am trying to do is reorganize all content that currently exists and make certain that whatever access members had previously ...continue to enjoy. There may be a few bumps I need to figure out- but roughly the packages/bundles will be similar to what exists. 

    Deep Sky Academy will be a new unique course. I am discontinuing the continual addition of instruction into non-recurring-subscription content. I hope you agree that I have stuffed Fundamentals and Horizons with enough content to make it somewhat "price-light." If Deep Sky Academy gets old/dated (like FastTrack Training continually does) I will just make a new edition. 

    So Deep Sky Academy will be one of my first new courses that will just be something that new and old members can purchase. I am not certain if it falls into a package/bundle. Probably. I haven't worked precisely this yet. However, the new platform should allow me to create this organization in such a way it is easier to purchase (and understand) as well as a site that is easier to use.

    Finally... you might say that well..you would hate to buy a new edition of some course every time I update it. I agree. So the final ingredient (as I see it now) is that a real subscription gives you access to the new content I make. You might not need to get a new edition because you will have been privy to the new content I am producing. The new content I make to subscribers would be anything under the sun- not limited to any particular course. Maybe I make some videos on comets and later some update for FastTrack Training (that later becomes part of new edition). Current Horizon members under my current subscription would just get the rest of their subscription transferred to this slightly new kind of access. 

    At the moment... and nothing is set in stone....
    this seems to fairest way to proceed for me...and members as well.

    I would be happy to hear your thoughts.

    -the Blockhead


  • Zak’s Astrophotography
    Sounds like a great strategy. Definitely makes sense!

    Good to know. I agree, there is HEAPS of content to watch in both Fundamentals and Horizons. Further to what you mentioned, once you "launch" the new website, will you still add videos to Fundamentals and Horizons, even if the quantity they get released goes down?

    Regarding the new courses, will the subscriptions be lifetime or yearly/monthly? Will the new website still keep the existing content subscription tiers, or will they be switched over to different ones? I am curious to know if any of the new courses and content determines what type of subscription it will be and what happens to the existing content. 

    Some suggestions. Would it be worth separating these types of courses into their own sections on the new website? E.g. Lifetime courses go in one area, recurring courses into another etc. If some content overlaps, perhaps you could explain them differently in the videos and point the other bits and details that are contained in another video, or maybe create some summary videos and/or include a link to the other video(s), but that would depend if the person watching has access to the other details.

    Again, these are my thoughts. If I think of anything else, I'll be sure to let you know. Would love to hear what you think. :)
  • BlockHeadBlockHead
    Yeah..this is the thing... I need a way to explain this and have the site communicate this.

    Basically there are only courses on my site. When you bought Fundamentals- you paid ONCE. You bought a handful of courses. One course is FastTrack Training. Another course is Stretch Academy. Another course is the WorkFlow section... and so on. Each of these groups (I am calling a course) is part of the Fundmentals bundle/package of material. I made just made "courses" such as Image Stacking, Normalization and Weighting, LRGB... etc etc for the new organization on my new site. It is the same content I already had under Fundamentals now as courses. And the Fundamentals package will include these courses. 

    Any courses you purchase are lifetime. What is changing...is that once I have created a course...I will not update it at all. All of the material you currently have access to.. you will continue to have access to. That will be true any time you purchase a course. One-time payment for courses and forever access. However, due to the nature of the hobby some courses will get old. I will make new editions of that same course or other new courses from whole-cloth. Everything purchased is a course. It is courses all the way down.... lol

    The only way to see new content is:
    1. When I create a new course or a new edition of an existing course. Everyone has to pay to see this if you have not already seen it under #2.
    2. Get the ABS subscription that lets you see new content I create...some of which will go towards a possible new edition or a course.

    As an example. I just updated FastTrack Training right? So if I already had my new site I would call it (I will call it) FastTrack_2025 Edition. Anyone that wants to see this has to buy the course...even if they already have the FastTrack 2024 (or whatever) version. 

    Members that join me as subscribers... well, just like I have doing for years...they will see many of the sections I make of FastTrack 2025 in near real time. That yearly subscription is cheaper than a course ..of course. :)

    But... I will also make videos about some new fangled thing (most recently MultiScale Gradient Correction). Only subscribers will see those videos until at some point later I might incorporate them into a course. 

    Now... if the above makes sense..I would really love it there was a good way to communicate this.

    The benefit of this organization is that people can just purchase the content they want to see. You just want to see the demonstrations of me processing..fine..get the Workflow course. You just want to see comet stuff..great...Comet Academy. Want to solve some common problems- Get Techniques and Fixes. Or... get the appropriate bundle that gives you all of this information for a set bundled price. As you know..I only have two kinds of bundles/packages at the moment. I might end up with three. I do not really want more than that. These bundles are not organized by skill level. I think that is not helpful. They will be more topic driven.

    -the Blockhead


  • BlockHeadBlockHead
    By the way..just to add... under my rubric above...
    If you have a subscription you will inevitably see content posted about courses you do not already have access to (perhaps). For example, subscriptions might see some new videos on Comets... but they do not have Comet Academy..so maybe this member goes and buys Comet Academy because they saw some stuff.

    -the BLockhead
  • Edward Smith
    Hmmmm....The danger that you run into is trying to avoid people thinking that you are nickel and diming them to death.  That being said, the current structure has an organization issue in that there is so much there that it is hard to find what you need/want.  In addition, there are some things that seem out of place.  For example, I can get great information and examples of processing nebulae and galaxies in Fundamentals but examples for Globs, which I would think would be a more basic case than nebulae or galaxies, is only available in Horizons.

    Now I'm sure that part of this is because the entire site and course selection has grown and morphed into something well beyond what was originally envisioned.  The collection kind of grew based on demand but wasn't really subject to any kind of master plan and you are now trying to take what you have and create some kind of structure to it.  On top of that, you spend a LOT of time on these products and providing support and you deserve to be compensated for what you provide.

    I have no idea what you are planning, but if I may suggest that in addition to your individual course sales, you provide some kind of tiered subscription scheme where you would get access to a set of content based on the subscription tier.  For example (pricing and content completely made up here):

    Beginner Subscription $75/year.  Access to all Fast Track, WBPP, and basic stretching content (STF and HT).

    Intermediate Tier:  $150/year.  All Beginner material plus DBE, Stretch Academy, Color Correction material.

    Expert Tier:  $225/year.  All Intermediate Material plus Pixel Math, Blending, and Advanced Color Work, and a variety of Workflow Examples.

    Master Tier:  $300/year.  All site material.

    Just an idea.
  • BlockHeadBlockHead
    Hmmm... Just think about the beginner Subscription. I make available some set of content (FastTrack, QuickStart, Stretch Academy) and ask people to pay $75 per year. They pay $75 for all of that content and do not renew. On the other side of the equation- this content is not the type that I need to update often. Yes, it is nice when something changes- but the reality is this content isn't changing a lot so what is a person paying for?

    Here is what I am tentatively envisioning:

    Bundle Name = PixInsight Kickoff Bundle
    Jumpstart course (in progress)
    https://www.adamblockstudios.com/articles/fasttrack-course-2025
    https://www.adamblockstudios.com/articles/course-quickstart
    https://www.adamblockstudios.com/categories/stretch-academy

    Bundle Name = The Core Bundle
    https://www.adamblockstudios.com/articles/pixinsight-core-course
    https://www.adamblockstudios.com/articles/commonpiprocessesexplained
    https://www.adamblockstudios.com/articles/scripts-course
    https://www.adamblockstudios.com/articles/course-workflow-examples
    https://www.adamblockstudios.com/articles/techniques-fixes-discoveries-course

    Bundle Name = The BreakThrough Bundle
    https://www.adamblockstudios.com/categories/narrowband-fasttrack
    https://www.adamblockstudios.com/categories/comets
    https://www.adamblockstudios.com/categories/mosaics

    SUBSCRIPTIONS (content with recurring payment)
    Subscription Name = Infinity Subscription

    +++++++++++++++

    Each of the above links is a course. You can buy any course you want- no subscription. You have access to this content forever. Each course has a ton of content. Each course will have some price. If you want to save money- you buy a bundle of courses. I show three bundles above. I just can't see a version of my site that is tied to "skill" level. I really do not think this thing works like that. There is certainly a beginner- yes. But beyond that I do not think it makes sense. So I have "beginner" then "core" and  "specialized" content.  Bundles will be cheaper than buying individual courses. (but some people might just want to get something specific)

    Finally I have a subscription. All of the courses above are fixed. The content will not change. The subscription gives access to all new content I am making. There will be some large quantity of content for members with a subscription. This allows me to keep up with changes in PixInsight and also make new videos that solve problems and make new videos that add to existing courses. If I make a new edition of a course (like FastTrack Training)- it will replace the current course. Members that bought the old version of FastTrack Training still have it. But anyone (member or not) that wants to see the latest version of FastTrack will need to buy it. Currently I have been making a new edition of this course every two years or so. If I make a new course (Deep Sky Academy which will have object specific processing like globs) it will just be added as a course. It will be part of a bundle ("BreakThrough"). 



  • BlockHeadBlockHead
    One of my big issues with subscriptions is that I am on the hook to continually develop content that may are may not be tied with what is going on with PI and my other obligations. Subscriptions work when you have a 100% streaming website. No downloading content. This is the actual model. Your subscription ends- you lose access... period. This is the incentive for continuing your subscription. 

    But in my case because you can download content- you can get a lot of content for a small amount of money. Just buy one year, download everything and cancel subscription. 

    Membership really wants the download option for a number of reasons (and I agree). Managing subscription access to content is too draconian an affair. I already have enough trouble of people letting their card expire- and not immediately renewing. In a subscription model- to hell with you- you don't renew at the renewal price- well then you need to buy back in at the full price. Of course I do not do this...but it is hard. I could only manage one subscription. 

    Anyway, just more perspective on things. 
  • Edward Smith
    Personally, I see no reason to download things.  It just eats local disk space when it could be living on the cloud.  Sure, it might be nice to have the occasional video available offline, but do I really want 50 of them?  Not really.

    The tiers were examples and take into account the fact that many of the subjects get revisited.  Gee, I forgot how to do something in WBPP and need to go back and figure it out or hmmm, I haven't used Masked Stretch in a long time and I'd like to review as I'm working on this galaxy, etc.  Although I see your point about the lower tier, I view it differently.  It is your gateway drug.  You do the up front tier and either find you want to learn more (in which case you upgrade) or you find this isn't for you in which case you aren't using PixInsight at all.  Sure, there is probably a population in the middle, but the majority of the users are probably in those two categories.  The meat is the second and third tiers.

    What I don't particularly care for is the fact that it looks like you'd need 3 different subscriptions to have access to everything.  That is the beauty of a tiered system is that you get lower level tiers included in a single product and it limits management overhead.  You don't have to manage multiple products, just different flavors of the same product.
  • Zak’s Astrophotography
    I'm definitely benefiting downloading the videos for offline use, it's very handy. It's more convenient for my style of learning. I hope that this will be carried over into the new website and course structures.

    Adam, maybe what you could do to help explain what you are planning to members (both current and new) and outsiders to your content is create summary videos. I feel this might be best to help convey your message. Maybe even a few summary videos. One of them could be an overall summary of the website, while you could do smaller ones, highlighting the content within a particular course. I am thinking it might be worth doing this on both your website and on your YouTube channel, just like you did when you first released Narrowband FastTrack, even if they are 2-3mins long. You could potentially do another summary video going over the different tiers on your website, highlighting the biggest differences between them and the "best" benefits of each tier.

    Good to know the courses will be lifetime memberships. What about Horizons? Will it switch over to be a lifetime membership, or will this be transferred to the same recurring yearly fee that Horizons is now, albeit in a different subscription tier?

    As a suggestion, will there be scope for any of these courses and bundles to be placed on "sale" every now and then? E.g. three courses for the price of 1 (or something similar). I think there could be potential for something like this, especially since big companies participate in Black Friday sales etc. Or you could promote that some of your courses are on sale. Totally up to you of course!

    Would love to hear your thoughts. :)
  • BlockHeadBlockHead
    Because I am reorganizing... I am doing my best so that current customers will obviously keep access to what they have already. What is likely going to happen is that content that previously existed in Fundamentals or Horizons are mixed a little bit now (not too much). So I think I can work all of this out.

    The Horizons subscription as it is right now will be transformed into something different as I describe above. It is just a general subscription to see new content in any topic  (that might be relevant to a course or something completely new).. I will likely just give this subscription to all current Horizons subscribers for the year and then they can decide if they want to continue. 

    Yes, concerning the summary videos. I tried a test run of that (as you may have seen in my recently released videos). That will happen for every course and for many topics in courses...so that people understand what I am showing and why.


    -the Blockhead



  • John Stone
    edited March 21
    This is all very interesting....

    There's just one thing I want to know.

    What do I purchase to be able to see all current and past content and all future content?

    I want access to everything Adam has published and will publish.

    That's the only subscription I'm interested in.
  • Edward Smith
    I had a good conversation with Adam this morning.  His current site evolved and wasn't really planned.  Heck, when he started this 7+ years ago, he had no idea what it would grow into.  He has listened to his users and has some great ideas.

    I agree that some kind of "get everything" purchase would be amazing.  That being said, the way he has it planned seems to be a very good balance between providing what we, the users, want but keeping Adam's overhead manageable.  Heck, this is Adam Block Studios, not Adam Block Incorporated.  He's one guy, not a team of 20.

    I suspect that once the new site is up, there will be some evolution based on core user feedback, but his ideas are good and will bring some badly needed organization to the mass of videos he currently has available.

    Mark
  • BlockHeadBlockHead
    Hi John,

    Yeah, I will have a get all current content type bundle plus a subscription that keeps you up-to-date on the new stuff.

    I am still working it out..but I think I am converging.

    Thanks again Mark for the conversation!

    -the BLockhead
  • Edward Smith
    I think the thing I'm most excited about is the organization.  Even with the "Get Everything" option, it sounds like it will be much easier to find what you are looking for.  Lots of great things coming.

    Mark
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