Milky Way processing, RawTherapee vs DarkTable

psalm19pix · June 13, 2021, 9:34pm

Hi All;

I shot the Milky Way in Glacier National Park last night.

I’ve found that I get the best results from this workflow:

open the RAW image in RT (Raw Therapee)
dont edit anything, just save as a TIFF
open the TIFF in DT (Dark Table)
Edit image (exposure, contrase, white balance, etc)

This works pretty well but I loose the ability to use all the RAW only modules in DT.
I would prefer a DT only work flow

I’ve uploaded 3 images:

JPG image from the above work flow (DSC_5384-RT-and-DT.jpg)
the RAW Image (DSC_5384.NEF)
a JPG from a DT only processing (DSC_5384_01.jpg)

I did not upload the TIFF image due to size

Anyone know how to replicate the RT ‘starting point’ (or get close) in DT?

Thanks in advance

DSC_5384.NEF (46.0 MB)

paperdigits · June 13, 2021, 10:10pm

What is RawTherapee giving you that darktable is not?

psalm19pix · June 13, 2021, 10:26pm

it just seems like the stars are brighter & more colorful with RT. However when I use the filmic module in DT, which is what I did for the image I attached, it gets real close… just looking for general feedback / tips

gaaned92 · June 13, 2021, 10:38pm

starry night

gadolf · June 14, 2021, 1:31am

When you opened the raw file in RT, what Processing Profile was used?

Thomas_Do · June 14, 2021, 7:35am

DSC_5384(1).NEF.xmp (10.2 KB)

I don’t think, you really need to start in RawTherapee for this. Nice shot!

Jade_NL · June 14, 2021, 2:07pm

I agree with @Thomas_Do that you do not need 2 RAW editors for this one. He did a darktable-only edit, here’s a RawTherapee-only edit:

milky.way.pp3 (14.4 KB)
RawTherapee 5.8 (Development)

Matt_Maguire · June 14, 2021, 5:06pm

Why are the clouds in RT so orange compared to the glow at the horizon? Where is that colour cast coming from? It was an even worse disconnect in the OP’s RT-based edit.

psalm19pix · June 14, 2021, 5:15pm

There is a town in that direction, with the usual light pollution

Jade_NL · June 14, 2021, 5:15pm

Artistic license or personal taste or …

I don’t understand why this question is asked to be honest. Is this specific edit supposed to be an exercise in as-real-as-possible? Please post your edit.

Matt_Maguire · June 14, 2021, 5:24pm

I just ask, because it seems to be a characteristic of both RT-based edits I have seen, and I am wondering if there is some general property of that tool causing this type of colour shift.

psalm19pix · June 14, 2021, 5:27pm

There is a town in that direction

Jade_NL · June 14, 2021, 5:36pm

Yeah, I thought that that would be the case. Initially I thought that this might be a remnant or beginnings of a setting/rising sun. But when I looked at where and at what time this was taken the only conclusion I could come up with was light pollution from a town/city.

In general I hate light pollution, but it kinda fits this image to be honest.

Haven’t mentioned this yet: Nice shot.

psalm19pix · June 14, 2021, 5:46pm

Thanks… It’s hard not to get great shots in places like this

Zbyma72age · June 16, 2021, 2:07pm

My version of the look
nUFraw-GIMP_LAB

plaven · June 20, 2021, 5:12am

I’m not sure if this was about just getting to the starting point or some level of processing in DT.

Anyway, this is my attempt at a finished version.

I’ve done a bit of processing of MW images in RT but mostly struggled with DT in the past. I found I was able to get something I’m fairly happy with with DT.

DSC_5384.NEF.xmp (11.2 KB)

fireball · June 20, 2021, 7:54pm

Hi @psalm19pix,

i tried to match your RT+DT edit with just DT. I think you may need to push the saturation (with color balance) a bit more to come closer to your image.
To brighten the stars you could use the local contrast and set the light to about 200% and/or add a contrast-equalizer with a setup like this:

dt 3.5

DSC_5384.NEF.xmp (20.9 KB)

psalm19pix · June 20, 2021, 8:31pm

Thanks everyone, this has been super helpful. I’ll play with local contrast, not sure how to go about pushing saturation with color balance, can you point me in the right direction?

KristijanZic · June 20, 2021, 9:15pm

fireball · June 20, 2021, 9:59pm

Sure, I just meant the “color balance” module where you can use the output saturation slider.

The next version of dt (3.6) will ship with the new “color balance rgb” model with some more saturation tuning options
You can also look at “filmic rgb → look → middle tone saturation” or the “color zones” module to only change specific colors.