In Search of Solar Nirvana
(Typical processing overview)
The colors may be pretty, but this image is grossly saturated!
As a raw image, the above shot may look to be quite promising, but is actually grossly saturated. Precision H-a etalon and blocking filters hold the frequency to 656.28nm with a bandpass of less than 0.07nm, which is Red. Not yellow, not orange, not even pink, but Red... NOTHING BUT RED (whew!).  The colors are a result of signal level strong enough to leak over into the Blue and Green channels.

If we can understand the premise that only a precise frequency (Red, Red, Red!) is passed by H-a filters, the rest falls more easily into place! As with many astro-images, H-a shots are often "stretched" to enhance the contrast of subtle details that would otherwise be difficult to discern. Processing can also include intentional false-coloring, to further bring out details.
The processed grayscale image is then recombined into Red, Green, Blue and luminence channels, forming the above composite.
For more information on this particular image, and H-a imaging in general visit the 08-Mar-03 page, or for the entire Solar section visit the Solar Imaging section.
                                                            THE DISCLAIMER!

I am often asked what a typical raw H-a image looks like and what steps are used to process it. I wish to stress that I am not a solar guru, but merely a fellow traveller sharing some insights he has gleaned along the way. Nor is this intended to be a tutorial, as many splendid examples already exist. Successful methods for gathering and processing of H-a images vary greatly and are largely a procedure of trial and error, fine-tuned for your specific equipment and needs. Your path to Solar Nirvana may be quite different from mine!

If you have not already done so, you may want to peruse the primer "Variations in H-a Solar Exposures" and "In Search of Solar Nirvana"  Part1, as they provide the basis for this page. 
The panels seen below are from an individual image at various stages of processing
This is a JPEG translation from a RAW image stored by the camera. Potential high resolution images are kept in the RAW mode, so as to preserve image integrity and reduce JPEG compression degradation. JPEG images are NOT used for processing, but as a quick reference (which also includes EXIF data) to the actual RAW images.
This is what we work with... the RAW 16/48 bit image which remains unstretched and untainted by any camera firmware intervention or file compression. The darker coloration is a result of it not having been "stretched" by the camera's internal routines. This allows us to make the intensity level decisions ourselves during processing rather than the use of a canned routine!
The image is split into its components, and only the R channel is saved, as it is the only one that should have any H-a signal (note: some digital cameras have excessive signal leakage, and the image may appear stronger in other channels. See Part I for more information).

This is then "stretched" and de-convolved (a process that attempts to reverse atmospheric effects etc that "convolves" or rolls together nasty stuff which degrade the image). Numerous iterations of an algorithm known as Richardson-Lucy were performed using Images Plus software, resulting in the above image.
The image to the left is used to re-form a color composite, which will darken from the effect of the constituent channels to become similar in contrast to the above image.

The image above has been purposely compressed in dynamic range (the distance between all black and all white) for illustrative purposes only, to mimic the contrast a color-composite will usually possess. If these settings were actually used  however,  image intensity after recombination would be extremely dark,  requiring  re-expansion which in turn would considerably weaken contrast.
Finally, the image is composited with one that has been  processed to favor prominence details. Final polish and sizing then take place, and appropriate JPEG compression levels are used for the web-viewed results.
And that my friends, is the journey an H-a image might take!