Post a picture of your first AstroPhoto image...EVER!!!!!

[Steve Coates]

Ok here goes. We all started out as "noobs", wet behind the ears and wondering if this hobby is something worth getting into. There have been many "A-Ha!!!" moments and a lot of "$%@# er" moments. I think I speak for all of us, though, that we have learned quite a bit over the years (anyone remember CelestronLife?) and that we need to look back at the progress made. I'd like to share (and others to join in) my first images taken through a telescope. It was a SkyWatcher 8 inch SCT, UNGUIDED, on a CG-5 using a Nikon d40 and a simple IR shutter trigger standing outside with a timer and every 1-2 minutes pressing that trigger. So here is an image of M31 taken with a Nikon d40,Promaster zoom lens 70-200mm,CG-5 mount and120 sec unguided images:

and M42 taken with the 8 inch SCT, Nikon d40 and CG-5:

So lets not be too proud to post, it is important for folks new to this hobby to see how we all started. So lets dig thorough that shoebox and post some images from the grave!

[Marc Basti]

Back around 99ish on 35mm film. I call these the $100 pics, after you pay for the film and the processing (lots of it) I'd get 1 or 2 pics semi-worth looking at. Here's the original scan and a PS processed version.
http://marcbasti.com/film/ This experience really made me appreciate ccd technology. Marc

[Trevor Woodrow]

http://astrogab.ning.com/photo/m4243-1?context=user

SVD 8" reflector, Orion Deep Space Imager, 30 seconds....When it came up on the screen I almost poohed myself, ran inside and woke the wife. Learned to wait until morning to show her my images ;)

[Russ Ruggles]

OK I went digging and found one of my very first tries at M51.

[Greg Marshall]

This made me think of some really ugly pictures I made, but then I remembered that my very first imaging session was several years prior to when I started doing it seriously. In 2000 I built a barn door tracker and put my Olympus OM-4 on it with a 50mm lens. Knowing nothing about what was up there, I just pointed it straight up and got this not horrible image of the Milky Way - exactly 90 degrees rotated from what it should have been!

[Russ Ruggles]

Mine are 10 time uglier than these. I'll go digging......