I finally gave up on trying to get the perfect Orion shot

I was at a star party in Joshua Tree last fall, really upset because my tracker messed up and my photos were blurry. This older guy named Ray, who was just there with binoculars, saw me packing up and said, "You know, sometimes you just gotta look at it for real first." He let me peek through his binos at the nebula, and it was way more clear and deep than I expected. I mean, I spent so much time trying to capture it that I forgot to just see it. Anyone else ever have a moment like that where just looking beat getting the shot?

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3 Comments

the_shane6mo ago

My astrophotography attempts usually end up as expensive light smears. I get so focused on gear and settings that I forget to just enjoy the sky. Ray was totally right about just looking first.

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johnson.ryan6mo ago

Nah, gear matters way more than just looking. Those smears mean your settings were off, not that you stared at the sky wrong. Getting the perfect shot is the whole point, otherwise why bother?

6

valwest5mo ago

Last year I spent three whole nights trying to get a shot of Orion. All I got was blurry messes. I finally just turned the camera off and laid on the ground for an hour. That was the best part. The gear is a tool, but it's not the reason you're out there. Shane gets it.

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