After 10 years I finally understood that AP is not about taking pictures...

[FrenchyArnaud]

Sometimes it's easy to forget where you are coming from, especially how uneducated you were and how poorly you chose your gear when you first started. 
That's true for any hobby or job that has a steep learning curve but it's especially true of astronomy and even more of astrophotography. 
That's me, my very first scope and my current (hopefully last) one.

My very first scope was a Celestron 114LCM. When I dragged it out of storage for this picture, I thought the tripod had broken... Nope, that's how it's designed. It's just super flimsy by my current standards. The idea that at some point I did indeed shove a DSLR on that is to be fair, nothing short of embarassing. 
The fact that I was SURE this was the best toy EVER and nothing could ever possibly beat it, is even worse. If I had any pride I would be blushing. 
Today I am lucky enough to have a pier, "marginally" more aperture, everything is computorized, automated and piloted from indoors, and I take 10mins subexposures while watching TV and stuffing my face with french fries, trusting the rig I have build bit by bit over the course of nearly a decade. It's 100% DIY, second hand, duct tape and 15yo ebay stuff, but it works. 
I am absolutely SURE this is the best toy EVER and nothing can ever possibly beat it.
With this first 114LCM scope I would spend hours trying to "3 star align", to actually get a target in the frame, steaming in rage about poor and inconsistent focus, and I would get get a sense of accomplishment with a blurry, trailed, out of focus 20 second picture. 
How things change! I am not sure I would have the courage now to go again through the whole learning curve. I guess astrophotography is, eventually, a good measure of a personal journey: it tells how stubborn and objective-driven you are. How many scopes abandonned in garages because the results were not good enough out of the box? How many "passions" permanently squashed after 2 frustrating nights? 
You know what did not change? I still remember the first time I saw Saturn's rings like it was yesterday. Now, that's a driving force! 
When my friends try to understand why I want to get images so badly, here is my answer : I don't. If I wanted to get good images, I'd google them. It'd be way faster, way less frustrating, way less expensive, it'd protect my sleeping time and the results would be so much better! But as it happens, I just love the problem-solving process AP never fails to bring, and the excitment of seeing something new for myself. 
Let's raise a glass and have a toast to clouds, dew, dead batteries, refraction limits, obscure pixel scales, the neighbours automatic porch light, planes, unexpected showers, wind, collimation nightmares, sattelites, polar alignment horrors, high altitude turbulence, heat waves, mist,ground convection, and the occasional trip-on-the-cable-in-the-dark mishap 🥳🍻🥂
Without all of them, even your best image would be worth jack. 
Without your first terrible pic on your first terrible gear, ex newbee you would have nothing to brag about. 
Enjoy the frustration, it says you are on the right track!

[Elp]

I think you've summed it up. If it were easy I probably wouldn't be as interested in it, I'm usually always trying something new, whether it be new kit, trying to find something visually or approaching a target acquisition with a different approach, with a view to processing it differently.

[The60mmKid]

Your dog is definitely waiting for a treat.

[FrenchyArnaud]

8 minutes ago, The60mmKid said:

Your dog is definitely waiting for a treat.

This cretin always is 😆🤣

[900SL]

Nicely put!