Finally made the leap into astrophotography!

Well. I've finally made the leap into astrophotography! Not a great night for it, it being foggy and all, but I decided to take a quick trip out to the back yard and make a start, a sort of a trial run. This is the spoils of my first attempt. It's not exactly going to take the astronomy world by storm, but I was happy enough, and it leaves me wanting to take more and improve. Modest enough setup, Nikon D80 attached to 70mm Skylux from Lidl.



All comments and tips gratefully received. (God knows I need the help!)

Leo, I wish my first attempt at Ap was anywhere near as good as that. You got good focus there. Keep it up, looks like your a natural!

Leo - that's a nice image and a great start.

What's your next target?

Thanks for the encouragement lads. I'll probably stick with the moon for the moment, it's nice and bright and easy to find! :laugh: Then, when the sky's get good and dark, I was planning to try a wide open starscape, possibly using a 35mm or 50mm f1.8 lens. That's when I'll be calling on help and advice from around here.

To start off, are there any good astrophotography books that you'd recommend for a beginner with a dslr ?

Leo,

I have a very good book around here somewhere. Can't even remember who wrote it, but its here somewhere and I remember it to be very good. I'll dig it out and you can have it if you want. I could post it to you if you promise to pass it on to another beginner when your finished with it.

Thanks Dave, that'd be great. Really appreciate the the offer.