brucew29 Loc: Cincinnati, Ohio

Well I finally received my new Celestron CGEM-DX computerized tripod mount to use with my 10" Newtonian scope...
Now I need to get to know how to use the scope and mount, and to improve upon my Moon photography techniques...
Late last night, after checking the weather forecast and checking the radar, I went out and setup my mount and scope...
Early this morning at 4:00am I got up and drank a cup of coffee or two to get the sleepiness out of my weary little eyes...
Well the shoot didn't go as planned... somehow I had the ISO set at 3200 instead of ISO 1600 as originally planned...
I had to hand hold my 2x magnifier since I was using my Canon 6D which doesn't have the metal frame around the screen for the magnifier's magnet...
So I fumbled around for a while until I thought I had the best focus... at the end of the shoot I realized that I had forgot to lock the focus on the focuser...
Hopefully the focus held under the weight of the camera body... I took about 1,000 shots more or less... I took the photos in burst of 4 shots at a time...
I haven't reviewed all of the Moon shots but I hurriedly skimmed/skipped through the shots and grabbed one that looked halfway decent and processed it...
Later I hope to adapt my Dynamax 8 to the new tripod... I need to remove the Dynamax 8 from it's fork mount and purchase some telescope rings to mount
the Dynamax onto the new tripod...

The Moon was at a low angle, so a lot of shimmering atmosphere for this photo shoot... I took the photos over a 2 hour period...
I had to tape a white hankie onto the 22lb counter balance weight... the weight was black in color and I kept bumping into it...
I had to use a lot of Mosquito repellant... I cursed several times during the shoot but nobody heard me...

P.S. Please excuse typos, word omissions, and poor grammar... still half asleep or just don't know better...
Also, Moon image rotated for easy Download viewing...

(Download)

Farkle Loc: Salt Lake City, Utah

Very nice Bruce. This image really shows the Swiss cheese surface of the moon.

brucew29 Loc: Cincinnati, Ohio

Thanks Phil... much appreciated... I went out again early this morning (06-29-2016) and took some more photos... the Moon was much lower and the temp outside was in the upper 50's... the Moon rose over my neighbors roof like the previous morning but the Moon was much lower and there was a ton of shimmering going on caused by the heat radiating from my neighbor's roof... maybe I'll have better luck in July... hopefully! If I can salvage any shots worth posting I'll post them in the next few days if time permits... Thanks again...

Doddy Loc: Barnard Castle-England

Incredible shot Bruce..well done.

James56 Loc: Nashville, Tennessee

Well keep after it Bruce...you've got me excited with anticipation. I think once you get your technique figured out, you'll be showing us the best Moon shots we've ever seen. This one's a pretty good example and glad your didn't over process it..."keep it clean" (as they say).

grillmaster5062

Outstanding image. Great detail.

sailorsmom Loc: Souderton, PA

Wow! This looks soooo close to the moon that you could've walked on it, Bruce!

brucew29 Loc: Cincinnati, Ohio

Thanks Doddy... much appreciated...

brucew29 Loc: Cincinnati, Ohio

Thanks James... much appreciated...
I have to wait another week to 10 days before the Moon gets in a good enough position (35-40 degrees high) to photograph,
and several months before it gets really high in the sky again (50-60 degrees high)... Best photos can be taken when the Moon
reaches the highest position in the sky... the Moon photo above was only 33 degrees above the horizon... a lot of atmosphere to shoot through...

brucew29 Loc: Cincinnati, Ohio

Thanks grillmaster5062... much appreciated...

brucew29 Loc: Cincinnati, Ohio

Thanks Sue... much appreciated...

I hope to get more great photographs of the Moon in the coming months... the best time to get photos of the Moon will be this Fall and Winter...
that is when the Moon will climb high into the sky... there will be a lot less atmosphere and less pollution to shoot through when the Moon is high in the sky...
Also, during the cold season there is also less moisture in the sky... moisture tends to capture dust and scatter the Moon's light which reduces photographic contrast...

brucew29 Loc: Cincinnati, Ohio

Thanks again for the comments on my Moon photo... I have been waiting to
get some more shots but weather and poor conditions haven't let me...