What seven years of imaging taught me
The best advice I got was plainly to slow down. Dark adaptation takes twenty minutes and one bright screen to ruin.
Second thoughts
Patience matters more than aperture on most nights. There is no single right way to approach waiting for clear skies, but some ways are kinder than others. A good star chart beats any app when your hands are cold. There is no single right way to approach imaging, but some ways are kinder than others. Little, repeatable steps beat big plans almost every time.
Odds and ends
I like star clusters that shows the marks of how it was made. Sketching at the eyepiece makes you actually look. Binoculars show more of the sky than most people expect. None of this is new, and that is partly why it works.
The setup
I like planets that shows the marks of how it was made. Nothing here requires a binoculars, though it does make things easier. Below are a few notes, roughly in the order I picked up them. Between observing and waiting for clear skies, the second one taught me more.
The moon is not an obstacle; it is the easiest target there is. I attempted the faint version first. It did not last. The best nights are the unplanned ones. I am still not sure I have it right, but it is closer.