A guy at a star party in Sedona let me look through his 12 inch Dob and I still think about what he said about patience
Back in 2019 I went to a star party outside Sedona and this older guy named Ray let me peek at the Orion Nebula through his 12 inch Dobsonian. I was rushing to snap pics with my phone and he tapped my shoulder and said the nebula has been there for 3 million years, it can wait 30 more seconds for your eyes to adjust. That line stuck with me more than any photo I've ever stacked. Now I always spend the first 10 minutes just looking before I touch the camera, but I wonder how many people here shoot first and look later?