I was - similar background story to yours. But never got into astrophotography - seemed like too much work (esp. processing/masks/stacking), and everyone else at star parties had better equipment and were happy to show off to you what they had in their scopes (or later in their images). to me it was like re-inventing the wheel. I assume you have some sort of tracking mount on your new Dob.
A few things in recent years have discouraged me a bit:
I found I'm not very good at staying up late. I might make it to 12 or 1am at a star party, but then I'm 2+ hrs from home and practically hallucinating on the drive home.
While I have a decent view of the SW sky from my hard, light pollution is heavy. In particular, there's a streetlight across the street that lights up my yard to the extent that I can, in the middle of the night, read my LCD digital watch without activating its backlight. I contacted the light company to have them shade the side of it that faces my yard, and it really helped. But then they un-did it - the neighbor who pays for the light (for security) didn't like what they did and had them reverse it. I'm not keen on the notion that he has the right to light up my yard just because he pays the light bill. But there it is.
Smoking at star parties, believe it or not. Not keen on it at all, but the local club allows it and some do. And some folks could be absolute jerks.
On a positive note, I once used to go to a club that met in East TN / WNC that had this giant Dob that was assembled on site. One club leader would direct visitors and volunteers to help assemble it, then hold court for a night sky tour. It was pretty cool, and the thing could capture some really distant and faint objects. The 2" eyepiece was really nice too.
Attachment 11357
So, although it was kind of low tech, you couple that with all the GOTO scopes people would have, laser collimation, fans to keep condensation at bay, attached cameras, laptops, and deep cycle marine batteries, etc etc., there was really no need to have fancy equipment of your own unless you just wanted to.
I love the software and apps that let you quickly identify what's up in the night sky right where you are, at the time you're there. Just knowing the constellations better would be cool, and it doesn't take much equipment for that. I camp and backpack, and for awhile I thought that would be great for it because I'd be out in decent weather at dark sky locations. But as it turns out, much of the year, I have a canopy of tree cover over me, and the sky view is almost non-existent! Oh well.
Anyway, kudos and well-done on your images. Those must bring you thrills and pride. I love planetary viewing in particular. I was well into adulthood before I really understood that a few planets can be seen with the naked eye (let's see - Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn) ... the notion that they're up there, as easily seen as any star, just blew my mind. I think I convinced myself once that I got either Uranus or Neptune in my scope, but it was just a speck among others, so nothing to confirm it beyond its expected place in a pattern of light dots.