Those pictures are incredible, and the stories emphasize the importance of luck, and attention to detail in getting such pictures..

I have a picture that was taken by one of our airplane spotters, it is stunning, it is a picture from the summit at night with the moon low on the horizon, reflecting off the ocean with the clouds and the glow from the Kona city lights in the foreground- it is breathtaking. I wish I could post it, but I didn't take it and the guy who did- in my opinion- could make a bit of money off it. I have suggested that he try to sell it, or at least publish it... I may ask his permission to post a low resolution version... It is a perfect picture...

Mauna Kea is a great place for amazing pictures- there have been so many times I have wished I had my camera with me. If I had been able to capture the huge storm I saw approaching from the summit a few weeks ago it would have been pretty famous...

The summit of Mauna Kea is NOT a good spot for wildlife pictures- only humans and a very few bugs are foolish enough to spend time up there... other than humans I have only seen birds up there twice (both times they looked VERY unhappy) and one abandoned dog (The Ranger rescued the poor dog)- Anyone that would abandon a dog on the summit should be shot- there is no water, the air is thin, it is cold, and the lava-rock would be hell on paws... the poor dog was panicked and disoriented... but it was rescued.