Photography question - Mauna Kea, stars (Hilo, Volcano: truck rental, rental, how much)

[Snikt]

Hello -- I'm visiting the BI next month, and will be touring the summit of Mauna Kea one night as well. I'd like to attempt to get some amateur astronomy photography if possible.

What would be the best settings/lenses to use for either star trail pictures or milky way pictures (I'm not sure if you need a tracking mount for this?)

I have a normal tripod and a selection of these lenses, this is for a Nikon D3100 DSLR camera:

35MM f/1.8 prime
10-20MM f/4-f/5 wide-angle
18-200MM f/3.5-f/5 super-zoom

I'm thinking the 35mm prime would be the best choice due to the aperture, would this be true? I also have an electronic timer for bulb mode so I can do any exposure I like. From what I understand from the tour I'm going on, I have about an hour and 20 minutes to kinda play by myself to try this.

Any advice is appreciated, thanks

[Snikt]

Looks like it's going to be a first-quarter moon the day i'm up there, not sure how much that kills it

[OpenD]

My advice would be to ask this question on the Photography forum.

[Snikt]

Didn't realize we had one, I'll post it there too, thx

[cagary]

Be advised that you will not be allowed to stay at the summit (13,500') for much more than 15 minutes after sunset.

The rangers will ask you to leave the summit and go back down to the vistors center (9,000'). This place is not nearly as nice a star viewing location, but at least you are still pretty high up on the volcano.

The summit is reserved for the astronomers in the giant telescopes. Your car headlights when you head down the road will light up the sky enough to be a distraction. This is one of the reasons the rangers want you to leave the summit.

Also take the trip to the summit of Mauna Kea to see the stars, but don't pay $200. per person. This is what the commercial tour companies charge.

Instead rent a 4 X 4 truck from Harpers truck rental and drive yourself. Its NOT an easy drive, but its not that bad either. DO NOT try it in a non 4 X 4 truck or car! Bring warm clothes, but remember you've got a heater in that truck and you can park it on the summit where you can watch the sunset. This is not really an option if you go with a tour group.

[Snikt]

Hmm, that's a bummer, I didn't realize you didn't stay up at the summit on the tours. Thought the point of the "summit" tour was to see stars/astronomy in the perfect darkness and weather which is why the telescopes are there in the first place.

Do the rangers kick you off the summit after sunset if you're driving up yourself also, or is it just commercial tours?

[cagary]

Everyone has to go down to the Visitors Center.

The summit would be a perfect place to set up your own telescope. There's a ledge that you can go to the edge of and look out into the sky. Its great for watching the sunset. The atmosphere is so clear that one has to keep their sunglasses on until the sun has completely set. Its just way too bright. Totally different than watching the sunset at the beach.

However, the Visitors Center where one must go down to is completely surrounded by large hills! Their telescopes have to point almost straight up to see the sky. And there are always headlights passing by that ruin everything.

I just left.

[Snikt]

Hmm, well I guess I'll have to just go somewhere else where it's dark on my own to get pictures. Still going to do the tour I guess though, I called Harpers and the cheapest 4x4 to rent for the day I can do it is like $140-150, so no point in really doing that vs the tour

[cagary]

One reason to not do a commercial tour is weather.

If you look at the tour websites, they tell you that they cancel if the weather is bad.

But they will do almost anything not to cancel. They lose thousands of dollars if they cancel a tour. They can't just "go tomorrow" because there is another group already signed up for tomorrow! If the forecast is for cloudy skies, often they'll go up anyway hoping it'll clear up. But if it doesn't clear up they do not cancel if they brought you up to the summit. They only cancel if the trip never started. Once they pick you up, there is no turning back and no refunds.

If you rent your own truck, you can go up any day the weather clears.

Another reason to not go with a tour is time.

You have to spend hours picking people up from various locations around the island and dropping them off again after the tour. You pretty much spend the entire day on the tour. When I rented my own truck, we left Hilo mid afternoon and made it to the Visitors Center in about an hour and a half. We got acclimated in a couple of hours and headed up to the summit.

Another minor thing is the food. I saw what these people that paid $200. ( Don't forget tips for the driver and guide!) were given for "dinner". Certainly nothing to write home about.

Rent the truck.

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by Snikt

Hmm, well I guess I'll have to just go somewhere else where it's dark on my own to get pictures. Still going to do the tour I guess though, I called Harpers and the cheapest 4x4 to rent for the day I can do it is like $140-150, so no point in really doing that vs the tour

I do think it is worth going up there, even if you can't hang out all night. The sunset view from there is amazing, and you'll be able to take lots of great shots if you work quickly.

As far as getting someplace really dark, it's not that hard to do. In order to protect the multi-billion dollar investments in the Mauna Kea observatories, and their importance to the field of astronomy, the entire island has night-time lighting restrictions. All exterior lights have to be pointed downwards, for instance, none upwards, and the streetlights are mostly a dim yellow light that seems strange to visitors, and there aren't even many of those once you are outside the city, or other population centers.

And if the moon is not up... you can check the moon schedule online... the sky is velvet black, and the Milky Way is stunningly visible... once you get away from city lights.

A personal favorite vantage point of mine is at the Visitors Center at Volcanoes National Park, where you can get a "big bowl" view of the sky to contrast with the red glow of the lava.

Have fun!