I have wanted to get this shot for quite some time. Unfortunately, this monument is at a location frequented by many tour groups and locals. I have tried to get the shot in the late evening, but people drive by until at least midnight, and each time car headlights impinge on this, it totally ruins the exposure. This time, I went up to Banzai at about 3:00 AM, knowing that there would be a quarter moon fairly high in the eastern sky and hoping that no one else would be idiot enough to come up there at that time in the morning. When I set up, cloud cover was maybe about 10% of the sky. During this 20-minute exposure cloud cover increased to probably at least 70%. The lighting from the moon was a little more intense than what I think would be ideal. That and the increasing cloud cover diminished the quality of the results slightly, I think. However, it does give me a starting photo which I hope I can improve upon soon. I positioned myself such that the North Star was directly on the other side of the globe, to create this circular effect.