Two months of no photography at all is way too much time with no photography at all. Enough is enough! Time to hit the road again, and even if it doesn't take me as far as it often does, there still will be opportunities to capture a good landscape or two. If the scenery, weather, and my own travelling plans all come together, that is.

That's right: I'm going to spend this weekend in the Blue Mountains!

First stop is Katoomba, and the day is slowly drawing to its close when I reach the eponymous Cascades. They look very pretty indeed!

The Katoomba Falls.

A little bit closer...

...and a little bit further!

The trip is already off to a promising start. Even more so, because it's the first time I'm testing my brand new tripod, and it's every bit as awesome as I hoped it would be. So easy to set up and manipulate that I don't even want to disassemble it once I'm done!

However, there's still plenty of sun out there, and I begin to explore the nearby lookouts. There's also a cable ride nearby, and its cables, stretching across the sky, somewhat ruin the perfect view; but all other lookouts are thankfully unaffected.

Spectacular views across the valley.

An interesting-looking rock in the distance.

Under a slightly different angle.

Always loved myself a pretty rock!

I begin to walk towards the Echo Point Lookout, which is where the famous Three Sisters are located. You can glimpse these three cliffs, huddled together so intimately, from a few other angles as well as you approach them down the pathway.

The Three Sisters: sneak peek!

I quite like the clouds that slowly drift across the valley in the distance. Nothing better for a good photograph than a few pretty clouds! Especially if they rain a little in the distance: these are the best kind.

Looks like it's raining over there.

Treating myself with another pretty rock.

And here I am at last! The Sisters look every bit as beautiful as I imagined. And there's even a little rainbow hanging above them, thanks to the clouds that I already mentioned; the ladies are certainly happy to see me and dressed up! It's very windy and quite cold out here, though, and the tourists look a bit miserable as they laugh and take their obligatory selfies.

The Three Sisters and a rainbow!

Now it's time to once again put my tripod to good use. I pick a spot slightly afar from the main lookout area and begin to patiently wait for my sunset. The more I wait, the colder it becomes: feels like 6–8 degrees, and my hands begin to feel numb. Got to buy myself a pair of gloves, apparently. The tripod, however, works beautifully, and I'm enjoying the view and the gear while a few other photographers do the same slightly further at the main lookout area.

My second rainbow with the Sisters, and my favourite shot from the entire trip.

Another day is over.

However, the sun eventually sets, and in the gathering dusk I walk all the way back to my car, thereby warming myself up as well. Half an hour later, when it's fully dark, I find a nice secluded spot just off the road to camp at. It even has mobile coverage, which is impressive, considering all these mountains around. It's still cold though, so I spend the rest of the evening in the car, editing the newly-made photos and chatting with friends.

In the morning I change my Prado's oil, which has been a bit overdue by now. This is the first time I do it “in the field”, but it all goes smoothly (and why shouldn't it, really?). After that I consider my sightseeing options and eventually decide to go to the northern section of the park to see what it has to offer.

The first stop on the menu is the Pulpit Rock. The place looks a bit underwhelming. Lots of Chinese tourists with walking sticks, and a few very precipitous lookouts that instantly make me dizzy. The day is bright and sunny, but the wind is still cold: always a bad combo. Oh well! Let's see what else is out there.

Near the Pulpit Rock lookout.

The Pulpit Rock itself.

Next is the Govetts Leap Lookout, and here I finally find myself something to do. Even in bright light the valley looks impressive and photogenic, and as I walk a bit further, I see a lovely little waterfall rushing down from great height. Another chance to employ my beloved tripod!

The Bridal Veil Falls.

Another waterfall in the distance somewhere.

The view from the same lookout.

From there, I make my way to the Evans Lookout nearby. Quite pretty, too. A group of tourists timidly asks me to take a picture of them on their phone, while I'm at it. Sure, why not! There's also a hiking trail around the valley that looks promising, and I certainly should do it on a cloudier day, when there's more chance to take better photographs.

At the Evans Lookout.

Looking up.

Careful with the steps!

I return to Katoomba after that and visit the Gordon Falls lookout. The day is slowly coming to a close, and I try to estimate where it would be better to do my sunset photography today. This place looks beautiful, but nothing particularly exciting that would stand out as the sun goes down.

At the Gordon Falls Lookout.

A tiny waterfall across the gorge.

Slightly further off the path.

Another peek at the Three Sisters.

Ain't easy to be a tree around here.

Yours truly is taking his well-deserved selfie.

The Sublime Point Lookout is very close by, and I decide to go there and shoot the Three Sisters again - backlit by the setting sun, from the opposite side this time. The view is pretty spectacular, but the wind is freezing again. Probably should have gotten here an hour later or so!

At the Sublime Point Lookout.

The cliffs are steep.

The valley is wide.

The Sisters are ready to end their day.

The photos turn out to be underwhelming. As the sun sets lower, the entire valley gets shrouded in deep shadow, and there's no sense of distance and perspective at all. Well, at least the sunset was pretty, and I get to take another photograph of someone on their phone. Got to be useful to the community whenever possible.

Almost there!

The last glimpse.

The aftermath.

A few tiny pretty clouds just to finish everything off.

And I'm off to Sydney after that. The Blue Mountains are awesome, but just a tiny bit too cold for an underdressed traveller! Certainly something to work on in that regard.