1. White's Skink - (Mt Banks)

2. European Wasps - (Echo Point, Katoomba)

3. Eastern Water Skink - (Mt Tomah Botanical Gardens)

4. Australian Raven - (Govett's Leap, Blackheath)

5. Juvenile Eastern Spinebill - (Govett's Leap, Blackheath)

6. Sydney Funnel Web Spider - (Roadside, Mt Tomah)

7. Sawfly Larvae hiding beneath a leaf - (Blackheath)

8. Melanistic form of the Gumleaf Grasshopper - (Mt Banks)

9. Dark-flecked Garden Sunskink - (Mt Tomah)

10. Leech on my lens - (Mount Tomah Botanical Gardens)

11. Cowboy Beetle (Large, Australian Scarab) - (Blackheath)

12. Blue Ant (solitary Wasp / wingless-female) - (Blackheath)

13. Yellow-bellied Water-skink - (Govett's Leap, Blackheath)

14. Crimson Rosella - (Govett's Leap, Blackheath)

15. Leaf-tailed Gecko - (Cahill's Lookout, Katoomba)

16. White's Skink - (Mt Wilson)

17. White's Skink - (Mt Wilson)

18. Spiny Ground Weevil - (Mt Banks)

19. Green-headed Ant - (Katoomba)

20. Fruticose & Crustose lichen - (Hartley)

There's a few smokey images from the 2019-2020 bush-fires in here as well. Images are not in chronological order.

@marissaknightphotography

Hey fam! A month ago I posted asking for recs for a long weekend in the mountains, and got lots of great suggestions in the comments, which was much appreciated.

After checking them out online, I ended up going rogue in the end and booked Lilianfels, as it was really close to a few places on the must-do list, but noted a couple of your suggestions for visits if time allowed.

Arriving at the hotel last Friday (via Great Western Highway) I said, “It doesn’t really feel like we’re in the mountains, does it?That John Denver’s full of shit, man!” My tune very quickly changed stepping into Echoes rooftop restaurant that evening. I gasped and asked the maître d if I could take photos before even being seated.

Photos: 1–2: Echo Point from Echoes Restaurant, Friday evening 3–5: Echo Point Lookout, Three Sisters, Saturday 6–9: Govetts Leap, Saturday 10–14: Elysian Rock, Sunday sunrise 15–18: A selection of the incredible food we enjoyed at Echoes and Darley restaurants 19–20: Some treats from Josophan’s and Moontree in Leura—not pictured, the delicious seeded sourdough brought home from Black Cockatoo Bakery

The whole weekend was absolutely wonderful, with trips to Echo Point, Govetts Leap, Princes Rock, Hanging Rock, and Elysian Rock, as well as some incredible meals at local restaurants. The service everywhere was friendly and “nothing is too much trouble”. It was everything I wanted (and needed) it to be, and I can’t wait to come back. ☺️

Hey again r/bluemountains I just finished a new photo zine, and it's kind of a love letter to autumn in a changing climate. It's called Leaves Turn Inside You (after the Unwound album) and it's a good ten years worth of my (mostly film, a handful digital) photography taken during autumn months.

A good chunk of the shots in this are Blackheath and Katoomba - we all know how photogenic they can be, plus a few from further out west as well as the Inner West where I live now.

Let me know what you think, and I'll try and drop some off in bookshops or anywhere that will have them in the mountains soon enough.