#00129, Pagoda Panorama

On this day two friends and I arrived at Hidden Valley mid afternoon and set up camp. Later we decided to go to the top of nearby Sturgiss Mountain, thinking that there may be some photo ops as the sun set.

By the time we reached the halfway point though it became obvious that the wind would be too ferocious for photography on the top of the mountain. Even on the fairly sheltered climb up the western side it was extremely windy.

One of my companions did a recce to the top, sure enough it was too windy.

We had however seen a nice view from a ledge on the mountain's side, and elected to return there.

The ledge was quite exposed and the wind gusts so strong that I had to keep a near-permanent hold on the tripod. On one occasion, during a brief lull, I let go to rummage for something in my pack. While my attention was not 100% on the camera a gust caught it, and both camera and tripod started toppling towards the cliff. I caught a tripod leg just in time.

After all that I finally made a nice photo during another lull.

The rounded mountain in the background (upper left) is the outermost part of Pagoda Rocks, a series of strange formations that erosion has separated from the main body of the Sturgiss Mountain. The square-topped hill on the horizon (centre right) is Hoddle's Castle.



Budawang NP, NSW

Technical: Tachihara 5x4 field camera, 90mm, 5s, f11
Keywords: pagoda panorama hidden valley camp sturgiss mountain by climb one we view cliff rocks formations erosion hill horizon hoddle castle budawang national park nsw budawangs mountains large black white landscape