Samuel Markham, The Bitter End (Single Shot 2019)

Out of all the places I have visited in the world, Hanging Rock in the Blue Mountains National Park is still my favourite. The size of this sandstone giant is truly remarkable. I have had the thought of this image in the back of my mind for a little while now. I didn’t know if it would even be possible to be honest, considering where Hanging Rock is located. One afternoon, one of my weather apps gave me an alert which peaked my interest. Showing an extremely slim opportunity of snow falling near Hanging Rock. Checking various other apps and online sites, this was the only app giving me any hope. I had to take the chance. Arriving in the Blackheath at 1am, I awoke at 5am. Grabbing the camera bag and head torch I set out into the darkness on the 5km trail towards Hanging Rock. The early signs were looking good with small amounts snow on the tail. But once I arrived at Baltzer Lookout atop of Hanging Rock little to no snow was about. I set up and waited patiently, flurries of small amounts of snow came and went for a while. Watching the snow clouds in the distance draw closer and closer I knew it was only a matter of time before I would be engulfed in snow. Moments later Mother Nature showed me something which was absolutely incredible, the wind picked up and the snow was unleashed before my eyes. This has to be one of the rarest images in my portfolio to date. The long drive, sore legs and tired eyes were all totally worth it to experience these short seconds of simplicity at my favourite place. Hanging Rock, Baltzer Lookout, Blue Mountains National Park, NSW, Australia.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.