Good landscape shooting locations near Houston?

[f/16]

Tomorrow my Pentax 6x7 is supposed to be here. After shooting a couple of test rolls, I want to go somewhere interesting with it. There are no mountains or waterfalls around here, so where can I go? It needs to be about an hour from Houston-somewhere to go for the day and not have to spend a fortune on gas. Anyone know of an interesting place? Keep in mind I don't have any super long or WA lenses yet. Just the 135 macro and 165 LS.

 

[Light Guru]

Hop on Flickr Map and see is there is anything in the area that interests you.

 

[Bill Burk]

I used to go to Ima Hogg sanctuary quite a bit... Won't cost you any gas

 

[nsurit]

Brazos Bend State Park. Always something interesting to photograph and there won't be swarms of people. Bill Barber

 

[drkhalsa]

Here are some ideas:

In addition to Brazos Bend, I like Stephen F Austin State Park, too. Near Sealy, about an hour or less.

You can get some nice shots of the Brazos River, but you'll have to look at the trail map at the park to find your way to the river.

Mercer Arboretum near Spring.

Hermann Park. Supposedly no professional photography without permit.

Houston Arboretum and Nature Center can be nice in the right light. In Memorial Park.

The Menil Museum/Rothko Chapel campus and neighborhood for urban landscape.

Lake Conroe, Lake Livingston, Lake Houston.

And there is Galveston Island about an hour away.

 

[f/16]

Thanks for the ideas. I've been to Mercer and the Houston Arboretum. So there no professional photography allowed in Hermann Park? I knew the Japanese Gardens had that posted, but I didnt know it applied to the whole park. However, I've been there several times in the past 2 years with a tripod and no one ever said anything to me....Oh yes, Brazos Bend. Now I remember I was there a few years ago. You can get pretty close to the alligators-maybe close enough to get a good shot with 6x7. I don't consider med format a "wildlife" format 'cause you'd need a 1000mm lens most of the time. That's what APS-C is for-a 300mm lens actually has some good reach.

About the arboretum, sometimes when I would go on a Saturday it was closed to the public because there was an event going on. And it's always crowded on a weekend. I need to take a Monday off and go there.

 

[Valerie]

Also consider Sam Houston State Park in Huntsville. And the Houston Bayou http://www.bayougreenways.org/view/photo-galleries

 

[drkhalsa]

About Hermann Park, I happened to look at the Houston Parks website recently and saw that about photography permit. I believe what it means is photography for commercial use.

I have used my Pentax 6x7 there with no problems.

Yes, the HANC is better during the weekdays and they do like to promote its use for special events sometimes.

I agree with Valerie about Huntsville.