I know there is a Texas I am not finding

[imagebysp]

Hi all,

I have been in Austin for about 9 months now and I love the city, love the people.

Because of new job, house hunting etc,. I have not had much shooting time and now that I have some I am really struggling.

I moved from California where the entire coast is public land and there are many large parks, the kind of parks where you can go and believe you are alone on the planet.
I predominantly look for one of 2 things in a shoot location. “No sign of humans” or “Humans were here but have gone”. Forgotten buildings, abandoned farms, open land quiet parts of a city etc.

I have just returned from one of many very long drives where I have seen nothing but private land, the old farm buildings are gated up, no trespassing signs on every fence and the parks I visit are “developed” for RV use, have boat launches, BBQ and picnic facilities everywhere.

I know there is a Texas I am not finding, I have seen it in your many lovely photographs and I know it must be closer than big bend. Please help.

[hmiles619]

there are many state parks around....google them. You'll find it.

[DEMDeepEllumMusic]

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/

[hookem]

Stephen, welcome to the forum. I know what you mean, I've had to settle for taking photos of old barns from the other side of the fence many times. It's a fact of life around here since most of Texas is privately owned land, and ranch land at that.

Of course if you go to the coast, you'll be sure to find a lot of empty spaces, especially this time of year.

[Stephen H]

Several years ago, I went out to Guadalupe Mountains National Park over the Thanksgiving holiday. I hiked up into the mountains, spent three nights up there, and saw maybe two or three people- it wasn't many. So yes, it can be done. Big Bend is similar, a lot of people in certain places and certain times, but a lot of empty areas, too.

Back when Texas was being settled, they mostly used government-owned land as payment to anyone/everyone they needed to pay, with the result that there was very little state-owned land when they got done. Even a number of the state parks you see were formed by the state buying up privately-owned land to make the park.

We used to live not too far from Rocky Mountain National Park. We learned that one of the reasons the park existed is that the land it was on was considered more or less worthless. It couldn't be farmed, was too rugged for lumbering, didn't have any minerals to speak of, etc. The result was that a large relatively unspoiled area was available to be made into a national park. The southwestern part of Colorado is actually more rugged, but also had gold and silver, and those areas were explored and mined much more extensively.

There are a number of backpacking trails in the state, and you generally won't find a lot of people on them. There are areas such as LBJ National Grasslands where there are not a lot of people around. The Scout Troop I was formerly with routinely made trips up into western Arkansas. In about 4 or 5 hours, you can get to a trail that will be virtually deserted this time of year.

[JamesB]

here is a cool little map showing what parks are around the central Texas area. The Austin area has lots of parks near by.

http://www.texasoutside.com/centralt...ntraltexas.htm

also you can go to the main page of site above and look at other parts of Texas other than just central.

Pedernales Falls State Park is really nice and not too far from you. Also Enchanted rock is worth checking out

James

[MJFerron]

Stephen, I have only been here 5 months. Relocated from New England and enjoyed the generous amount of public land up that way. Especially along the coast. Don't know what you like to shoot but some of the small towns around Austin still have some vintage western reminants waitning to be discovered. Enchanted Rock State Park is very scenic with some great rock formations.

[xjben]

I started a list of places (mostly from other threads here on TPF) of places in Austin/Round Rock that might be good for portraits. Might want to make a tour and check all these out...I'm sure a handful will work for what you want. There are probably other places outside of town (such as the state parks, etc.) that would be good if you don't mind the drive.

Spicewood Springs Road off of 360 (look around that area, sounded like there could be a few places there maybe from other threads?)
San Gabriel Park up in Georgetown on the San Gabriel river
Bull Creek
Zilker Gardens
Waterloo Park
Capitol grounds
Laguna Gloria
Mayfield Park
Park by Dell Diamond / behind RV Park (open areas, cool old buildings, etc.)
"The Round Rock" in Round Rock (just off of 620)
Brushy Creek Lake Park (off Parmer Ln, north of 620)
Duck Pond in Brushy Creek (off Great Oaks)

- Ben
Canon stuff

[wapiti]

Stephen,
You have been given some great suggestions. One more thing. If we have a good year for wildflowers, and we have not had one in three or four years, plus it's been quite dry, the hill country west of here can be magnificient in April. Great sites can be found in Burnet, Llano, Gillespie, and Mason counties. Pray for rain and, perhaps, we can have a good wildflower year. If so, don't miss it.
Bill

[GeraldR]

Just a few comments about vacant farms being fenced in and no trespassing signs. Coming from a large family of farmers I know to well that vandalism of old farms is a huge problem. There are people that believe that a vacant farm is available to them to take anything they want. Many old farming communities have stop posting obituaries because there are people that seek out farm houses that become vacant because the old farmer passes away and living relatives live away from the area.

When my grandfather passed away several years ago it was only a week from the date of his funeral that the family arrived at his farm to begin the process of going through the house and securing it. We arrived to find the old doors in the front and back of the house gone and everything that could be removed from the inside of the house was gone. Window shutters were gone, pedestal sinks gone, claw foot tub gone.

When I find an old farm house I want to take photos of I take the time to research the owner at the courthouse and attempt to contact the owner and ask permission. Of the 90% of the owners I find and contact all have approved my request for access. Some have joined me at the farm house and shared with me their memories of the farm.

Yes, it is more work then just driving up, taking photos, and driving away. The extra effort has delivered a far greater experience.

[JamesB]

I should have posted this earlier, but there is a Photo Ops map here on TPF, lots of good info for many areas around the state

http://www.texasphotoforum.com/forum/vbgooglemaphse.php

James

[Bartman01]

Originally Posted by GeraldR

When I find an old farm house I want to take photos of I take the time to research the owner at the courthouse and attempt to contact the owner and ask permission. Of the 90% of the owners I find and contact all have approved my request for access. Some have joined me at the farm house and shared with me their memories of the farm.

I was going to suggest the same thing. While most Texans are very protective of their private property rights, we are also fairly hospitable. If you see somewhere you would like to shoot, ask permission. Just watch your phraseology. 'Shoot' to most Texans means 'with a gun'.

[imagebysp]

Thanks everyone for the great advice, certainly have a few places to research now. I like the idea of contacting the farmers and hearing stories to go along with the location. I imagine that would ad a depth to the images themselves.

[katiexjo]

Any ideas on a good place to shoot a real estate agent (besides the capital and 360 bridge). I have been thinking about in front of the Texas History Museum, that big star, but was curious if there are any grand houses or museums that might be a good place to shoot a successful real estate broker.

Thanks for your input.

~KJ

[katiexjo]

Does anyone know good locations around UT campus?