Mercer Arboretum in December? Or maybe San Jacinto/USS Texas?

[cooltouch]

I've always preferred outdoor photography, but I haven't been able to find many interesting places to shoot outdoors since moving from California to Houston. I've visited Kemah and Galveston's old town and The Strand, and other parts of Galveston Island. I've been to Memorial Park and the Houston Arboretum several times. I'm hoping to find an interesting locale within say an hour's drive of Houston -- some place that will be interesting this time of year.

I'm faced with an immutable deadline -- I have four rolls of Kodachrome (you know, film?) to shoot and I have to get it to Dwayne's for processing by December 30, or it will never be processed. I don't want to just expend it on anything either, so I've been thinking about splitting the rolls up between a visit to the coast, probably Surfside beach, and someplace else. An internet search reminded me of Mercer Arboretum and Botanical Gardens, a place I've never been to, and I'm wondering if there will be much to see there this time of year. I visited the website, and there really isn't too much info there about this time of year. They mention only one flower species in bloom about now. So, I'm wondering if anybody here might chime in and give me some idea as to what I might can expect before I make the long drive out there.

Another possibility -- and about equally as far away -- is the San Jacinto Monument/Battleground and the Battleship Texas. I haven't visited that place since I was maybe eight years old, and I remember almost nothing about it, other than the Battleship was very crowded that day with kids bigger than me. :)

I was also thinking about Brazos Bend State Park, another place I've never been to. But I'm not an early riser and I'm wondering if there's much point if I make a late morning or afternoon trip out there. Also, I don't know how much walking will be involved. I have a bad back, and toting around a heavy bag of gear plus a tripod kills my back if I have to tote it very far.

What say you? Is there another place around here that you might recommend?

Much appreciated.

[Flores]

BBSP = lots of walking.

San Jac is less walking :D

[popawalker]

At san Jacinto, they are letting a lot of prairie grass grow to make it more like it originally was. The Texas, well, it's the Texas, it is what you make of it. I enjoy shooting there but not sure exactly what you are looking for.
Have you shot at the Rose Garden at Herman Park?

[cooltouch]

Nope, the only thing I've shot around Hermann Park has been the zoo. But I've got three rolls of ISO 25 Kodachrome, so I'll probably have to be using a tripod for almost all of my shots, so I don't want to mess with the zoo. I guess I could put the rose gardens on the list if it's a good possibility this time of year.

[Steelsun]

This time of year most nature shooting will of course be fairly barren.
Even at Brazos Bend the gators are hibernating now.

I'd suggest San Jac - with the cool crisp skies you can get some surreal images. The monument is always nice, and some skyhigh viewpoints from the top. ANd the ship of course is always great.
Go during the week if you can and you'll find it almost abandoned. I hit the Texas once on a Monday and I was the only one there aside from a volunteer for about 3 hours.
From there you also have easy/quick access to the Fred Hartmann Bridge (neat to photo), nearby industrial sites, and the Ferry across the channel at the end of the Battleship street.
Also the dike along the battleship side of the park gives excellent views of the ship channel and passing ships.

Makes me want to hit it sometime soon, haven't been out to San Jac in about a year.

[revjvegas]

I was at Mercer this past weekend.

There's some nice "fall" color, but you might be pressed to burn off one roll of 36.
If its not too far for you, then I say go check it out.

Edit: Here's a link to some of the pictures I took on my last visit.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/revjveg...7625598383536/

[TxTowman]

Moody gardens, I usually get a few ships from the jetty at east beach.
Kite surfers at the park near the texas city dike depending on the weather.

[cooltouch]

Thanks for the tips, guys. John, I think you did a nice job with what was available. I think I'll take your advice, Brian, and if I make it out to San Jac I'll do it on a weekday. Sidney, I've never been to Moody Gardens, so maybe it'll be worth a visit.

So far I've just hopped on my bike with my camera gear loaded into the hard bags, and taken off in different directions. And ended up getting side-tracked both times! First time, I was heading out west and got the bright idea to visit Katy Mills Mall. I have a Canon FD 85mm f/1.2 Aspherical lens, which is a lot of fun to use indoors, so I was thinking about dropping off my gear at my sister's house -- she lives a few blocks from the mall -- so I wouldn't have to leave it in the bike's hard bags. And she had some really nice fall color at her house, so I took several shots there. And then we got to talking, and more talking. And looking through a bunch of slides taken by our late father. And before I knew it, it had gotten late and I had to head for the house. The next day, I did the same, but headed east instead. I was thinking there might be some interesting sights up in the heights. And as I was cruising down White Oak, I passed an ice house, and saw a couple of vintage bikes parked out front (I'm into older motorcycles -- I happened to be riding my 34-year-old BMW R-90/6). So, I decided to stop by, and maybe take some shots of bikes. Turns out one of the bikes belongs to an old friend of mie. Well, I took several shots of the assembled bikes (mine included), but then we decided to take off and go for a short ride, then head over to his house. Well, by the time I left his place, I'd lost the light.

I was thinking about heading out again today, but the weather is iffy -- warm and muggy -- feels like it does right before a cold front blows through -- usually with rain. So I think I'll play close to home today.

[popawalker]

Let me know if you head for San Jac. I'll be out of pocket Tuesday and wednesday(promised the wife a trip to the woodlands) but after that I'll be free.
If I can get a new battery for my wing on the way home wednesday I'll be ready to ride it too.

[cooltouch]

So Thursday maybe then? Weather permitting of course. Friday's Christmas Eve and I have family obligatons that will cut short anything I try to get done that day. Thursday would be best, since you're booked up on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Where would be a good meetup? I'll be riding from the Spring Branch area, I-10 west just west of the I-10/I-610 West interchange. I was planning to just take the I-10 slab as far as I could before turning off for the battleground and ship.

Hmmm . . . just checked Google maps. Looks like the quickest way might be to take the 10 to Lynchburg Road, then take the Lynchburg Ferry. Or take the 10 to the 610 to the 225 and out to Independence Road. Last time I was there I was like 8 yo, so I dunno the best way to get there.