I will be travelling to the Houston-Austin TX area this spring and would like to spend a couple of days with the spring wildflowers. I have some flexibility in travel dates, so I would like to know both the best times and locations in TX for shooting the flowers. Any suggetions? Thanks.

-- Steve Seitz (slseitz@bellatlantic.net), January 01, 2002

Answers

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/park/wildflower/plainsflo.htm

April May is best.

Neal

-- Neal Shields (shields@ftw.com), January 01, 2002.

see http:/www.englander-workshops.com/, Joe Englander conducts a Texas wildflowers photo wokshop. Highly recommended.

-- Hans Berkhout (berkhout@cadvision.com), January 01, 2002.

Statistically, mid April is peak. Depending on winter rain and temperatures, it can be earlier, last week of March and early April. May is too late and too hot.

Best areas are west of Austin, in the Llano-Johnson City area, Inks Lake and west of Lake LBJ.

-- Glenn C. Kroeger (gkroeger@trinity.edu), January 01, 2002.

What are the chances of combining a trip to Fotofest and seeing the wildflowers? (And not finding myself in the middle of a tornado, or flash floods, etc. I wanted to go last year, but the weather reports seemed to be one disaster after another.) TIA -- Wilhelm

-- (bmitch@home.com), January 02, 2002.

I've always found Fredericksburg and areas around the Frio River to be great locations.

-- tim kimbler (gandy2@gte.net), January 02, 2002.

"Everything in Texas either bites, stings, or kicks". LBJ said "the Viet Nam war was like a west Texas hail storm, he didn't start it, he couldn't stop it, and there was no place to hide". Tornados are very selective. If you don't live in a trailer park or have done something lately to envoke the wrath of God, you are usually OK. It all boils down to how bad you want the picture. Predicting Texas weather is an exercise in futility.

Neal

-- Neal Shields (shields@ftw.com), January 02, 2002.

Fotofest is in March and most of the wildflowers (that people want to see) are blooming in April and May, especially in the Houston and Austin latitudes.

-- Ellis Vener Photography (ellis@ellisvener.com), January 03, 2002.

Thanks for the advice especially about the tornados and hailstorms - LBJ was such a font of wisdom!

Any advice on state/nationalparks or other public locations in the Houston-Austin area for shooting?

-- Steve Seitz (slseitz@bellatlantic.net), January 04, 2002.