Opportunities

Location, location, location! That’s the supposed mantra for real estate agents when it comes to selling their products. It’s also a serious consideration for photographers. Most nature photogs know that interesting subjects can be found in their own backyards or in the local park. But nothing gets the creative juices going like a wild area.
National Parks are great places shoot natural images but they aren’t always very easy to access for the weekend or even an afternoon. Most seem to be a long way from where we live. Some more easily reached, and less crowded, public lands are wilderness areas, national wildlife refuges and wildlife management areas. The first two are usually federally owned and maintained. The third, at least in Texas, are state owned or regulated jointly by state and federal entities.
Little Lake Creek Wilderness Area is approximately 45 minutes from where I live. It’s imbedded in the Sam Houston National Forest, just north of Montgomery, TX. Unlike the rest of the national forest it is off-limits to logging, mineral exploitation or any other development. Almost 4,000 acres of relative constancy. No need to tell photographers what a boon this is to our vocation. That particular grove of bottomland hardwoods will only grow larger. Those palmetto flats will remain, never to be turned into soccer fields. The creek will only be dammed by beavers.
The one concession to development is hiking trails, maintained by the Lone Star Hiking Trail Association. This allows access, by foot. No motor vehicles are allowed. I highly recommend you stay close to the trails and get a good map of the wilderness, available from the National Forest website: http://www.fs.fed.us/
There are five other wilderness areas in eastern Texas, maybe closer to you than this one is to me. Look them up and explore. You’re in for a treat. Next time I’ll talk about the national wildlife refuges, truly one of this nation’s treasures.