spotting in houston

[aarghpirategirl]

I am fairly new to this (about 6 months). Does anyone have suggestions for a good spotting location in the Houston/Galveston area?  I frequently go on the Houston Ship Channel tour, but no photography is allowed (for good reason).  Currently, I travel to Galveston, take the ferry to Bolivar, and hang out on the end of the jetty.  This catches all ships entering the ship channel.  I'm just trying to see if there are better locations.  Most areas along the ship channel are off limits. Thanks for suggestions!

[BobS]

No. 1 Son has just moved from Norway to Houston so I expect to be going there next year. I am very much alarmed at the original poster's note that photography is not allowed on the Houston Ship Channel tour. What is that "good reason" he refers to to? I thought America was the land of the free!
I will be most interested to see the replies in this thread from members with local knowledge as to where the best photographic vantage points might be.

[Kyle Stubbs]

That lack of photography does seem odd, photography is openly allowed even on San Diego Harbor tours, and they go right past two major Navy bases, including a submarine installation. How there could be anything more sensitive than that on the Houston Ship Canal, which is regularly filmed for time-lapse transits on Youtube, is beyond me.

[BobS]

Whether or not photography is allowed on it, I would also like details of how and where to join the Houston Ship Channel tour.
It would not be the first time I had had to resort to "sneaky" ship photography in places where it was forbidden (eg the scrapyards of Kaohsung). Fortunately I am not interested in military vessels so I have not (yet) been shot-at or arrested. Could Texas be a first?

[Kyle Stubbs]

Bob, here's the link to pretty much all you need to know about the tours:
http://www.portofhouston.com/samhou/samhou.html

I was trying to poke around the Ports Site, here in the Northwest the ports seem to promote their "greenspaces" and other parklands that are included in the ports, but it would seem that houston isn't as concerned about those matters.

Not being from the area, I can only speculate by looking at a map, but San Jacinto State Park and Brady's Landing may be about the best locations there are.

[BobS]

Thanks Kyle.
From what I can concern from the link you provided I cannot see anything about no photography on the tour. Since I am a Scotsman, I was VERY pleased to note that the tour is free of charge!
Cheers
Bob

[aarghpirategirl]

I've been on the tour several times.  There are many refineries along there, and Homeland Security will not allow photos.  It is stated in the rules prior to regristration.  I noticed the last time I went, that the Port of Houston Authority is willing to give permission for photography for a select few.  I'm not sure what the criteria is; however, I'm willing to give it a shot by being honest.  Hopefully this ban will be lifted soon, because Google shows the same refineries as the tour.  Until then, I'm not going to lose any property over it. 

Brady's Landing is a not-so-tasty restaurant that offers excellent views of barges (if that's what you're looking for).  San Jacinto is a very nice park, but once again, it seems dominated by barges.

The Texas City Dike is a fishing area that used to be free; however, after the last hurricane damaged it, there is now a charge.  This area can get crowded.  If you get a spot on the end it's a lovely view though.
 
I don't have any fancy equipment with me or anything, so I'll stick with my narrow little walk to the end of the Galveston ferry (Bolivar-side) jetty for now.  It's free, you catch everyone coming in, and very few people (if any).

As I stated in my previous post, I'm very new at this, so I'm still exploring new spots.