With the Hill Country getting hammered by rainfall, I have been desperate to get down to Colorado Bend State Park to photograph Gorman Falls. I have long heard about it, and figured it would be great right now. You can only go to the falls, however, by guided tour during 10am or 2pm on Saturday, or 10am on Sundays. And if it is wet or raining, tours are canceled. Unfortunately, it has been wet or raining every weekend. Today’s forecast calls for scattered thunderstorms, so what the hell, let’s give it a try. So Karen and I got up at 5am and drove down for the 10am tour, arriving and buying our ticket with at least 90 seconds to spare.
Now you really need overcast weather to shoot things like this. And it was very nicely overcast until the moment we began the hike, at which point I began cussing to Karen like a Greek sailor. No, not sunshine! Dangit. So after the 1/2 mile hike down to the falls, I battled with harsh light for all but a few minutes of clouds.
We repeated the tour at 2pm, so I could get another chance at some clouds. Again, we had mostly sunshine. I made Karen carry my big 500mm lens so that I could use it if I had to. At the end of the tour time, the clouds managed to build up for a few minutes and I frantically photographed away. Nonetheless, it was very cool, and I did manage to get a few good shots. Well worth the trip.
I never did use the 500mm lens, and Karen is still giving me grief over making her carry it. She’s used to it though, my nickname for her on trips is “PackMule Lady.”
