Follow the Light

A cactus absorbs raindrops at Booty'ss Road Park on Sunday, April 12, 2026. The landscape was transformed by the much-needed dose of moisture. Photo by Andy Sharp.

A cactus absorbs raindrops at Booty'ss Road Park on Sunday, April 12, 2026. The landscape was transformed by the much-needed dose of moisture. Photo by Andy Sharp.

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Follow the Light: Rain clouds lead to photo ops

Andy Sharp
Friday, April 17, 2026
A Sunday afternoon drive first took my wife and I to the Georgetown Public Library, enjoying the quiet time. From there we did a bit of shopping at Georgetown’s Sprouts Grocery. Since it was a day filled with a soft rain and clouds, a visit to Booty’s Road Park was in order.
Bull Branch Park is seen well past sunset on Tuesday, February 3, 2026. Light from nearby baseball fields where teams were practicing helps light the park. The photo was taken using a tripod and slower shutter speeds. This photo was taken at ISO 200, a 13-second exposure at f/5.6. Photo by Andy Sharp.

Bull Branch Park is seen well past sunset on Tuesday, February 3, 2026. Light from nearby baseball fields where teams were practicing helps light the park. The photo was taken using a tripod and slower shutter speeds. This photo was taken at ISO 200, a 13-second exposure at f/5.6. Photo by Andy Sharp.

Follow the light: Nighttime offers refreshing light

Andy Sharp
Thursday, February 5, 2026
Most of my daily walks in Taylor lead through Bull Branch Park, a scenic place adorned with cypress trees, ducks, geese, turtles, egrets, herons and squirrels. A stream, Bull Branch Creek, courses through the park, forming a pond before meandering south, toward Murphy Park.
Rosalio Rodriguez, who will be 71 on September 13th, herds his 60 head of sheep along the lightly-traveled County Road 345 south of Granger on Tuesday, September 2, 2025. Health issues have curtailed his work recently, but he continues to work at a printing company in Pflugerville three days a week. Every day, accompanied by his dog Rambo, Rodriguez lets the sheep graze along the side of the road. He and his family have lived on five acres here since 2000. He continues to enjoy his work. Photo by Andy

Rosalio Rodriguez, who will be 71 on September 13th, herds his 60 head of sheep along the lightly-traveled County Road 345 south of Granger on Tuesday, September 2, 2025. Health issues have curtailed his work recently, but he continues to work at a printing company in Pflugerville three days a week. Every day, accompanied by his dog Rambo, Rodriguez lets the sheep graze along the side of the road. He and his family have lived on five acres here since 2000. He continues to enjoy his work. Photo by Andy

Counting sheep in Granger

Andy Sharp
Thursday, September 4, 2025
In 2010, about a year after returning to Texas, I was doing one of those occasional drives in the countryside south of Granger when I noticed a man, joined by a Great Pyrenees as they herded sheep along a barely-traveled road.
Raindrops create patterns in the creek at Bull Branch Park on Monday morning, August 4, 2025. Photo by Andy Sharp

Raindrops create patterns in the creek at Bull Branch Park on Monday morning, August 4, 2025. Photo by Andy Sharp

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Follow the light: Finding new subjects on daily walks

Andy Sharp
Thursday, August 14, 2025
The things we see when we slow down and look. For years, my daily walks, mostly in Taylor, were visual points of departure. Tiny landscapes, where the light embraced the landscape. This offering includes tidbits of what I saw last week on strolls around Taylor.
Wild sunflowers fill a field along Farm to Market Roas 1466 (above) and County Road 456 (right) near Coupland on Tuesday, June 3.

Wild sunflowers fill a field along Farm to Market Roas 1466 (above) and County Road 456 (right) near Coupland on Tuesday, June 3.

Sunflowers welcome summer time, smiles

Andy Sharp
Monday, June 9, 2025
Happy flowers. Officially, they’re wild sunflowers, but just seeing them adorning the landscape brings joy. While the large ones that people take time to plant are nice, their smaller cousins are growing in abundance as summer nears.
Overnight and early-morning rain adorns a field of thriving wheat along County Road 367 on Sunday morning, April 20, 2025.

Overnight and early-morning rain adorns a field of thriving wheat along County Road 367 on Sunday morning, April 20, 2025.

Golden opportunity with this year’s wheat harvest

Andy Sharp
Friday, April 25, 2025
Several years ago, photographing a wheat harvest near Bartlett, I was riding in a combine with a farmer as he navigated his equipment through a field. The late-day light gracing the golden crop was so inspiring, I asked if it was okay to get out and document it from the field.
Taylor's Bull Branch Park is seen in the early-evening hours on Friday, January 24, 2025, about an hour after sunset. Bull Branch Creek flows through the park, at one point offering a pond before proceeding to Murphy Park and beyond. Cypress trees have taken on their winter look for a while. Photo by Andy Sharp.

Taylor's Bull Branch Park is seen in the early-evening hours on Friday, January 24, 2025, about an hour after sunset. Bull Branch Creek flows through the park, at one point offering a pond before proceeding to Murphy Park and beyond. Cypress trees have taken on their winter look for a while. Photo by Andy Sharp.

Follow the Light: Darkness falls, light takes hold

Andy Sharp
Saturday, February 8, 2025
Bull Branch Park in Taylor is a place I visit regularly during daily walks. It’s relaxing to see the ducks, geese, herons and egrets as they spend time around a pond that connects with Bull Branch Creek. The cypress trees throughout the park are inspiring.
Waterloo Gin co-owner David Wollett drives a truckload of cotton from a field onto a scale on Friday, September 13, 2024. Clement Strmiska and David Wollett are co-owners of the Waterloo Gin, located on County Road 414 east of Taylor. Photo by Andy Sharp.

Waterloo Gin co-owner David Wollett drives a truckload of cotton from a field onto a scale on Friday, September 13, 2024. Clement Strmiska and David Wollett are co-owners of the Waterloo Gin, located on County Road 414 east of Taylor. Photo by Andy Sharp.

Photos: Cotton collections progress in Williamson County

Andy Sharp
Friday, September 20, 2024
The Waterloo Cotton Gin, a few minutes east of Taylor, along County Road 414, is beginning cotton harvest season on a high note this year, after last summer’s combination of triple digit heat and drought made it hard for farmers and cotton gins in 2023.
Robert Halstrom and his dog Ladybug relax near day's end at what was once Granger United Methodist Church on Monday, May 22. Halstrom and his wife Joanne bought the circa 1904 church in 2019. The project has continued since then, but then Joanne was dealt a a life-altering accident in March 2022. The project has been put on hold for months, but slowly, Halstrom is back at work. Photos by Andy Sharp

Robert Halstrom and his dog Ladybug relax near day's end at what was once Granger United Methodist Church on Monday, May 22. Halstrom and his wife Joanne bought the circa 1904 church in 2019. The project has continued since then, but then Joanne was dealt a a life-altering accident in March 2022. The project has been put on hold for months, but slowly, Halstrom is back at work. Photos by Andy Sharp

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Follow the Light: For couple, Granger church restoration an exercise of passion, patience and preservation

Andy Sharp
Friday, May 26, 2023
It’s been quite a while since the last visit to what was once Granger First United Methodist Church, an iconic structure at the corner of South Granger and East Elm streets.   Since May is National Preservation Month, it’s a good time for a project update. A little backstory.
Georgetown photographer Tom Cavness is pictured at Bull Branch Park on Sunday, April 9, as he continues to master the 19th Century technique of wet plate collodion photography. With him on this morning was a 1933 8x10 view camera manufactured by Burke and James. Photos by Andy Sharp

Georgetown photographer Tom Cavness is pictured at Bull Branch Park on Sunday, April 9, as he continues to master the 19th Century technique of wet plate collodion photography. With him on this morning was a 1933 8x10 view camera manufactured by Burke and James. Photos by Andy Sharp

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Follow the light: An impressive commitment to wet plate photography

Andy Sharp
Thursday, April 20, 2023
Although I met Georgetown photographer Tom Cavness at last month’s Georgetown Photography Festival, it was surprising to see him early one morning last weekend at Taylor’s Bull Branch Park, working with his 8x10 format Burke & James camera, made in 1933.
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