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The ghost town just outside of Brenham, Texas

The ghost town just outside of Brenham, Texas by Stuck in Customs.
I left Brenham early on Sunday morning after crashing in a tiny roadside motel. The motel was pretty sketchy, but sometimes I like that style of drive-up-to-the-door, ditch my camera stuff in the room, crash for 6 hours, then leave in haste to catch the sunrise. Sunday morning turned out to be rainy and freezing... pretty horrible for a lot of outside photography. So I ate in downtown, read a few chapters of Ananthem, drank a lot of coffee, chatted with a waitress who was an aspiring photography student and gave her some golden nuggets of truth, then drove on to Houston.

Several miles outside of Brenham, I saw this strange collection of houses and stores that were all brightly colored but recently abandoned. It was still raining, so I put it on my list to hit on the way back later in the evening. Luckily, the weather was dark and moody when I returned. I spent about an hour walking around this old abandoned place, shooting a bunch of cool and creepy things. I have no idea why everything was boarded up and empty... there might have been some squatters in one distant house, but I was kind of freaked out by some strange music coming out through some of the boarded-up windows, so I decided it was time to leave...

I'll post more shots of this place later... it was very strange... reminded me a little of a mid-80's Texas version of my visit to Pripyat (the little town right by Chernobyl that was also abandoned).

From the blog at www.stuckincustoms.com 

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matt_carr  Pro User  says:

These colors are so beautiful


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Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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AnRb  Pro User  says:

Wonderful shot....

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Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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kimdokhac  Pro User  says:

lovely house ! I like your processing !
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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[ Hungry Hungry ]  Pro User  says:

That place does have an interesting abandoned feel to it. The bright colors with the fading textures and the bit of old wood coming through in the roofs presents a very nice contrast. I like the addition of the ground and grass with the dead leaves on it - really adds to the context here.

The processing is superb, as always. Did you use HDR Max or Photomatix for this one?

Great work!
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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© eduardomx says:

Beautiful colors and treatment HDR ¡¡¡¡
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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ZekaG  Pro User  says:

Awesome :-)
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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smgallery  Pro User  says:

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Amazing Shots! (Post 1 / Award 3), and we'd love to have this added to the group!
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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Stuck in Customs  Pro User  says:

Thanks! I used photomatix for this one.
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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Daniel Dunlap  Pro User  says:

Very nice as always.

Greetings,

Daniel
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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stellar63max66  Pro User  says:

Striking colors and treatment! Love the reflection in the puddle of muddy water too! You need to be careful taking innocent shots, especially if you start feeling that "creeped out" feeling! I remember entering some property about a year ago, what I thought was abandoned....did not turn out to be the case! It kinda freaked me out too. :-)
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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plong  Pro User  says:

I swear I see the Star of Texas in the puddle reflection.
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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Extra Medium  Pro User  says:

The large version of this is amazing. I can see there is a Master Lock on the door on the right and I can read the No Trespassing sign as well. That is one amazing machine.
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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Vaeltaja  Pro User  says:

Fantastic capture.
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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HellonEarth2006  Pro User  says:

Delightful colours in this shot
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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CreamySweetie ♥ ♥  Pro User  says:

Nice!!!

The reflections of the houses and the tree in the water are Marvelous~~~

^___________^
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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CreamySweetie ♥ ♥  Pro User  says:

Nice work with your new D3X^___^
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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extreme.ph  Pro User  says:

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called *****FlickHDR Ortoners Dragan BW Sepia Effects*****, and we'd love to have this added to the group!

Owesome Work as always..
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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C. Hartley Photography  Pro User  says:

Fantastic!! The puddle really adds to the shot!! I don't understand why some people don't like hdr.........it's really gorgeous with the right touch. As yours is!
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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Gregory Jordan  Pro User  says:

Fabulous shot. The colors are almost Caribbean-looking. Your photography is inspiring. Thanks for sharing so much on your blog, Flickr, etc. Now I only wish I had a D3X so I could take photos like this. Ha ha ;-) I recently had a person ask me, "What kind of camera did you use to get a photo like that?" I then knew my pictures were improving.
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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sk3l  Pro User  says:

lovely capture ..
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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J-Rie  Pro User  says:

very nice HDR. well done
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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Lisa Chu Photography  Pro User  says:

This reminds me of another photo you did similar to this. Love the pastel colors and great line up
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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watsonsinelgin  Pro User  says:

It has actually been closed for a number of years. Three years back I was driving from Austin to Houston with my girlfriend when we spotted the ghost town and decided to pull off for pics. It was already closed at that time and you can even spot some of the no trespassing signs in the background. :)

www.flickr.com/photos/hanswatson/75264867/]
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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JRMéndez  Pro User  says:

Bello trabajo. Felicidades!
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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*~Moonlit Dreams~* (Back on September) says:

Amazing shot! Lovely reflection! Outstanding HDR!
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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johny~  Pro User  says:

Love it.....btw your my hdr hero!!

LoL!

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Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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*Kid*Doc*One*  Pro User  says:

I love the pastel colors but I think the reflection in the foreground detracts from this image.
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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Ѧﻛ |photography - [chosen1]  Pro User  says:

now thats more like it!
love the subdued colors on this one. Tone mapping is right on!
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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ibrahem N. ALNassar  Pro User  says:

Beautiful
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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{CarLee} -Away on Holidays be back soon :)  Pro User  says:

Looks like an outback Queensland town to me :) Love the refelction in the puddle :) Car
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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titter85  Pro User  says:

If only you wife read it! :) You came on some waitress while your wife was looking after your children! :P hehe...just kiding :)
Great shot Trey! I like the partial reflection...it looks really like ghost reflection :) Cheers
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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mbrichmond  Pro User  says:

very cool photo!
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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Rahil.  Pro User  says:

very nice
liked the reflection and the sky
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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Lila Rose  Pro User  says:

Reminds me of an abandoned movie set or something...love those east coast Jersey colors...lol Can't wait to see more!
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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jsrcyclist  Pro User  says:

Love the colors in this one!!
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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The Rocketeer  Pro User  says:

Did you happen to take the tour of Blue Bell Ice Cream while you were in Brenham? The best commercial Ice Cream ever! They got their start in Brenham and conveniently are right next door to the Coca-Cola warehouse. There's a lot of abandoned buildings along the roadside around Brenham. Always was a favorite place to go for me.
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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bevcraigwhite  Pro User  says:

What a wonderful find !!!
I love this pic !!
That is the best coloured ghost town i have ever seen !!
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Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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Stuck in Customs  Pro User  says:

Haha thanks :)

I did not take a tour of the factory... maybe next time!
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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[Chrysty]  Pro User  says:

Beautiful as always! I really love the reflections in the puddle.
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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Greg Headley  Pro User  says:

I've seen this too on the drive back from Austin. I think they've been relocated from somewhere else. There are a handful of occupied houses behind these and further up the road off to the left. Relocated for what purpose though I cannot guess.
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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Erin G. Photography  Pro User  says:

Gotta go find this place! Awesome! Although I have a feeling it doesn't look nearly this enticing in person.
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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*Cake  Pro User  says:

Fantastic reflection there :D
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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3 little monkeys photography says:

Creepy! Yet it was very artsy looking there!
Great capture..Can not wait to see more!
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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RobynMichele  Pro User  says:

I've seen this place and thought many times about stopping - just haven't gotten around to it. I love the processing your used to really pop the colors!
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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Jill Clardy  Pro User  says:

Normally "a picture is worth a thousand words", however in this case the words are missing - I guess we can make up our own story which is probably more interesting than the truth,anyway. Excellent capture.
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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maduroman  Pro User  says:

Magnífica. El charco parece una ventana abierta a otra realidad.
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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live w mcs  Pro User  says:

Intresting!
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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susan_r4 says:

Cool ghost town Trey! Love the colors!
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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CharleneM50(computer is fixed) says:

Like the colors and patterns!
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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OrangUtanSam  Pro User  says:

Trey!
Wonderful - again!
One question.. If I do stuff like this.. and want to maintain the darker clouds... I can almost never avoid halos aroud the edges (rooftops & branches in this one...) Searched for possible solutions in your tutorial... No joy there... Where do I go wrong?
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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Adrian World  Pro User  says:

Very nice
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Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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~ Buffalonian ~  Pro User  says:

Jebus H. Mistro, that's cool reflection authoring, yo. Got a nice "Texas Star" almost.
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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Balliolman  Pro User  says:

Lovely photo.
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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stage88  Pro User  says:

One day I will be better then you...

But not today...
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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neilalderney123  Pro User  says:

Nice work & great reflection Trey

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Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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cooliceblue  Pro User  says:

looks like a film set - amazing colours and reflection
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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mrs3068  Pro User  says:

buena imagen! buen color y contraste.
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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Steven Martin  Pro User  says:

Interesting that the place has been decorated with an assortment of Christmas lights. Thanks for sharing your adventures.
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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fotophriendly  Pro User  says:

Way k00L kapture!
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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jaynesav says:

Beautiful
J
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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Scoutress  Pro User  says:

Maybe, somebody owns the property and only uses it for guests or to have parties on holidays? I used to party with a pretty large, regular, group on New Years and they would bring tepees and all manner of lodging to a 6000 acre camp just for that one event (which lasted a week minimum) each year. A week after New Year's day passed....the place was deserted except for the ranger's home and family.

Maybe it was once a movie set.

This is a beautiful shot.
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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stevewhis  Pro User  says:

great story and a fine capture, well done
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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Stuck in Customs  Pro User  says:

Thanks!

Orang - I am not sure! Usually I try to make sure the clouds are composed in such a way where I won't get a halo effect -- or make sure the halo at least looks natural... or remix with an original RAW the way I do in the tutorial
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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when_night_falls  Pro User  says:

Spooky !
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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No. 1 KUMAG says:

This is Perfect!

The Perfect Photographer

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Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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"Mr John"  Pro User  says:

Wonderful colours...

you are a visual poet

you are invited to post this amazing work
and join us at
PhotoPoetics
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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*Yess*  Pro User  says:

Ohh, look at those reflections!!! Perfect!
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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Pete foley  Pro User  says:

Terrific shot, enjoying your stream as ell. Some of the best, most subtle HDR I've seen anywhere - nice work
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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ThePres6 says:

A great spot and image -;0)
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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Meta-Man  Pro User  says:

You're right, some places in the American 'desert' can be just plain scary. It's that weird mix of sparse housing and dry geography, and the feeling that you've stepped into another century by accident. What on earth brought you there though? I got stuck for a few hours in a town called Realto near the Mojave desert, but that was an emergency landing!
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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PattiSchmidt  Pro User  says:

I like this very much.
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

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allstarlover09 says:

Could you tell me were it is???? thru Flickermail?????
Posted 5 months ago. ( permalink )

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