Houston Chronicle photographers know the intricate patterns of this crazy, sprawling city better than most, clocking long hours behind the wheel and camera lens on a never-ending quest to document Houston in all its unique glory.

Still, when the floodwaters rose and the Chronicle's photographers waded into the muck, many struggled to see the city they knew beneath the surface of a sea that swept landmarks out of sight. And that can be disorienting.

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A year after the storm, we asked photographers to return to the spots where they captured some of the most iconic Hurricane Harvey shots to show how they look on an ordinary day.

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Where veteran photographer Melissa Phillip had seen a flotilla of boats along Tidwell at the east Sam Houston Tollway during Harvey, she now saw everyday traffic along a divided four-lane road.















































































In the Concord Bridge home of Edelmira Gutierrez, where Chronicle photographer Michael Ciaglo had backed into the corner of a flooded living room in August 2017, where he watched rescuers help Gutierrez to safety, Ciaglo returned this year to find that same living room returned to its normal setting. "Even the fact that the lights were on and bright was such a contrast to the darkness and intensity surrounding my visit to the home during the hurricane," Ciaglo said.

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Photographer Elizabeth Conley returned to the George R. Brown Convention Center and neighborhoods in Montrose and near Beltway 8 to recapture the scenes that stuck with her from the storm.

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"I didn't grow up in Houston, and my first major flooding event was shocking to me. How the waters rise well over 5 feet high on roads we drive daily, and then it clears out and life goes on. Harvey was different, as everyone knows. Roads were closed for longer and people were running out of space in the yards as they emptied the heavy, wet and damaged items in their homes," Conley said. "To be honest, I still see the water in the roads, the neighborhoods lined with debris piles of photos, souvenirs, heirlooms, furniture and neighbors walking in waist-deep water, checking on neighbors."











































Across Southeast Texas, time is once again transforming the scenery, making these scenes from Harvey feel like spectral half-memories. But the photos will remain a constant reminder of the storm's unbelievable effects.

Text by Maggie Gordon

Design by Jasmine Goldband

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