Lately, I've photographed several houses that were in great need of renovation. Last week I arrived to photograph a split-level and first saw a reasonably tidy, well-landscaped yard and well-maintained pool. The interior was a completely different story. For one thing, I don't think the carpets had been cleaned in several decades. Trails of wear and grim were evident everywhere. The ugliness was compounded by strange colors combinations. For example, the living room/dining room carpet had once been lemon yellow in a room with beige walls. A bedroom with lime-green walls had burgundy-red carpet. To a certain extent, the unusual colors were muted by the lack of light in many rooms. Some had no overhead fixtures, and rooms that did have lighting tended to have incandescent bulbs with a dim, orange color cast. It was only when I used flash with my photos that I could see the true colors -- and they were not attractive. Still, the house was in a good location, and someone with imagination could rescue it. However, rescuing it will involve significant renovation.