My goal today was not to shoot from Bristol, RI, but rather, I intended to shoot a tiny chapel out on East Main Road in Middletown. On the way, I stopped to purchase tickets for the Prudence Island Ferry since I have a day trip scheduled there in a couple of weeks. That's when I spotted this fantastic old fishing boat docked behind the Ferry. You take the shot when it presents itself, so the chapel will need to wait for another day.
The significance of boats like this in the waters off Bristol dates back to the colonial era. The communities of Bristol and neighboring Warren owe their very existence to maritime trade. England fought six wars on this continent, including the American Revolution and its sequel, the War of 1812. What was it that England valued so much from the northern colonies in North America? In a word, "Fish." By the mid-17th century, the waters off the coast of the British Isles had been fished dry. The establishment of colonies in what became New England opened an entirely new fishing ground for England, and until the invention of the cotton gin, fish remained the number one export from North America to England. (Timber was number two on the list. The white pines of northern New England made great masts for British ships.) The white fish - mainly cod and haddock - caught off the coast of New England was heavily dried, heavily salted, and shipped east. While it is no longer the top export around here, the waters off the coast of Rhode Island still produce an abundance of cod, haddock, tuna, bluefish, and (this time of year), herring.
Post processing started with a medium pop smooth filter in Topaz Adjust. A second layer using a dynamic pop filter was desaturated and then added using a soft light blend mode and a high pass filter at 5 pixels. A levels adjustment was added, and then the hue and saturation adjusted to correct the color tones. A sepia photo filter brought the water and sky back into balance. A second levels adjustment was added and finally the contrast was adjusted to preserve the dark tones on the boat.
Nice one of the Jarrod Seth! I know what you mean about this boat. A few weeks back I was out in the fog for a few hours taking pics, but this boat won over all the fog. It looks like it is in a different spot than it was a few weeks ago.
@karens68 I think what really draws me to it is that it's so out of place given the new pleasure boats that surround it. Today it was docked right behind one of the Prudence Island Ferries, right at the end of the docks.
@kirstyalexandra Thanks, Kirsty! I seem to be drawn to just about anything old and weatherworn, it seems. @janets Thanks, Janet! @honeybees Thanks, Rebecca! Really appreciate the comment.
@bkbinthecity Thanks! This find was purely accidental. lol @yentlski Thanks, Jim @tmphotography Thanks for the fav, Mark! @melissapike Thanks, Melissa. I used to love the feeling of those old style fishing boats. @marzenka Thanks, Marzenka!
@janets Thanks, Janet!
@honeybees Thanks, Rebecca! Really appreciate the comment.
@yentlski Thanks, Jim
@tmphotography Thanks for the fav, Mark!
@melissapike Thanks, Melissa. I used to love the feeling of those old style fishing boats.
@marzenka Thanks, Marzenka!