There are quite a few older roads in Rhode Island that have "Pike" as their suffix. Putnam Pike, Farnum Pike, and Danielson Pike all come to mind. The "Pike" in their name indicates that they were originally toll roads - Turnpikes, if you will. Today's image is of the North Gate Toll House on Old Louisquisett Pike that at one time connected Providence with Woonsocket. The Toll House was built in 1807 and used for several years to collect tolls from travelers between these two major (for the time period) cities. In the mid-1800s, this building also served as a Grange Hall and as a Hotel. It's now home to the Blackstone Valley Historical Society and houses a library and museum room complete with 18th century furnishings.
I opted to go the black and white route with the photo, although it was a tough decision to do so. The color photo was nice as well, but to me 19th century just screams for black and white. I started this one with a Photo Pop filter in Topaz Adjust. Back in PSE I added a black and white gradient map in color blend mode. A levels adjustment followed by a brightness and contrast adjustment improved the tonal quality. I added a sepia photo filter on top of that, and then completed one more levels adjustment to finish the image.
I bet it was tough to do the b&w given today's bright blue sky. I think it gives the shot more of a vintage feel which works well with the architecture.
@eryck Thanks, Bill. I do struggle with keeping the b&w tones realistic. I tend to overprocess my b&w shots. @honeybees Thanks, Rebecca! I'm looking forward to some good Houston shots! @karens68 Thanks, Karen! Yes, that blue sky was fantastic, today. There were some rust tones on the rail in the foreground, too, that I hated to desaturate. LOL
@honeybees Thanks, Rebecca! I'm looking forward to some good Houston shots!
@karens68 Thanks, Karen! Yes, that blue sky was fantastic, today. There were some rust tones on the rail in the foreground, too, that I hated to desaturate. LOL
Thanks, everyone! I'm happy to hear that folks like the history behind the shots. I appreciate all of your comments.