Olney Pond, the centerpiece of Lincoln Woods State Park, is one of the most popular fishing holes in Rhode Island. The 128 acre reservoir is technically a kettle pond, formed by the last remnants of the Wisconsin Ice Sheet about 14,000 years go. To Rhode Islanders, it's a popular place to fish, kayak, and swim in the summer, while the 2.5 mile loop road offers another form of activity to runners, walkers, and bikers year round. Each year, the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management stocks the pond with Atlantic Salmon and Rainbow Trout. The latter were definitely biting today. This 3 pound trout was the second of the day caught by this pair of local anglers. By 10:00 AM, seven trout were hauled out by various fisherman at this spot alone. When asked, the fisherman confirmed that this trout was destined for the frying pan later this afternoon. Now that's a fresh Catch of the Day!
Post processing was all about the black and white conversion. I used a gradient map in color blend mode, then adjusted the levels and the contrast a bit. The bright morning sun created some harsh tones, though, so I adjusted the hue in a layer beneath the gradient map. This improved the skin tones and removed a lot of the deep shadow in the fishermen. The top layer, as usual, was a sepia photo filter.
