Smithfield was once the largest town in Rhode Island. That is, until it was split into several different towns in the mid-1800s. Much of the town was farmland, and small remnants of those farms still exist today. This one is Blackbird Farm on Douglas Pike, right at the intersection with Limerock Road. The farm specializes in locally raised Black Angus beef, and farm raised pork, both of which are featured in some of the state's best restaurants. As with other farms in the state, they also feature local vegetables, the most popular of which is native corn. Looking at the ledger today, corn and tomatoes dominated the sales at this stand over the past few days. It's no wonder. The weather in Rhode Island has been perfect for corn this season, and the locally grown ears are absolutely delicious. I've been eating corn 4 or 5 nights a week, taking advantage of the very short season for the local crop.
When I came out to this farm for today's photo, I was really hoping to get a shot of their cows grazing near the stand. I apparently neglected to inform the cows, however. They were all out at the far end of the pasture, so there was nothing I could do to include them in the shot. Oddly enough, shouting "Here, cow!" while holding up some hay does not impress them. I tried. Instead, I had to be satisfied with this shot of the edge of the pasture, the roadside stand, and a small pair of stalls that the cows shelter in when it rains. You'll have to take my word for it that there are cows in that pasture.
Post processing started with a brilliant cold filter in Topaz Adjust. I made adjustments to the dynamic exposure, contrast, strength, and details boost sliders. I also adjusted the light regions to 45, up from the default 22 with the filter I selected. My black and white conversion started with a gradient map in color blend mode. I then adjusted the levels slightly and applied a sepia photo filter.
