My first choice for today's photo was a plaque set into a large granite boulder in Warren, marking the location of Wampanoag Sachem Massassoit's village prior to King Philip's War. Unfortunately, there were two large trash barrels and a ton of snow piled alongside the boulder. My second choice was a Wampanoag burial ground where several of the leaders of the Wampanoags in the time of King Philip's War are said to be buried. Unfortunately, the street on which the burial ground is located is under construction and all detours lead around my destination. Finally, I headed to Colt State Park in Bristol for "Plan C". What I was hoping to get were folks walking along the shore, out on the rocks, or even on the very old stone bridge across the narrows. I've never been there, even in pouring rain, without seeing people. Today I discovered their limits. The wind was whipping off the water, and the wind chill was -2 degrees F (-19 degrees C.) I settled for the shot you see here, primarily because it was scenic, and had the right amount of contrast for me to convert to an effective black and white. My secondary reason was that my hands and ears were going numb in the cold, and wandering around for a better shot was losing appeal by the millisecond. Perhaps the best story to be told in this shot is that it's possible to get a sharp image even when your hands are shaking in the cold.
Post processing started with a classic filter in Topaz B&W FX. I adjusted color sensitivity sliders followed by adaptive exposure, contrast, boost black, boost white, and protect highlights. A brightness and contrast adjustment was added in PSE followed by a sepia photo filter.
I really like the shot. But, as I was reading your description I was thinking how I have no idea what you are talking about, but wonder and slightly hope that I will obtain, at least a portion, of your photography knowledge, by the end of the year. You must really like photography to have ventured out in cold such as you mention. Thanks for the post.
Sharp indeed! Love the shadow under the bench! And you are a brave soul to venture out in such blustery weather! I'm not sure Winnie the Pooh would have been out! :)
