There was still a light snow falling when I set out for some photos this morning. I walked a 2.5 mile loop from my house, capturing scenes along the way. Only 2 of the streets were plowed, so it was a challenging workout. Unofficially, we got about 20 inches of snow. It's hard to judge since there were some very deep drifts, but that was about the consistent depth I saw as folks shoveled their walks. We lost power at 8:09 PM last night, and it was finally restored at 6:10 tonight. The temperature was dropping fast, and the forecast was for single digits tonight, so the folks still without power are in for a very cold evening.
Today's photo shows someone on Smithfield Road using a snowblower to clear his driveway. The snow is almost up to his waist, so that should give you some idea as to what fell overnight. I was asked by several younger folks along the way if this storm was worse than the Blizzard of '78. My answer was a consistent "absolutely not." In '78, it snowed for 36 hours, dropping between 29 and 40 inches of snow throughout the state. Plus, it was HEAVY snow! It took me three days to clear my driveway in '78 because it was like shoveling concrete. The one difference, though, is that we never lost power in '78. Losing power in every storm is a new phenomenon here, and is directly tied to the acquisition of Narragansett Electric by National Grid. Service has declined and rates have continued to spiral upward to the point where we now have the second highest power costs in the nation. (Only Southern California has higher costs according to a properties study we recently completed.)
Post processing started with a classic filter in Topaz B&W FX. I adjusted color sensitivity sliders followed by adaptive exposure, regions, boost black, boost white, protect highlights, and contrast. A sepia photo filter was added in PSE.
Amazing capture. I read your caption to my husband who is from Indiana. He remembers the blizzard of '78. Said that he was out of school for about 2 weeks. Great processing
One of those pictures where everything comes together at the right moment, down to the grin on the man's face. So competently handled. Your b&w pictures have become the standard for me against which I judge the work of others in b&w. A fav for me.
@stuckinoz Thanks, Janelle. I was at Providence College in '78. We were out for a week. There was a travel ban that wasn't lifted until the following Monday. As a point of trivia, only two planes arrived at T.F. Green Airport during the travel ban. One carried the NBC Sports crew and the other had the North Carolina basketball team. They played Providence at the Civic Center that week. Despite the travel ban, over 7000 Friar Fans walked to the Civic Center to see us beat the #7 team in the nation.
@naturalbeauty Thanks, Fran! We get snow like this every few years. It looks pretty, but man, it's tough on the back! LOL I haven't made a snowman yet, but I did make a few snow angels while shoveling. I didn't intend to, but when you hit a patch of hidden ice and end up on your back, it does sort of just happen. LOL
@medusa Thanks, Diana! Fran is definitely getting the hang of b&w as well, too, I see.
@tigerdreamer Thanks, Karen! I always hope that the current blizzard is the last... LOL There's always another one waiting for us, though.
February 10th, 2013
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@sjwyatt30 Thanks, Sandra! It was worth the walk.
@stuckinoz Thanks, Janelle. I was at Providence College in '78. We were out for a week. There was a travel ban that wasn't lifted until the following Monday. As a point of trivia, only two planes arrived at T.F. Green Airport during the travel ban. One carried the NBC Sports crew and the other had the North Carolina basketball team. They played Providence at the Civic Center that week. Despite the travel ban, over 7000 Friar Fans walked to the Civic Center to see us beat the #7 team in the nation.
@naturalbeauty Thanks, Fran! We get snow like this every few years. It looks pretty, but man, it's tough on the back! LOL I haven't made a snowman yet, but I did make a few snow angels while shoveling. I didn't intend to, but when you hit a patch of hidden ice and end up on your back, it does sort of just happen. LOL
@medusa Thanks, Diana! Fran is definitely getting the hang of b&w as well, too, I see.
@tigerdreamer Thanks, Karen! I always hope that the current blizzard is the last... LOL There's always another one waiting for us, though.