The Blackstone River Bikeway passes the scenic Lonsdale Marsh along the historic mill district in Lincoln, RI. The marsh is proof positive that industrial land can be reclaimed and reused. For close to 100 years, the land in the background was a pasture servicing the Lonsdale Dairy Company. Herds of cattle grazed on this land into the 20th century. Urban development took over, though, and from the early 1950s through the mid-1980s, this was the site of the Lonsdale Drive In Theater. All that greenery you see behind the cyclists was concrete, complete with a snack bar, two large outdoor movie screens, and all of the speaker systems you see in a typical drive-in scene from the mid-20th century. When the theater closed in the '80s, the land fell into disrepair. Finally, in 1998, the drive-in was removed and the land reclaimed for wetlands. The bike path, following an old rail bed, soon followed. In less than 20 years, the only indication there was ever a drive-in here is the historic sign at the entrance to the parking area for the bike path. The marsh is certainly a success story for land reclamation.
Post processing started with a classic filter in Topaz B&W FX. I adjusted color sensitivity sliders, adaptive exposure, regions, boost black, boost white, protect highlights, and contrast. A levels adjustment, a brightness & contrast adjustment, and a sepia photo filter were added in PSE.
