I will admit to you that even though I am a horrible at spelling, I do know that sepia is not spelled “seapia”; so I am stretching this week’s photo challenge of sea a bit. But wait, there is more! I took this picture at the Bay of Fundy, which is also taking some liberties with the challenge.
ISO 640 135mm 0ev f/5.6 1/1600
I shot this photo in color and I have, in the past, edited it into a black and white version. I wasn’t crazy about the outcome. This week in my Photoshop class we edited some black and white photos into sepia, and that is where I got the idea to revisit this photo. There are many different ways, I am sure, to create a sepia image using Photoshop. For this workflow, you start with a black and white image. I had my black and white image in Aperture and so I imported it into Photoshop. Then I used Levels (cmd L). In the dialogue box under “Channels” you can change the Red, Green, or Blue values in an image. Under the Red, I moved the middle slider to the left. Then in the Blue I moved the middle slider to the right. The result is the sepia tone you see above. Then I sharpened the image and cropped it a bit.
Here is the original:
ISO 640 135mm 0ev f/5.6 1/1600
The Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia is a beautiful place. We spent several days in the area but this photo was taken on a whale watching trip. I had a really good time taking photos. Having said that, I also put my camera down for awhile, just to enjoy the larger experience. I think sometimes when I am taking photos, I get so involved in taking photos, that I forget to enjoy what is going on around me in other ways. Did you know that humpback whales smell of rotting fish? makes sense when you think about it, but it is hard to photograph.
Have you ever taken so many photos that you forgot to enjoy the experience? What do you think of my sepia version? I’ll be honest, even though I like the tone of the sepia image, it is the color version that really speaks to me. It reminds me more of the actual trip. What do you think? Do you have a preference?
Cheers!
Photography Journal Blog 
I agree that you can get so consumed with photographing that you forget to actually live and enjoy an event. It’s good to put the camera down for a while. And like you, I prefer the colour version better.
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Sometimes, I actually leave my big camera at home on purpose.
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I like color version too as it looked alive for me.
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Yes, I think that is it, it looks alive. Thanks!
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Duuuuuuuuuude. This is a nice one. But I have to agree I prefer the color one. Something about the whale’s tail. 🙂
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Thanks, for me I think it is the light in the photo, something that is sort of lost in the sepia version.
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don’t even worry about spelling you communicate so well with your pics ) i like the color version in this case, it really feels more like ‘you are there’ in the scene _
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Thank you, I wasn’t sure if it really had a “you are here” feel to it because I was actually there, so of course it would seem that way to me. Thanks for your comment.
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Yes! It’s happened more than I’d like to admit. My wife and I have implemented a policy of agreeing to “photography time” when hiking or out and about in which we specifically set aside time for the purpose of photographing, and keep our cameras down during other times. Of course, if we see something that we think will make a great image we can bend the rule, but we’ve had some success by keeping our cameras in our bags for set periods of time.
And to make the vote 3 for the color version, I think that I like the original color best.
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That sounds like a reasonable rule to me. It’s all about balance isn’t it? Mostly, my habit of lugging around the camera is tolerated but I know it can be a pain to others sometimes.
Thanks for your vote on the color version. I think this is one of those times where I should just leave the original alone now that I have tried it a few other ways.
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Both are great, but I l really like the original. I am trying to remind myself to use a photo to tell a story and not the other way around, and I think it’s helping me learn to take better pictures.
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Yes, that is a good idea to keep in mind. Some of the best photos don’t need an explanation.
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Original is really great.
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Thanks so much!
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I love what you said about putting the camera down from time to time to absorb the whole experience. When I was on the ferry to Orkney, I was aware some people spent the entire time filming the trip on their iPad thingies (she said vaguely) – and were watching the screens intently the whole while as they held them up and moved them around to capture different aspects of the voyage. They didn’t actually look directly at the cliffs, sea, islands or sky for the whole hour.
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Yup, I know what you are talking about 🙂 We were at a football (soccer) match and there was someone who was recording the whole thing on his iPad. I was thinking, you could just watch the game now…
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What a great shot PJB and being honest I must say I do prefer the colour version but it sure is fun playing around with the colours. I found Sepia works best for me when I add a bit of textured background and vignette. Great post and thanks for sharing hon. 😀 *hugs*
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That’s an interesting tip about sepia, I can see why that might be the case as sometimes a sepia image can come off as a bit flat. Thanks for the comment 🙂
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Thanks PJB and that is how I love to work with Sepia otherwise it looks bland to me..heheh. You’re very welcome hon. 😀 *hugs*
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🙂
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So much more fun these days to be able to play around with the shots although you do not have a darkroom. (giving away my age)
I really like your sepia version
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Thanks, and it is pretty endless what you can do with photo editing, for better and worse 🙂
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I like them both, but the color version seems more true to life which makes it captivating. I like that you share your process. I learn a lot when I read your posts!
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Thank you, and I think that is what I like about the color version, that it just seems more like real life.
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I like Sepiatones but I prefer the full colour version here.
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The Sepiatone my work better if there was more contrast to the image. Under the lighting conditions and the angle at which you were forced to shoot the tail, I don’t think you could have pushed a please increas on contrast into the shot. The colour stands out more.
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You are right, there wasn’t a lot of room to play with the contrast in this sepia image. In this case, contrast would have given it a bit more kick.
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I agree.
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Wow – stunning image! (I refer the original one though)
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Thanks, I prefer the original as well. It was a great experience.
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This is an amazing photograph! I do prefer the color this time.
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It was really an awesome experience. I do agree though, that the color photo just works better.
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