Chair & Pillow – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 35mm f/2
Photography is about light. Without light there are no photographs. Great photographs require great light. What “great light” is depends on the picture and circumstance, and what’s great for one image might not be for another. Great light can be found anytime of the day or night if one looks hard enough for it.
This series of pictures demonstrate the play of light and shadow in an image. It features instances of bright highlights and deep shadows together. It’s the contrast between illumination and the absence of it. I needed a dramatic film simulation recipe to capture these pictures. I knew that it would need to be black-and-white because these pictures aren’t about color, but light and shadow. Color would only be a distraction to the point. But which black-and-white film simulation recipe should I choose?
There are several options for dramatic black-and-white that I could have chosen, including Dramatic Monochrome, Monochrome Kodachrome, Agfa Scala, Ilford HP5 Plus, Ilford HP5 Push-Process, X100F Acros, X-T30 Acros, Acros Push-Process, and Tri-X Push-Process. Any of those recipes would have worked, but each would have produced a different result. Some have more contrast, some less. Some have a greater dynamic range and others a more narrow. Some are brighter, some darker. Some have more grain and other less. I could have picked any of them and gotten interesting results, but I went with Ilford Delta Push-Process instead, partially because I had been using it for other pictures during this time. It turns out it was a good choice, because it seems to have the right contrast, tones and grain for this series. Sometimes luck plays a role. What I know now is that the Ilford Delta Push-Process recipe is a great option for dramatic light situations like these, and I will choose it again for similar situations in the future. I captured these pictures on a Fujifilm X-T30 with a Fujinon 35mm f/2 lens attached to it.
Suburban Shadows – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 35mm f/2
Seat Back Shadow – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 35mm f/2
Chair Details – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 35mm f/2
Girl Ghost – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 35mm f/2
Sunlight on the Kitchen Floor – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 35mm f/2
Don’t Step Into Darkness – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 35mm f/2
See also: Film Simulation Reviews
Vowww…..
Hello Ritchie,
Were “Seat Back Shadow” and “Chair Details” taken at ISO 12800 ?
Aperture for both : F2 or F2.8 ?
Denis
(Paris, France)
ISO was 12800, but aperture f/8.
Of course, I should have known that, at this distance from the subject and with the 35mm, it couldn’t be a wide aperture to get such a depth of field. Next time I’ll think twice before asking a question…
But there are so many details, for instance on the wall, that I wasn’t sure for the ISO : it means that the X-T30 sensor is very good.
Just for information : my favorite B&W recipe is the Tri-X Push Process.
Thanks.
Tri-X Push Process is a great recipe, too. I feel that X-Trans IV cameras do quite well at ISO 12800 (and even higher) for b&w. X-Trans III is similar, too, although perhaps not quite as good at higher than 12800.
I like the grey tones. Girl Ghost is intriguing.
This recipe has great grey tones for this light.
All are great, but especially Girl Ghost.
Thanks! That’s one of my favorites.
Great post. Looking forward to trying out your recipe.
Thanks!
Just found your site, somehow I have missed it completely all this time! This is just what I’m looking for! Lovely film recipes, some straight up Fuji love and creativity!
“Seat back shadow” and “Girl Ghost” are my favorites here. Keep up the good work!
I’m glad you found it! Thanks so much for the feedback.
Nice ! Reminds me of the underrated foma 400. Love it !
Awesome!