If you are a Fuji X Weekly regular, you probably know that I like to read vintage issues of Arizona Highways. For those unfamiliar, Arizona Highways is a photo-centric magazine that has been around for a hundred years. Many decades ago, Ansel Adams was a regular contributor, as were Barry Goldwater, Ray Manley, Chuck Abbott, Ester Henderson, David and Josef Muench, and Ed Ellinger, among many others. It’s a great resource for photographic inspiration!
I have a stack of these magazines in my office that I like to browse from time-to-time. This particular Film Simulation Recipe was influenced by many different pictures found in the pages of Arizona Highways issues from the 1960’s and ’70’s. This was during the American New Color movement. Sometimes extensive details were given about the photographs in the magazine, and sometimes not much at all; the pictures that inspired this Recipe were likely captured on first and second era Kodachrome, as well as E3 and E4 Ektachrome. I believe the printing process, as well as the aging of the magazines, play a roll in the aesthetic. This Nostalgic Americana Film Simulation Recipe replicates the look of those pictures, and produces an obvious retro rendering.
Because this Nostalgic Americana Recipe uses the Nostalgic Neg. film simulation, it is only compatible with fifth-generation X-Trans models, which (as of this writing) are the Fujifilm X-H2s, X-H2, X-T5, X-S20, and X100VI. I’m sure it can also be used with newer GFX models, but I’ve not tested it, and it will likely render very slightly differently (try it anyway, though). Nostalgic Americana works best in sunny daylight situations.
Film Simulation: Nostalgic Neg.
Dynamic Range: DR200
Grain Effect: Strong, Large
Color Chrome Effect: Strong
Color Chrome FX Blue: Off
White Balance: 5800K, -2 Red & -4 Blue
Highlight: -1
Shadow: -1.5
Color: -2
Sharpness: -2
High ISO NR: -4
Clarity: -3
ISO: Auto, up to ISO 6400
Exposure Compensation: +1/3 to +2/3 (typically)
Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs captured using this Nostalgic Americana Film Simulation Recipe on my Fujifilm X-T5:
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Fujifilm X-T5 in black:
Amazon, B&H, Moment, Wex, Nuzira
Fujifilm X-T5 in silver:
Amazon, B&H, Moment, Wex, Nuzira
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It looks great! I’m so salty that my xt-30ii doesn’t have nostalgic negative. It looks so cool! Anyway, nice job as always.
“Eterna Summer” is there https://fujixweekly.com/2024/04/08/eterna-summer-fujifilm-x-trans-iv-x-trans-v-film-simulation-recipe/
Eterna Summer and Nostalgic Americana were actually intended to look good together when used in the same series o photographs. They were both created for the same (yet to be announced) project. Great observation!
“They were both created for the same (yet to be announced) project.”
I hope also that this will be a great way to finally promote Eterna in the eyes of those that love Nostalgic Negative but have X-Trans IV sensors…
You did an amazing job with Eterna Summer – the best American New Color recipe for X-Trans IV
Hopefully. Eterna is really good, and generally under appreciated, I think. I appreciate all of your kindness! 😀
And to backup my recommendation, compare this photo of this recipe https://i0.wp.com/fujixweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/53582867332_5214b848b3_h.jpg?resize=1536%2C1024&ssl=1
with this photo of “Eterna Summer” recipe https://i0.wp.com/fujixweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/53582867332_5214b848b3_h.jpg?resize=1536%2C1024&ssl=1
Same greens, same sky, and probably same illumination.
Those are the same picture. Did you mean this one for Eterna Summer? https://i0.wp.com/fujixweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/53582813387_9d58c3cba7_h.jpg?w=1600&ssl=1
Here’s the trailer in Eterna Summer:
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53584130485_178b2dc16a_h.jpg
I messed that up… Thank you Ritchie, I meant the photo above the one you presented. But that one is good also.
😀
It would be great if Fujifilm did retroactively give it to X-Trans IV. I don’t think they ever will, but it would be wonderful if they ever decided to do so.
This looks really nice! Going to give it a try. Thanks.
Awesome! Glad that you like it.
From reading back your article on Eterna vs Nostalgic Neg., I think these are the changes to the recipe of you wanna make it compatible with X-Trans IV cameras:
Eterna
Highlights : -2
Shadows : 0
Color : +4
White Balance : 5800K, 0 Red, -5 Blue
This is a rough estimate of the changes
I haven’t tried it out, but roughly speaking it should be something like:
Eterna
DR100
Highlight 0
Shadow -0.5
Color +4
WB: 5800K, 0R & -6B
It might need some tweaking, but I think that would be the basic starting point.
With the tempered settings for tone curve and clarity this one should work as a really low contrast ‘film’. Do you think of that as a effect that ageing prints will inevitably suffer, or is it in any way typical of the era’s lenses, films and processes used for magazine printing?
I think it’s a bit of all of that: the printing process, the aging of the ink and paper, the lenses from that time period. The common films from that era, the professional color films that were most often used for magazines, were fairly contrasty slide films, yet they look somewhat low-contrast in the old issues. It’s very interesting. I think oftentimes analog pictures fade similarly to our memories, and what we have now is more dream-like than when it was when it was new.
This will be great with my newly arrived X100VI for (often too harshly lit) daytime shooting. I am still a massive fan of your Kodachrome recipes as the solution to the problems of midday bright shooting & going back in Fuijfilm timr love the original K1 recipe look so much in your same pictures that I have ordered a used X-Pro1 to do it full justice. Thanks for all your efforts across the X-Trans grnerations, Ritchie.Pic
I have this set in my C1-C7 on a couple of cameras for midday shooting, as it can produce good results in light that other Recipes might not fair as well in. I appreciate all of your kindness!
Been using this for the last week of shooting in the Outer Banks, Noeth Carolina, and it was my favorite recipe to shoot on my VI! Works so well with what I love shooting.
Awesome! I’m so glad that you like it!