Acros | FUJI X WEEKLY

My Fujifilm X100F Acros Push-Process Film Simulation Recipe

Posted on November 11, 2017 by Ritchie Roesch

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Back in the days before digital photography I’d sometimes push-process my black-and-white film. The technique involved underexposing the film (typically by one or two stops) and then developing for longer times. Essentially you underexpose in camera and overexpose in development, creating a correct exposure. This results in images with more contrast and stronger grain.

There are a couple reasons why one would push-process their film. First, you could shoot with less light. A lot of people used to consider ISO 400 to be a high-ISO film, but pushing that film two stops would make it ISO 1600 (really high-ISO). Second, the push-process aesthetic is bold and gritty, and you could achieve more dramatic results. So you might choose to push-process out of necessity or artistic vision or sometimes both.

The Fujifilm X100F has a great black-and-white Film Simulation called Acros, named after their Neopan Acros film. It looks wonderful, with a true film-like quality. I use this Film Simulation often. But sometimes I want a bolder, gritter, more dramatic black-and-white picture than my Acros Film Simulation recipe provides. So I created a new recipe that resembles film that has been push-processed. In other words, it has noticeably more contrast and grain.

Turbulence – SLC, UT – Fujifilm X100F – Acros Push-Process

There are a few important things to understand about the Acros Film Simulation. First, Fujifilm programmed the amount of grain to increase as you increase the ISO. Next, the higher you go above ISO 800 the smaller the dynamic range gets. Finally, the Digital Teleconverter can effect noise and grain, most noticeably at high ISOs.

My Acros Push-Process Film Simulation recipe resembles black-and-white film that has been push-processed anywhere from one to one-and-a-half stops. I think sometimes it looks more like ISO 100 film that has been pushed and sometimes it looks more like ISO 400 film that has been pushed. A lot depends on the ISO that the camera is set to. It’s rarely as dramatic or gritty as one could achieve with actual film, but it produces great results in the right situations. I’d actually like to see Fujifilm add a push-process Film Simulation option to their X cameras.

The differences between this Film Simulation recipe and my original Acros recipe are increased highlights and shadows (for stronger contrast), a slight refinement to noise reduction and sharpening, and the added grain effect. The changes aren’t major, but the results are noticeably different.

Acros/Acros+R/Acros+G
Dynamic Range: DR200
Highlights: +4
Shadows: +3
Noise Reduction: -3
Sharpening: +1
Grain Effect: Strong
ISO: Auto up to 6400 (typically)
Exposure Compensation: +1 (typically)

Example photos, all camera-made JPEGs captured using my Acros Push-Process Film Simulation recipe:

Evening Reflection Monochrome – Magna, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Dramatic Window – Riverdale, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Thoughts Grow With A Cup of Joe – Ogden, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Coffee Stop – Bountiful, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Proud Pilot – SLC, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Phone Photographer – SLC, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Cellphone Capture – SLC, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Jesus Statue – SLC, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Waiting Is The Hard Part – Riverdale, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Thou Shalt Not – SLC, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Pull – Bountiful, UT – Fujifilm X100F

No Overnight Parking – Ogden, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Michael’s – Riverdale, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Samick Guitar – Bountiful, UT – Fujifilm X100F

LDS Temple – SLC, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Salt Lake Towers – SLC, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Temple Gate – SLC, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Church Fountain – SLC, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Little Church In The City – SLC, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Evening In Temple Square – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X100F

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5 Acros The Autumn Sky

Posted on October 10, 2017 by Ritchie Roesch

Over the last couple of weeks I’ve captured a bunch of pictures with my Fujifilm X100F. Most of them have been color photographs. During the autumn months I tend to shoot more color than black-and-white, mainly because of the changing leaves.

Even though I’ve shot a lot of color, I still have captured many monochrome images. As I was looking through some of those pictures this morning, five stood out as a mini-set. They’re not really related to each other (well, two of them are), but they don’t seem out of place side-by-side either.

The commonality between these pictures (besides lack of color) is that they show the changing weather of the changing season. Note how the sky looks in each image. It’s the same autumn in every photograph, but the conditions are different. It’s not just the tree leaves that change in fall. This mini-set demonstrates that. The autumn sky takes on many different looks, even on the same day.

The photographs below were all captured using my Fujifilm X100F within a two-week period between late-September and early-October. They are all camera-made JPEGs using my Acros Film Simulation recipe.

Alpine Loop Monochrome – American Fork Canyon, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Wasatch September – American Fork Canyon, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Farm Windmill – Syracuse, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Monochrome Architecture – Lehi, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Snow Dusting The Mountain – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Fujifilm X100F & Monochrome Street Photography

Posted on October 8, 2017 by Ritchie Roesch

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A lot has been said about using the Fujifilm X100F for street photography. Some have even called it the perfect street photography tool. It does seem like a good camera for the genre.

I’m not necessarily a street photographer. I do dabble in it sometimes and enjoy it whenever the opportunity presents itself. I would never call myself a street photography expert.

For those that don’t know what street photography is, it can be typically defined as “candid photographs in public places” (most often urban locations). I say typically because there are always exceptions to the rule. Some street photographers pose their subjects. Some street pictures aren’t captured in public places. Some don’t even include people. Some are in suburban or rural locations. The line is grey. I stray outside the definition regularly.

I simply like capturing the quickly-gone moments. Things move fast and you’re trying to be completely inconspicuous. It’s very challenging. There is a little bit of a rush to it, since people don’t typically care for strangers taking their pictures. You have so little control over the elements. But it is also very rewarding, and some of my favorite pictures that I’ve captured are street images.

The Fujifilm X100F is a great street photography tool, but it isn’t perfect. I actually prefer ultra-wide-angle for my style, and the 35mm (equivalent) focal-length is nowhere near wide enough. I work around this, no big deal. It alters my approach significantly, but perhaps the good is that it pushes my comfort zone, which can only make me better. Sometimes the auto-focus misses, but this has become less of a problem the more that I’ve used the camera. I’ve tried zone-focus (which is a manual-focus strategy), but I haven’t done it enough to be good at it with this camera.

For my black-and-white street photographs I use my Acros Film Simulation recipe. I just love the way it looks and very rarely do I edit anything. The camera just makes fantastic-looking pictures! I don’t even shoot RAW anymore. I cannot tell you just how much time this has saved me, but it’s a lot!

The twenty pictures below are my favorite street photographs that I’ve captured with the Fujifilm X100F during the first two months of use. I hope you enjoy them!

Train Watching – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Man In The Straw Hat – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Coffee & Wifi – Orem, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Walking Man – SLC, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Skateboarding – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100F

One Step At A Time – SLC, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Departures – SLC, UT – Fujifilm X100F

The Tortilla Maker – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X100F

McWaiting – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Library Stairs – SLC, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Smoke And A Coffee – SLC, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Never Too Old To Learn – SLC, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Ack! – SLC, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Bike & Rider Shadow – SLC, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Multitasking – Riverdale, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Creative Minds – Ogden, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Girl By The Escalator – SLC, UT – Fujifilm X100F

The Baggage We Carry – SLC, UT – Fujifilm X100F

City Creek Directory – SLC, UT – Fujifilm X100F

The Lonely Internet – Orem, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Fujifilm X100F @ Yellowstone National Park, Part 2 – Monochrome Photographs

Posted on September 26, 2017 by Ritchie Roesch

Dying Tree At Grand Canyon Rim – Yellowstone NP, WY – Fujifilm X100F

Part 1 – Color Photographs

I learned plenty from this one-day trip to Yellowstone National Park. One thing is that a heck-of-a-lot of people visit this place from all over the world. The park was down right crowded from the west entrance all the way to Old Faithful. Even the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone was packed with people.

Since summer break was well over and it was a Thursday, I figured we’d have the park almost to ourselves. I was way off! I talked briefly with some people while waiting for Old Faithful to erupt who have visited the park numerous times, and this was actually considered a small crowd for Yellowstone based on their experiences. I’d hate to come in the peak summer season!

You really get a sense that you’re on top of an active volcano while in Yellowstone. All of the geothermal activity is a big clue, but you can also tell that you are inside the caldera by observing the rim, which you can spot throughout the park. The place feels a bit unsettling, like it could blow at any moment. Hopefully the big eruption is many millennium away.

Old Faithful was alright, but the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone was breathtaking! It was our favorite sight in the National Park. A definite must-see! The Dragon’s Mouth was my favorite geothermal spot. I would have liked to see more of the geysers and such, but the weather didn’t cooperate.

This was my first real travel adventure with the Fujifilm X100F, and it didn’t disappoint. It fit nicely into my jacket pocket, so it was always with me yet never in the way. The dark-grey sky made high-ISO a necessity, and the camera had no issues with that. When I wanted to zoom (but didn’t want to walk out in the rain), I used the Digital Teleconverter. I used the fill-flash several times. Despite no weather sealing, the camera got plenty wet several different times and it handled that like a champ, no worse for the wear.

The photographs in this post are all out-of-camera JPEGS using Acros Film Simulation. I love the Acros settings, and I feel like I get film-like results with it. It saves me tons of time not having to post-process my files. My workflow has been greatly simplified and quickened by the Fujifilm X100F, yet I’m not compromising on results. Enjoy!

Hebgen Lake – West Yellowstone, MT – Fujifilm X100F

Mountain Obscured – West Yellowstone, MT – Fujifilm X100F

Meadow & Mt Haynes – Yellowstone NP, WY – Fujifilm X100F

Firehole Falls – Yellowstone NP, WY – Fujifilm X100F

Lodgepole Pines – Yellowstone NP, WY – Fujifilm X100F

Faithful Steam – Yellowstone NP, WY – Fujifilm X100F

Old Faithful Erupting – Yellowstone NP, WY – Fujifilm X100F

Old Faithful Geyser From Old Faithful Lodge – Yellowstone NP, WY – Fujifilm X100F

Faithful Crowd – Yellowstone NP, WY – Fujifilm X100F

Bear & Fish – Yellowstone NP, WY – Fujifilm X100F

Family At Kepler Cascades – Yellowstone NP, WY – Fujifilm X100F

Kepler Cascades Monochrome – Yellowstone NP, WY – Fujifilm X100F

Yellowstone Lake – Yellowstone NP, WY – Fujifilm X100F

Pines On The Lakeshore – Yellowstone NP, WY – Fujifilm X100F

Steamy – Yellowstone NP, WY – Fujifilm X100F

Hot & Muddy – Yellowstone NP, WY – Fujifilm X100F

Rising Steam – Yellowstone NP, WY – Fujifilm X100F

Mud Puddle – Yellowstone NP, WY – Fujifilm X100F

Mud Volcano – Yellowstone NP, WY – Fujifilm X100F

Dragon’s Mouth – Yellowstone NP, WY – Fujifilm X100F

Photographing Lower Falls With A Phone – Yellowstone NP, WY – Fujifilm X100F

Lower Yellowstone Falls Monochrome – Yellowstone NP, WY – Fujifilm X100F

Grand View of Grand Canyon – Yellowstone NP, WY – Fujifilm X100F

Yellowstone’s Grand Canyon – Yellowstone NP, WY – Fujifilm X100F

Roadside Raven – Yellowstone NP, WY – Fujifilm X100F

Thin Crust – Yellowstone NP, WY – Fujifilm X100F

Beryl Steam – Yellowstone NP, WY – Fujifilm X100F

Photoessay: Street Feet

Posted on September 12, 2017 by Ritchie Roesch

Stepping – SLC, UT – Fujifilm X100F

There are certain photo series that I’m actively working on, such as abandoned businesses in color (entitled Space Available), that are purposeful personal projects. Then there certain photo series that are more by happenstance, not created on purpose, where I notice a common thread among images. This series, Street Feet, falls into the latter category.

I had no intentions of this becoming a project. I didn’t try to make a series. It just sort of happened. I just subconsciously did it, and didn’t even notice that I had done so until reviewing my street photography images. I saw a pattern. I realized that I was creating these related pictures.

Street Feet is pretty straight forward: street-style black-and-white photographs of people’s feet. You can’t see the full body because I was photographing the lower extremities. Sometimes it’s a closeup of someone’s shoes, while other times the view is broader.

I used a Fujifilm X100F to capture these images. My Acros Film Simulation recipe was used for every picture, and the Digital Teleconverter was utilized for many. These are all out-of-camera JPEGs. Enjoy!

Walking Man – SLC, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Walking Away – SLC, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Together – SLC, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Skateboarding – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Going Somewhere – SLC, UT – Fujifilm X100F

One Step At A Time – SLC, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Siblings At City Creek Mall – SLC, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Outside The Elevator – SLC, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Walking Shoes – SLC, UT – Fujifilm X100F

My Fujifilm X100F Acros Film Simulation Recipe

Posted on August 27, 2017 by Ritchie Roesch

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Fujifilm offers “Film Simulations” on their cameras instead of traditional JPEG settings. One of the most popular, available only on X-Trans III cameras, such as the X100F, is Acros.

Neopan Acros is an ISO 100 film made by Fujifilm available in 35mm and 120 formats. I’ve used it before and it’s quite good. While Fuji recycled the Acros name for their black-and-white digital Film Simulation, it’s not an exact match to the film. But that’s OK.

The Acros Film Simulation is a wonderful option that has great contrast, beautiful tonality and lovely faux film grain. An interesting fact is that the amount of film grain applied increases as the ISO increases, like what you would find if you shot actual film. So an image shot at ISO 1600 has noticeably more grain than an image shot at ISO 200.

And it really does have a film look! You’d be hard pressed to tell apart an image shot on real black-and-white film and one shot using the Acros Film Simulation. Straight-out-of-camera JPEGs look like black-and-white prints made from 35mm film. Amazing!

Sitting Large – SLC, UT – Fujifilm X100F

There are four Acros options: Acros (no filter), Acros+R (red filter), Acros+Y (yellow filter) and Acros+G (green filter). Acros+R is more like using a real orange filter on actual film than a red filter. Acros+Y and Acros+G are a little more subtle than if you used real filters on actual film.

I use Acros+R for landscapes (which darkens blues and lightens reds), Acros+G for people pictures (which darkens reds and lightens greens) and standard Acros for everything else. If you know what each one does, you can choose what’s best for each situation. The rest of the settings are the same.

While I have my Acros recipe programmed (custom settings 3, 4 and 5), I’m not afraid to deviate when necessary. Sometimes a little more or less contrast is needed, so I increase or decrease the highlights and shadows. If I want more grain, I will turn the Film Grain to weak (which adds more faux grain to what’s already included in the Acros Film Simulation). I might add or decrease the Dynamic Range. Each situation is different, so I try to be dynamic when shooting.

Acros/Acros+R/Acros+G
Dynamic Range: DR200
Highlight: +2
Shadows: +2
Noise Reduction: -2
Sharpening: +2
Grain Effect: Off
ISO: Auto up to 12800
Exposure Compensation: +1 (typically)

Example photos, all camera-made JPEGs captured using my Acros Film Simulation recipe: