Color | FUJI X WEEKLY

Creative Collective 026: Using Color for Dramatic Pictures

Posted on June 23, 2022 by Ritchie Roesch

*The Big Ocean* – Fort Stevens SP, OR – Fujifilm X-E4 – “Fujicolor Super HG”

Want the subject in your picture to stand out? There are a few tricks: leading lines, composition, contrast, and color theory (an underutilized tool that seems to be used more often by accident than on purpose). Of course, the problem with color theory is that it can get complex and there are varying schools of thought. There are entire classes in college dedicated to this subject. I prefer simplicity, so we’ll take the easy route as we dive into color theory for photography.

Note: this was a Creative Collective article, but now it’s available to everyone.

*Note how the red shirt stands out against the green foliage.*

Two decades ago when I first began to learn color theory for photography, a photographer gave me this advice: look for contrasting colors. Red and green go together, blue and orange go together, and yellow and purple go together. A red rose against green leaves will stand out. A green umbrella against a red building will stand out. An orange rock formation against a blue sky will stand out. Blue furniture next to orange curtains will stand out. You get the idea. Blue/purple and yellow/orange are a bit interchangeable: yellow stands out against blue and orange stands out against purple.

Easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy, right?

Let’s take a look!

Red & Green

Orange & Blue

Purple & Yellow

I had a harder time finding purple+yellow examples.

If you want your subject to stand out, place it against an opposite color on the color wheel. It doesn’t have to be exactly opposite, but the closer the better. In the picture at the top of this article, the boy wearing orange stands out against the blue-reflected wet sand, and your eyes are immediately drawn to it. In the groups of examples above, you can get a good idea of how it works.

Of course, it can get a lot more complicated than that, because each color can have a different brightness and temperature. There’s bright yellow and dark yellow—something bright against something dark will stand out (and visa versa). There’s warmer green and cooler green—something warm will stand out against something cool (and visa versa).

You can ask yourself, “Is this color the opposite on the color wheel?” Or, even easier, “Do I have a warm and cool color?” It can be warm against cool or cool against warm. What are warm colors? Red, orange, and yellow. What are cool colors? Purple, blue, and green. But, yellow-green can be warm and reddish-purple can be cool—no surprise, there are grey areas. Without thinking too deeply about opposite colors on the color wheel, simply combine warm and cool colors to achieve dramatic results.

Let’s take a look!

Warm & Cool

The flower is warm and the leaves are cool. *“Vibrant Velvia“*

The sky is cool and the signs, truck, etc. are warm. *“Kodachrome 64“*

The flowers and even the leaves are warm while the sky is cool. *“Bright Kodak“*

Color theory isn’t the only way or even the “best” method to make your subject stand out in the frame—you can get dramatic results using a number of different methods, or even combine them; however, using color is an excellent way to have your subject stand out, and to draw the viewer right into the subject in a dramatic way. Color theory can get complex, but it doesn’t have to be—remember, opposite colors will stand out against each other. Even easier, warm colors and cool colors will stand out against each other, whether they’re opposites or not. If your subject is red, orange, or yellow (or a variant shade of these), place it against purple, blue, or green to draw the viewer in.

The Diversity of Utah Landscapes in Color, Part 1: Water

Posted on July 5, 2019 by Ritchie Roesch

Utah is a beautiful state with a diverse environment. There are snow-capped mountain peaks, green forests, extensive lakes, snaking rivers, vast red deserts and pretty much everything in-between. This photoessay series is intended to exhibit that diversity through my photographs, and each part will have a specific theme. This article, which is Part 1 of The Diversity of Utah Landscapes in Color, is about water.

Utah is the second driest state in America based on annual rainfall, but there are massive bodies of water and many miles of rivers. The Great Salt Lake is the largest salt lake and the sixth largest overall lake in America. Lake Powell, which is on the boarder of Utah and Arizona, is the 23rd largest lake in the country. Utah Lake is the 36th largest lake in America, and Bear Lake is the 47th largest. There are thousands of miles of rivers and streams throughout the state. Despite the lack of rainfall, there’s a surprisingly large amount of water in Utah, and it has been the subject of my photography numerous times.

Great Salt Lake Evening – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T20 – 12/26/2018

Low Sun Over The Salt Lake – Antelope Island SP, UT – Fujifilm X-T20 – 3/11/2019

Afterglow – Antelope Island SP, UT – Fujifilm X-T20 – 3/11/2019

Blue Sunset – Antelope Island SP, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 – 6/25/2019

Blue Umbrella At The Lake – Antelope Island SP, UT – Fujifilm X-E1 – 8/2/2016

Salt Lake Water – Antelope Island SP, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 – 6/25/2019

East Canyon Reservoir – East Canyon SP, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 – 6/13/2019

Logs In A Pond – Wasatch-Cache NF, UT – Fujifilm X-Pro2 – 7/18/2018

Waterfall Into The Ogden River – Ogden Canyon, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 – 7/1/2019

White Duck – Ogden, UT – Fujifilm X-T20 – 11/15/2018

Kids At The Lake – East Canyon SP, UT – Fujifilm XF10 – 9/26/2018

Virgin River From Canyon Junction – Zion NP, UT – Fujifilm X100F – 11/20/2018

Processed with RNI Films. Preset 'Agfa Optima 200 Faded'

River Through Zion – Zion NP, UT – Fujifilm XF10 – 11/20/2018

Processed with RNI Films. Preset 'Kodak Ektar 100'

Autumn Along The Virgin River – Zion NP, UT – Fujifilm XF10 – 11/20/2018

Virgin River In November – Zion NP, UT – Fujifilm XF10 – 11/20/2018

Winter Pond & Tree Trunk – Bountiful, UT – Fujifilm XF10 – 1/19/2019

Flaming Gorge – Flaming Gorge, UT – Fujifilm X-E1 – 7/13/2017

Mirrored Mountain – Mirror Lake, UT – Fujifilm X-E1 – 9/4/2016

Sunset Kayak – Willard Bay SP, UT – Fujifilm X-E1 – 6/13/2017

Clouds At Night – Bear Lake, UT – Fujifilm X-E1 – 9/17/2016

Part 2 – Flowers Part 3 – Trees

Road Trip: Grand Canyon National Park, Part 1: Color

Posted on March 31, 2018 by Ritchie Roesch

Grand Canyon From Desert View – Grand Canyon NP, AZ – Fujifilm X100F

A couple of weeks ago my family and I jumped in the car and made the long drive to Grand Canyon National Park. From my house to the hotel we booked in Williams, Arizona, was nine hours of driving, not including stops. We left early and arrived late, weary from the road. Really, it was too many hours in the car for one day, but we only had a short time for this adventure, so we pushed through to our destination.

The next day we got back in the car and drove 45 minutes to Tusayan, the tiny town right outside the entrance of the national park, and had some breakfast. After our bellies were full, and with cups of hot coffee, we continued the short trek to Grand Canyon Village and to the south rim of Grand Canyon National Park.

I’ve been to the Grand Canyon several times before, and the reaction for first-time visitors, as well as those who haven’t been in awhile, is the same: “Whoa!” That first look is always awe-inspiring and breathtaking. It just appears so impossibly grand! Everything seems so small and insignificant in comparison. It really is the magic of this incredible place.

We walked along the Rim Trail for awhile, stepping into some of the historic lodges and buildings along the way. We encountered the Bright Angel Trail and headed down, but only to the tunnel, which is probably about a mile trek round-trip. Someday I’d like to hike all the way to the bottom, but this wasn’t the trip for that.

Grand Sight – Grand Canyon NP, AZ – Fujifilm X100F

Lunch was at the Harvey House Cafe. Then we headed to the car to drive around and see more sights. Heading east on Highway 64, we made it to Desert View and saw the Watchtower, which is at the eastern end of the park. On the way back towards the village we stopped at a few overlooks. It was approaching dinner, so we said goodbye to Grand Canyon National Park and traveled back to Williams.

I cannot say enough how amazingly beautiful Grand Canyon National Park is! If I had more time I would have made sure to be there for sunrise and sunset. This was just a quick visit, so I missed both golden hours. Early the next morning we left for home, which is near Salt Lake City, Utah. We encountered some winter weather, so the drive back ended up being longer than the drive out. To say that we were happy to be home when we arrived close to midnight would be a huge understatement. It was two full days of being crammed in the car just to be at the Grand Canyon for one day, but it was completely worth it!

For these photographs I used a Fujifilm X100F and a Fujifilm X-A3 with a Jupiter 21M lens. The X100F was great because it fit into my jacket pocket and captured wonderful pictures with ease. The X-A3 with the Jupiter lens was bulky and heavy and became tiresome carrying around my neck, but it allowed me to capture some images that I simply couldn’t with the other camera. When you travel, smaller and lighter is almost always better, but sometimes something more is needed.

These are all straight-out-of-camera JPEGs, and I used Velvia, Classic Chrome, PRO Neg. Std, and PRO Neg. Hi film simulations. Not editing the pictures saved me tons of time, and both cameras did an excellent job thanks to Fujifilm’s fine JPEG engine, which I rely heavily on. If I had post-processed RAW files instead, the results wouldn’t be much different to what you see here, except that I’d still be sitting in front of the computer editing them. Instead, they were finished before I even got home, and you’re able to enjoy them today.

Kids At The Canyon – Grand Canyon NP, AZ – Fujifilm X100F

Amanda, Johanna & I – Grand Canyon NP, AZ – Fujifilm X100F – captured by Joy Roesch

Kids On Bright Angel Trail – Grand Canyon NP, AZ – Fujifilm X100F

Evergreen Tree & Red Canyon – Grand Canyon NP, AZ – Fujifilm X100F

Canyon Behind The Pines – Grand Canyon NP, AZ – Fujifilm X100F

Grand Canyon Railway – Grand Canyon NP, AZ – Fujifilm X-A3 & Jupiter 21M

Lamp In The Lodge – Grand Canyon NP, AZ – Fujifilm X100F

Hopi Art – Grand Canyon NP, AZ – Fujifilm X100F

Unforgiving Environment – Grand Canyon NP, AZ – Fujifilm X-A3 & Jupiter 21M

Colorado River of Green – Grand Canyon NP, AZ – Fujifilm X-A3 & Jupiter 21M

Red Canyon Walls – Grand Canyon NP, AZ – Fujifilm X-A3 & Jupiter 21M

Trees, Rocks & Cliffs – Grand Canyon NP, AZ – Fujifilm X100F

Light Over A Barren Landscape – Valle, AZ – Fujifilm X100F

Get Your Gifts On Route 66 – Williams, AZ – Fujifilm X100F

Neon Gifts – Williams, AZ – Fujifilm X100F

Cheap Room – Williams, AZ – Fujifilm X100F

Neon Bistro – Williams, AZ – Fujifilm X100F

Drink Coke – Williams, AZ – Fujifilm X100F

Steaks & BBQ – Williams, AZ – Fujifilm X100F

BBQ & Coke – Williams, AZ – X100F

Fire In The Sky – Flagstaff, AZ – Fujifilm X-A3 & Jupiter 21M

Spiked Cactus – Kanab, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Kids At Moqui Cave – Kanab, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Anderson Mountain – Paragonah, UT – Fujifilm X-A3 & Jupiter 21M

Part 2 – B&W

My Fujifilm X100F Astia Film Simulation Recipe

Posted on October 16, 2017 by Ritchie Roesch

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Fujifilm Astia 100F color reversal (slide) film was popular among portrait and fashion photographers because of its excellent skin tone reproduction. It was known for low contrast and low color saturation, as well as having a slight warm/yellow cast and creamy highlights.

Astia would be pretty low on your list of choices for anything other than pictures of people. Because of this I only ever shot one roll of Astia 100F film.

The Astia Film Simulation on Fujifilm cameras doesn’t match real Astia film. It has far too much contrast and saturation, and the cast is more orange-red than yellow. But that doesn’t make it unworthy of your use. In fact, on the X-E1 that I used to own, it was my favorite choice and I used it probably 80% of the time.

Astia is not my favorite choice for color on my X100F. Classic Chrome is my go-to option, and I select Velvia (which has been noticeably improved) when I want something more bold. There is still a time and place for Astia, and I do use it occasionally.

Autumn Forest Light – Bountiful, UT – Fujifilm X100F Astia

Something interesting that I discovered back on the X-E1, and it is still true on the X100F, is that Astia and Pro Neg Hi are nearly identical. Put them side-by-side and it can be tough to tell which is which. Astia has just a hair more color saturation and is just a tad warmer. Adjust color by one and customize the white balance and the two options are completely interchangeable.

One thing that I like about the Astia Film Simulation is that it strikes a good balance, sort of the Goldilocks of the Film Simulation options. Not too little or too much contrast, not too little or too much saturation, not too little or too much warmth–for many situations it is just a good choice. It won’t wow you but it won’t underwhelm you, either. I think it is a better standard Film Simulation than the standard (Provia) option.

I have customized my Astia Film Simulation to my liking. It is not intended to be more faithful to the actual film. I think if you were to adjust my settings to be -2 color and take a little red out of the white-balance you would be pretty close to actual Astia film. That’s not the look I want, so I stick with my custom recipe, which I think is better than Astia film ever was for things other than portraits.

Astia
Dynamic Range: DR200
Highlight: -1
Shadow: -2
Color: +1
Noise Reduction: -3
Sharpening: +1
Grain Effect: Weak
White Balance: Auto
ISO: Auto up to ISO 12800
Exposure Compensation: +1/3 (typically)

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

Leaf On The Windshield – Bountiful, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Autumn Apple – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Red Leaf In The Water – Bountiful, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Downtown Tree In October – SLC, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Autumn At Mill Creek – Bountiful, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Sunlight In The Forest – Bountiful, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Leaf In The Stream – Bountiful, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Pumpkin Donut – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X100F

FED 5c & Film – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Blue Sky High Rise – SLC, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Tired & Sad – SLC, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Downtown Tourists – SLC, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Temple Square – SLC, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Pantheon & Patriotism – SLC, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Zions Bank Building – SLC, UT – Fujifilm X100F

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Fall at Black Island Farms

Posted on October 14, 2017 by Ritchie Roesch

Sun Corn – Syracuse, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Fall is for family field trips to the farm. In fact, my family and I went on a field trip to Black Island Farms in Syracuse, Utah, just last week. I also brought along my Fujifilm X100F.

The farm was great! We went on a tractor ride to pick pumpkins in a pumpkin patch. We saw some farm animals. We watched a pig race and a turkey race. We played on a giant playground made from stacks of hay. We made our way through a big corn maze (and didn’t get too lost). It was a nice autumn afternoon, and this was a great way to soak it in.

As far as photography goes, it wasn’t the best conditions. The midday light was harsh with plenty of bright highlights and deep shadows. And when you have four young kids, you need a free hand or two for them. But that’s where the X100F came in handy.

The camera is small enough to fit into a large pocket. Grab it when I want to snap a picture, hide it when I need free hands! Smaller is better in these types of situations, and pocket-sized is a huge plus. A DSLR is simply too big and bulky.

I used the built-in fill-flash frequently on this trip. It handled the tough lighting without fuss. The X100F has a good dynamic range, but the scenes typically exceeded the limit of the sensor; however, the flash helped fill the gap, making the light a little more even.

I used my Classic Chrome Film Simulation recipe for these photographs. I love the film-like way it renders the pictures. It has a classic Kodak slide film look. And it come straight out of the camera looking finished. These are unedited. I don’t have time to mess with RAW anymore, and the X100F speeds up my workload drastically by producing good results that don’t need editing.

The Fujifilm X100F is the best camera I’ve ever used for snapping family pictures. Go on an adventure with the kids and come back with nice pictures to supplement the great memories made. It’s so effortless. I wish that I had this camera years ago!

The takeaway is that a couple hours at the farm in difficult light can still produce a number of keeper photos when you have the X100F in your pocket. These are mostly personal family pictures, but I hope you enjoy them nonetheless.

Autumn Flag – Syracuse, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Red Tractor – Syracuse, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Empty Bench – Syracuse, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Biting Cabbage – Syracuse, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Carrot Farmer – Syracuse, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Three Pumpkin Heads – Syracuse, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Say Hello – Syracuse, UT – Fujifilm X100F

The Crate Pumpkins – Syracuse, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Cute Little Pumpkin – Syracuse, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Found Two Great Pumpkins – Syracuse, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Help Needed – Syracuse, UT – Fujifilm X100F

The Pumpkin Master – Syracuse, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Jon’s Pumpkin – Syracuse, UT – Fujifilm X100F

The Perfect Pumpkins Are Picked – Syracuse, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Trouble – Syracuse, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Jon Watching The Turkey Race – Syracuse, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Climbing Hay – Syracuse, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Hay, Girl – Syracuse, UT – Fujifilm X100F

At The Bottom of The Hay Slide – Syracuse, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Jon In A Corn Maze – Syracuse, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Down Into The Corn – Syracuse, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Tattered Corn Blade – Syracuse, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Corn Stalk – Syracuse, UT – Fujifilm X100F

Nice Day At The Farm – Syracuse, UT – Fujifilm X100F

My Fujifilm X100F Velvia Film Simulation Recipe

Posted on October 1, 2017 by Ritchie Roesch

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Fujifilm has what they call Film Simulations on their cameras instead of traditional JPEG settings, which are designed to mimic the look of different films. One of these Film Simulations is called Velvia, named after Fujifilm’s most popular color transparency (slide) film.

I’ve shot a lot of Velvia film over the years. Velvia 50 was one of my absolute favorites for color landscape photography. It was originally just called Velvia with no “50” in the name, and was rated at ISO 50; however, it is now called Velvia 50 and there are two other versions of the film. I have a couple rolls of Velvia 50 sitting around right now. It’s a great film!

The Velvia Film Simulation on Fujifilm cameras is not quite right. It doesn’t really match the film. But I have noticed that they’ve improved it (over the X-E1, which is where I first experienced it), and it is a closer match than it used to be. It’s more similar to Velvia 100F than Velvia 50. I suppose Fujifilm never specified which version of the film that they are trying to simulate.

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If you want vibrant colors, then the Velvia Film Simulation is what you want to go with. My favorite choice for color photography on my Fujifilm X100F is Classic Chrome, but sometimes something more bold and punchy is needed.

Velvia 50 film has exaggerated colors and high contrast and a slight green cast with warm yellows. Velvia 100 is very similar to Velvia 50 but with a slight purple cast. Velvia 100F has less contrast, less saturation and is slightly cooler than Velvia 50.

My Velvia Film Simulation recipe isn’t meant to make the settings more accurate to actual Velvia film. I don’t think you can get a 100% match. It just makes it more in line with what I personally like. Feel free to adjust it however you wish. It all can be customized to taste. Also, for high-contrast scenes I find that -1 Shadow is typically better and for low-contrast scenes +1 Shadow is better.

Velvia
Dynamic Range: DR200
Highlight: -1
Shadow: 0
Color: +2
Noise Reduction: -2
Sharpening: +2
Grain Effect: Weak
White Balance: Auto, +1 Red & -1 Blue
ISO: Auto up to ISO 12800
Exposure Compensation: +2/3 (typically)

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

Excelsior Geyser Crater – Yellowstone NP, WY – Fujifilm X100F Velvia

Alpine Autumn – American Fork Canyon, UT – Fujifilm X100F Velvia

Wasatch Dressed In Fall Colors – American Fork Canyon, UT – Fujifilm X100F Vevia

Timpanogos September – American Fork Canyon, UT – Fujifilm X100F Velvia

Road To Timpanogos – American Fork Canyon, UT – Fujifilm X100F Velvia

Autumn In Utah Mountains – American Fork Canyon, UT – Fujifilm X100F Velvia

Wasatch Fall – Midway, UT – Fujifilm X100F Velvia

Koi Pond – Lehi, UT – Fujifilm X100F Velvia

Caladium Leaves – Lehi, UT – Fujifilm X100F Velvia

Delicate Pink – Lehi, UT – Fujifilm X100F Velvia

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Fujifilm X100F @ Yellowstone National Park, Part 1 – Color Photographs

Posted on September 24, 2017 by Ritchie Roesch

Lower Yellowstone Falls – Yellowstone NP, WY – Fujifilm X100F

I had an opportunity recently to visit Yellowstone National Park for the first time. Well, I went once when I was a young child, but I don’t really remember anything from that trip. My wife and kids had never been at all, so it was a new experience for us all.

The drive from our house (in the Salt Lake City, Utah, metro area) to our campsite near West Yellowstone, Montana, is a four-and-a-half hour trek according to Google Maps. It managed to take us nearly seven hours to get there with all of the stops we made (food, gas, restrooms and a crying baby).

Although we stayed two nights, we only had one day in the National Park. People advised me that two days is kind of a minimum for a Yellowstone visit. While that is certainly good advice, one day is all that I could dedicate, so one day is all we had.

This trip had been planned for a few months. We purposely chose to visit in September because several people noted that the crowds are smaller, the weather typically decent and the wildlife plentiful at this time of year. I don’t know if any of that proved to be true.

We arrived in Yellowstone National Park in the morning. We were greeted by a line of cars also trying to get in. We discovered that, even though this was technically the off-season and not a weekend, it can still get quite crowded inside the park.

The original plan was to stay on the west side of Yellowstone and really take our time exploring the geothermal sites. However, it was a rainy and cold-ish day, so we had to scrap our plans. Thankfully we downloaded an app called GyPSy Guide to Yellowstone National Park, which cost a few bucks but was completely worth it. It really helped us figure out where to go and what to see, and made the car ride more entertaining and educational.

We ended up driving all the way around the South Loop. It rained pretty heavy at times, and sprinkled the whole day. Due to the elements, we couldn’t spend very much time outdoors and didn’t go very far down any trail. We would have seen a lot more if the weather was better. Heck, we didn’t see hardly any wildlife at all.

This wasn’t a photography trip. This was a family getaway. The only camera gear that I brought with me was a Fujifilm X100F. The conditions weren’t great. If I had more time I would have at least carried a tripod with me. I was mostly shooting at high-ISOs. Because I didn’t venture very far down any path, I relied on the Digital Teleconverter a lot instead of zooming with my feet.

If this had been primarily a photography trip, I would have been somewhat displeased with the images captured (there are a few good ones). Since photography wasn’t the main objective–simply the icing on the cake–I’m happy with what I came away with.

These photographs are all out-of-camera JPEGs. I used Classic Chrome for most, and Velvia for a few. Check out Part 2, which features black-and-white images, plus some more details of the trip. Enjoy!

Frostor – Ashton, ID – Fujifilm X100F

Chicken Shrimp – Ashton, ID – Fujifilm X100F

Give Me Some Tots – Ashton, ID – Fujifilm X100F

Hebgen Lakeshore – West Yellowstone, MT – Fujifilm X100F

Jonathan At Madison River – Yellowstone NP, WY – Fujifilm X100F

Grand Prismatic Spring – Yellowstone NP, WY – Fujifilm X100F

Excelsior Geyser Crater – Yellowstone NP, WY – Fujifilm X100F

Excelsior Blue – Yellowstone NP, WY – Fujifilm X100F

Bubbling Blue – Yellowstone NP, WY – Fujifilm X100F

Along The Midway Geyser Basin Walkway – Yellowston NP, WY – Fujifilm X100F

Disappearing Walkway – Yellowstone NP, WY – Fujifilm X100F

Jon Waiting For Old Faithful – Yellowstone NP, WY – Fujifilm X100F

Goofy Siblings – Yellowstone NP, WY – Fujifilm X100F

Crowds Watching Old Faithful – Yellowstone NP, WY – Fujifilm X100F

Kepler Cascades – Yellowstone NP, WY – Fujifilm X100F

Isa Lake Lily Pads – Yellowstone NP, WY – Fujifilm X100F

Large Lily Pads – Yellowstone NP, WY – Fujifilm X100F

Hot Water & Mud – Yellowstone NP, WY – Fujifilm X100F

Dead Trees Near The Hot Spring – Yellowstone NP, WY – Fujifilm X100F

Green Blades – Yellowstone NP, WY – Fujifilm X100F

Getting Off The Holiday Bus – Yellowstone NP, WY – Fujifilm X100F

Tourists At Lower Yellowstone Falls – Yellowstone NP, WY – Fujifilm X100F

Umbrella At Grand Canyon – Yellowstone NP, WY – Fujifilm X100F

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

My Fujifilm X100F Classic Chrome Film Simulation Recipe

Posted on August 27, 2017 by Ritchie Roesch

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Fujifilm takes a little different approach to their JPEG settings than other camera makers. They use what they call Film Simulations, which are designed to mimic (to an extent) the look of actual film. Fujifilm, after all, knows a thing or two about film.

My favorite color Film Simulation on the X100F is called Classic Chrome. Fuji has not said what exact film this Film Simulation is supposed to be simulating, but a lot of people have speculated Kodachrome. Fujifilm would never call it Kodachrome since that brand is owned by their longtime rival, so they chose the Classic Chrome name instead.

Classic Chrome does look Kodak-ish, but having shot a lot of Kodachrome, I’m not convinced that it’s supposed to look just like Kodachrome. I’m actually reminded more of Kodak’s Ektachrome 100SW, but that’s not an exact match either. I believe that Fuji was going for a look similar to what was found in the pages of National Geographic before digital (think Steve McCurry), and that means not copying a specific film but leaning heavily on a late-1970’s through 1990’s generic Kodak slide film look.

And that’s exactly what Classic Chrome looks like. It can be manipulated (by adjusting the settings) to look more like Kodachrome or one of several different variants of Ektachrome, but whatever the settings are, it always comes out looking distinctly Kodak.

Haugen – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100F

I really appreciate the look and it takes me back to the days when I shot a lot of Kodak 35mm color transparency film. It’s a look that for years I’ve tried to manipulate my digital images to resemble. But now I can do it in-camera, and not rely on post-processing software.

While I have one specific custom Classic Chrome recipe programmed, I’m not afraid to deviate from it when necessary. I might adjust the highlights and shadows to increase or decrease contrast. I might change the dynamic range setting. I might adjust the white balance to something warmer or cooler. I try to look at each picture as unique and dynamically adjust whatever I need for each situation.

Classic Chrome
Dynamic Range: DR200
Highlight: -1
Shadow: +1
Color: +2
Noise Reduction: -2
Sharpening: +2
Grain Effect: Weak
White Balance: Auto, +1 Red & -1 Blue
ISO: Auto up to 12800
Exposure Compensation: +2/3 (typically)

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