The June issue of FXW Zine is out now! Creative Collective subscribers can download it today. Not a Creative Collective subscriber? Join to gain access to this issue plus all pervious issues of FXW Zine and the many bonus articles.
In this month’s publication I suggest seven different Film Simulation Recipes that are excellent for a day at the beach. If you’ll be heading to the coast this summer, you’ll want to check out this issue!
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I recently came across on article on PetaPixel by Chris Kuhn entitled Shooting Color and Black and White Film …At the Same Time. It was an interesting read and experiment, but I thought that it would be much easier to do something similar on a Fujifilm camera. And so I did. You can, too! Read on to find out how….
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The May issue of FXW Zine is out now! Creative Collective subscribers can download it today. Not a Creative Collective subscriber? Join to gain access to this issue plus all pervious issues of FXW Zine and the many bonus articles.
What’s in this month’s publication? We take a look at revisiting subjects or locations in hopes of getting a better—or at least different—photograph.
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“Fujichrome Fortia 50” frame 18 of 36 — Fujifilm X100V
I shot a 36-exposure roll of Fujichrome Fortia 50 on my Fujifilm X100V.
Right now you are thinking one of a few things. What is Fujichrome Fortia 50?Fortia was discontinued a long time ago, and is well expired now and difficult to find.Anyway, you can’t shoot film in a Fujifilm X100V!There’s not a Fujichrome Fortia 50 Film Simulation Recipe, is there? All of that and more will be explained in this article!
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Have you ever wondered about the story behind Fuji X Weekly? How did it all began? What’s behind the curtain? The April issue of FXW Zine is for you!
This never-before-told journey is something that I’ve been wanting to share with you for awhile now. I had to be a little vulnerable, because some of the details are personal. I hope that you find it inspirational to you and your personal journey, whatever that is. Ultimately, this journey isn’t so much about me as it is about you.
If you are a Creative Collective subscriber, the latest issue of FXW Zine is available for you to download now! If you are not a subscriber, consider joining the Fuji X Weekly Creative Collective to gain access to all of the issues plus other bonus articles.
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I’m really excited for the March 2023 issue of FXW Zine. You see, my favorite genre of photography is abandoned buildings, sometimes called urban exploration (or urbex for short). I don’t get to do this type of photography as often as I’d like, but every once in awhile the opportunity comes. I think it is important to document these dilapidated structures, because they represent what once was—plus how society deals with that—and they’ll eventually be gone. I like how Troy Paiva put it, “accepting loss and finding beauty and nobility in decay.” This issue celebrates abandoned building photography, taking a look at four different locations.
Obviously this type of photography is risky. You have to consider property laws such as trespassing—many abandoned buildings are on private property—and what kind of dangers one might encounter, such as broken glass, crumbling structures, asbestos, lead paint, transients, etc., etc.. I’m not encouraging you to break laws or enter sketchy abandoned buildings, but if you should decide to do it on your own accord and at your own risk, I do encourage you to use extreme caution. Now that the disclaimer is out of the way, let’s get to Issue 16!
The March issue is 20 pages long and features 26 pictures. The FXW Zine is a part of the Fuji X Weekly Creative Collective, so if you are a Creative Collective subscriber you can download it now! If you haven’t joined the Creative Collective, consider subscribing today to get access to bonus articles and the FXW Zine—not just this issue, but the first fifteen issues, too!
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I love making retro faded-film-like looks on Fujifilm cameras using the multiple-exposure feature. I have created a number of Film Simulation Recipes which utilize double-exposures to achieve a faded aesthetic. Some of these Recipe are Faded Negative, Faded Color, Vintage Color Fade, Faded Monochrome, and Split-Toned B&W. This type of Recipe isn’t nearly as popular as the “regular” ones that don’t use multiple exposures, and I’m pretty sure it’s because these are a lot more difficult to use. They are way less convenient and practical; however, they can be a good challenge and a lot of fun, and you’ll achieve results that a fairly unique.
I didn’t come up with a new double-exposure Recipe, but I did come up with a slight variation to this concept that I thought I’d share with you. If you are looking for something creative to try, this might just be what you are looking for. In any event, you’re sure to make some interesting images.
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In the February issue, we take a look at 10 different Film Simulation Recipes for use on dreary, overcast days. If you aren’t sure which recipe to use when the sky is grey, this issue is intended to be helpful. Also, my wife, Amanda, contributed six pictures to this publication, including the cover image.
If you haven’t joined the Creative Collective, consider subscribing today to get access to bonus articles and the FXW Zine—not just this issue, but the first thirteen issues, too!
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Above-Left: Kodak Portra 400 v2 recipe — Above-right: same recipe, but slightly modified.
Film Simulation Recipes are one way to replicate the look and feel of traditional film on your Fujifilm camera. You can do something like this by editing RAW files and applying Alien Akin, VSCO, RNI, etc., presets during post-processing; however, using recipes cuts out this step, saving you a lot of time and hassle. One-step photography (as discussed by Ansel Adams in his book about Polaroid photography, which he was fascinated with) is an easier approach. Some advantages of using recipes on Fujifilm cameras are simplicity (quickly and easily achieve a desired aesthetic with little or no editing), authenticity (film-like quality that doesn’t appear heavily manipulated), consistency (a single recipe over a series of pictures produces a cohesive visual style), and productivity (not editing pictures saves a lot of time). There are over 250 Film Simulation Recipes published on Fuji X Weekly, which are also available on the Fuji X Weekly App.
Even though there are a lot of recipes to choose from, you may not always find one that’s the perfect fit for your personal style, subject matter, or lighting condition. I’ve often said that it is fine to “season to taste” any recipe to make it work for you, because making it work for you is preferable to rigidly adhering to a recipe and being dissatisfied with the results (the notes section in the App underneath a recipe is an excellent place to keep track of your modifications). In this post, we will discuss some reasons why someone might choose to modify a Film Simulation Recipe to suit their personal style.
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It’s 2023! That means the 14th issue of FXW Zine is out now, and if you are a Fuji X Weekly Creative Collective subscriber, you can download today!
What’s in the January issue? My top 50 favorite photographs of 2022. There are 50 pictures, including the cover, across 32 pages.
If you haven’t joined the Creative Collective, consider subscribing today to get access to bonus articles and the FXW Zine—not just this issue, but the first thirteen issues, too!
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I made a really interesting discovery: if you tilt a diffusion filter and spin it, you can control the lens flare and bloom. For example, in the pictures above, I twisted the tilted filter, and the flare and bloom around the street lamp go from sideways to diagonal. There are several creative applications of this!
Below, I’ll explain how I made this filter (it’s simple!), and what you can do with it.
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There’s a feature on Fujifilm cameras that I don’t utilize often enough: Film Simulation Bracket. This processes one exposure as three different images, each with a different film simulation applied. You cannot change any other parameters—only the film sim—so you cannot use three different Film Simulation Recipes, only one recipe, but with three film simulations. It would be great if Fujifilm made a Custom Preset Bracket where you could choose three C1-C7 presets to process the exposure with, but that unfortunately doesn’t exist. Another limitation worth noting is that on newer cameras, Film Simulation Bracket disables Clarity, which is a shame.
I already discussed Film Simulation Bracket in a previous Creative Collective article, so I’ll try to take a slightly different approach with this one, and not rehash everything that’s already been said. When is Film Simulation Bracket a useful tool? Read on to find out!
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What’s in the December issue? The cover story is about nighttime street and urban photography in Phoenix, Arizona, with a Fujifilm X100V. There are 29 pictures, including the cover, across 20 page.
If you haven’t joined the Creative Collective, consider subscribing today to get access to bonus articles and the FXW Zine—not just this issue, but the first twelve issues, too!
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I love using vintage lenses because they often have character. Modern lenses are often technically perfect (or close to it), but they usually lack the character that is a hallmark of analog photography—perhaps the precision engineering makes them too good. The imperfections of old glass is what gives them their unique qualities. One of those qualities is sometimes interesting lens flare. Some people love lens flare and some people hate it—if you are one of those who loves it, I discovered a trick that you might appreciate. It is simple (yet can be tricky), and you probably already have what you need to do it.
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The 12th (yes, 12th!) issue of FXW Zine is out, and if you are a Fuji X Weekly Creative Collective subscriber, you can download it now!
What’s in the November issue? The cover story is about embracing blur! Have you noticed the recent blurry picture trend? In this issue we dive into the what, how, and why of it all. There are 22 pictures, including the cover, across 16 page.
If you haven’t joined the Creative Collective, consider subscribing today to get access to bonus articles and the FXW Zine—not just this issue, but the first eleven issues, too!
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This Creative Collective article is a followup to Comparing 10 Recipes For Indoor Photography and Fujifilm X-T30 & X-T3 Film Simulation Recipe: Cinematic Negative. Specifically, I’m going to discuss light rendering in a practical sense, color casts, and mood; how all of that relates to Film Simulation Recipes and photography, and how you can use it to your advantage to better control your images, and the emotions that they convey to those viewing them.
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Sunlit Table Corner – Avondale, AZ – Fujifilm X100V – “Kodak Royal Gold 400”
You might have a favorite Film Simulation Recipe, but when the light changes you’re disappointed with the results. This is a pretty common problem, and not unique to Fujifilm or even a new issue to photography. This happens because many of my recipes are modeled after or are inspired by analog film, and this is a long-time film problem.
With a few rare exceptions, film is either daylight balanced (usually around 5500K) or tungsten balanced (typically 3200K)—one for use in daylight, and the other for use in artificial light. If you encountered light outside of the temperature that the film was intended to be shot in, you would either accept the results or use a color correction filter (described in this article) to fix the imbalance. Many Film Simulation Recipes have this same issue: they’re intended to be used in a specific light condition, and outside of that they might not produce the best results.
When shooting film, your best option is to use the correct film for the situation; with recipes, I think this is also the best solution. Sometimes this isn’t practical, and so you could use color correction filters (both with film and film simulations), although carrying around a bag full of filters isn’t an especially convenient option. With digital, you have an added solution: adjust the white balance, which is essentially the digital equivalent of using color correction filters. For the sake of this article, we’ll focus on the first option, which is selecting a Film Simulation Recipe that does well in the light situation that you find yourself shooting in.
With over 250 Film Simulation Recipes on this website (and the Fuji X Weekly App), it can be hard to know which ones perform best in which light. In this article (and hopefully additional articles in the future), we’re going to compare how 10 recipes perform in various light conditions. It should be enlightening, and hopefully you’ll have a better understanding of when to use which recipes.
Same picture, different recipes
Before we jump into it, I think it’s important to briefly discuss Kelvin. The measurement of the temperature (warm or cold) of light is called Kelvin, and the scale is pretty large, ranging from 0 to 20000—the lower the number, the warmer the light, and the higher the number, the cooler the light. The typical temperature of a candle flame is 1900K. Artificial light (incandescent lights, halogen bulbs, fluorescent tubes, etc.) is usually between 2800K and 4300K, depending on the specific bulbs being used. “Golden Hour” light (sunrise and sunset) is around 3500K. Morning and afternoon sunlight (outside of golden hour) is typically between 4500K and 5000K, while midday sunlight is typically 5600K. Overcast sky often ranges from 6000K to 9000K, and shade can be 8000K to 10000K. Your camera’s white balance is designed to “balance” these temperatures so that white is white—a warm light will need a cool white balance, and a cool light will need a warm white balance.
With that prerequisite understanding, let’s take a look at how 10 different Film Simulation Recipes handle various Kelvin temperature light conditions.
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What’s in the October issue? The cover story is an ode to the Classic Chrome film simulation, perhaps the most beloved film simulation created by Fujifilm. There are 20 pictures, including the cover, across 16 page.
If you haven’t joined the Creative Collective, consider subscribing today to get access to bonus articles and the FXW Zine—not just this issue, but the first ten issues, too!
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Fujifilm X-E4 with Xuan Focus Free 30mm F/10 Body Cap Lens
With film photography, there are more-or-less two groups: those who used rangefinders, SLRs, TLRs, etc., and those who used cheap point-and-shoots and disposable cameras. Generally speaking, pros and hobbyists used SLRs, while novices who didn’t have much interest in photography primary used point-and-shoots (my parents’ and grandparents’ photo albums are full of these pictures). Of course, there are always exceptions, such as the novice who insisted on using their SLR despite not understanding how it worked, or the artist who used cheap gear for artistic effect.
As you probably know, I like to create approximations of classic analog looks on Fujifilm cameras with Film Simulation Recipes. Much of the time, the facsimile aesthetic is based on film shot on SLRs, etc., but occasionally I like to replicate the look of cheaper gear, such as disposable cameras, Holga, pinhole, 126, light leaks, etc.. I do crazy things occasionally—like when I distressed a camera or when I used tiny lenses—so I’m not afraid to try something that’s a bit unconventional. In the case of this article, it’s the Xuan Focus Free 30mm f/10 Body Cap Lens.
Rain, Not Rhein – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4 + Xuan 30mm – “Nostalgia Color“
What is the Xuan Focus Free 30mm f/10 Body Cap Lens, you ask? Well, someone took a cheap third-party Fujifilm body cap, drilled a hole in it, and attached (via glue) a recycled 30mm f/10 lens from a Kodak Funsaver disposable camera. They’re selling them for $26 each. You can actually do this yourself without too much trouble, but for such a cheap price (and with free next-day delivery), it made sense to go the easy route.
The reason why it’s called a “focus free” lens is because it’s pre-focused, and you cannot adjust it (nor can the aperture be changed). I don’t think the distance from the lens to the sensor on my Fujifilm X-E4 is exactly the same as the lens to the film on a disposable camera, so the focus point is slightly different. Xuan claims that from roughly 5′ to infinity is in focus, but that’s not my experience. I believe the focus point is set to about 11′, and the depth-of-field is more like 6.5′ to 37′, and 8′ to 15′ seems to be the sharpest zone.
Bougainvillea Day – Buckeye, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4 + Xuan 30mm – “Nostalgia Color”
If you want to shoot with a pancake lens on your Fujifilm X camera, your options are limited. You have options—some excellent options, in fact—but only a handful in total. The Xuan Focus Free 30mm F/10 Body Cap Lens is another pancake choice, but is it good? Is it even worth $26? I used this lens recently on my X-E4, attempting to capture beautiful LoFi pictures—more resembling those found in picture albums, and less like those printing in magazines and hanging on gallery walls. How was my experience? What do I think of the Xuan 30mm lens? Read on to find out!
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