fall photography | FUJI X WEEKLY

10 Film Simulation Recipes For Fall

Posted on September 23 by Ritchie Roesch

*Road Through the Autumn Trees* – Bountiful, UT – Fujifilm X100F – Velvia

Autumn officially arrived yesterday. I didn’t notice because I moved to the Phoenix metropolitan area, and in this part of Arizona it is still summer, as far as the weather and trees are concerned. Besides, this area isn’t known for its fall colors, anyway. But I used to live in Utah, and loved watching the autumn colors descend on the Wasatch, beginning at the mountain peaks in late-summer and working their way to the valley by October. I will miss that this year, for sure.

A common question I’m asked around the Autumn Equinox is which Film Simulation Recipes are best for photographing fall colors. There are many that could work well, much more than merely 10. I think, generally speaking, any recipe that uses Velvia or Astia could be solid options. Classic Chrome and Classic Negative recipes can be good, too. I don’t believe any film simulation is inherently “bad” for fall colors, but obviously some are better than others. I think oftentimes the recipes that are more vibrant will do better, so perhaps look for those. Download the Fuji X Weekly App (if you haven’t already), browse through the sample pictures, and see which recipe stands out he most to you. Or, if you’re brave, use the new Random Recipe selector to choose one for you!

If you are not sure which Film Simulation Recipe to use on your Fujifilm camera and are looking for some ideas, I have suggested 10 below, which I believe will do well for photographing fall colors. Best of luck this autumn season!

Kodachrome 25

Vintage Kodachrome

Kodak Ektachrome 100SW

Elite Chrome 200

Vintage Vibes

Superia Xtra 400

Velvia (X-Trans III)

Velvia (X-Trans IV)

Vivid Color

Fujichrome Sensia 100

Recipe of the Month: Agfa Optima 200

Posted on November 3, 2021 by Ritchie Roesch

*Golden Oak* – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 – Agfa Optima 200

In the SOOC live video series, Fujifilm X-Photographer Nathalie Boucry and I discuss, among other things, film simulation recipes. If you’ve never watched an episode, we introduce a recipe to shoot with, inviting you to use it and share your pictures. In the last video (which you’ll find at the bottom of this article, in case you missed it), we announced that Agfa Optima 200 was the new recipe-of-the-month. Use this recipe, upload your favorite picture (link here) that you used this recipe to capture, and we’ll share it in the next episode! Be sure to submit before November 18th, which is when the next video goes live.

Nathalie and I, of course, don’t just ask you to try a recipe—we use it ourselves, too. This is a journey that we’re on together, all of us. I wanted to share with you a few fall photographs that I recently captured using the Agfa Optima 200 on my Fujifilm X-T30. This recipe isn’t usually my first choice for colorful landscapes, but trying recipes in various situations is a part of the fun of this—there’s a lot to discover! I’m learning along side you, and that’s a great thing about this project. I look forward to seeing on November 18th what you captured with this recipe. See you then!

*Red Leaves in the Forest* – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 – Agfa Optima 200

*Vine Leaves in Autumn* – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 – Agfa Optima 200

*Pop of Color in the Canopy* – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 – Agfa Optima 200

Photoessay: Autumn 2019

Posted on January 4, 2020 by Ritchie Roesch

Mountain Autumn – Big Mountain Pass, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 90mm

Fall might be my favorite season, but it’s always too short. Summer often overstays its welcome. Winter usually comes too quickly. Autumn gets squeezed in the middle. You have to be quick, because it’s fleeting. It comes and goes so quickly! If you don’t take time to see and experience it, you’ll flat out miss it, and you’ll have to wait another year for fall to return.

Autumn is the season of change. The weather changes. The colors of the leaves change. The food we eat and coffee we drink change (if you want them to). There’s beauty in change, and uncertainty. It ends cold and gloomy as winter budges in, but before it does autumn puts on a spectacular show. Autumn can be breathtakingly beautiful!

Apple Harvest – Logan, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 90mm

The photographs in this post were captured during the 2019 fall season. Many of them I’ve yet to share on the Fuji X Weekly blog, but you’ve probably seen a few of them in other articles. Some of the pictures are from early autumn when the weather was still warm and the leaves only beginning to change colors. Others are from late fall when the temperatures dipped cold and the scene turned drab. Still others were captured during the height of vibrant colors, which unfortunately didn’t last very long, yet long enough for me to get a few exposures made.

I used a Fujifilm X-T30, which is a great all-around camera, for all of these pictures. A number of different lenses were attached to it, depending on the image. I used a Fujinon 35mm, a Fujinon 90mm, a Fujinon 50-230mm, a Rokinon 12mm, an Industar 69, and an Asahi Super-Takumar 135mm. There’s a number of different film simulation recipes that I used, including Velvia, Kodacolor, Eterna, “Classic Negative” and possibly another one, I’m not certain. I hope that you enjoy!

Leaves of Autumn – Riverdale, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 35mm f/2

Bent Trunk – Bountiful, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 35mm f/2

Icy Leaf – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Industar 69

Changing Nature – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 35mm f/2

Tree Star – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Rokinon 12mm

Autumn Sun At Ogden Station – Ogden, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Rokinon 12mm

Drab Autumn Drive – Bountiful, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 35mm f/2

Flowing Creek – Bountiful, Utah – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 35mm f/2

Flowing Fall – Bountiful, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Asahi Super-Takumar 135mm

Gradations of Color – Big Mountain Pass, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 90mm

Change Begins – Big Mountain Pass, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 90mm

Winter Kissed Autumn – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 50-230mm

Mountainside Autumn – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 50-230mm

Photoessay: Fall Meets Winter

Posted on October 4, 2019 by Ritchie Roesch

Autumn & Winter – South Weber, UT – Fujifilm X-T30

One thing that’s great about where I live is the view. The Wasatch Mountains loom over our house, and are clearly visible from the back windows and throughout the yard. Autumn is one of my favorite times of the year because the mountains behind our house become dotted with the vibrant colors of the season. That’s how it is right now. The view doesn’t get old, and I feel fortunate to live where I do.

A few days ago a storm rolled through and dusted the top of the mountain with snow and ice. The contrast between the autumn trees and winter weather was intriguing and beautiful. It seemed much too early for these two seasons to meet, but there it was on display for those willing to take a moment to look. It caught my attention, and I proceeded to capture it with my camera.

Despite the front-row seat from my yard, the white mountain peaks were actually a good distance away, and required a long telephoto lens to bring the scene close enough to photograph. Attached to my Fujifilm X-T30 was a Fujinon 50-230mm zoom lens, which is my longest telephoto option. Actually, this lens belongs to my wife, Amanda, but she graciously let me borrow it. I photographed all the pictures in this article from my yard using this camera and lens combination, along with my Velvia film simulation recipe. I hope that you enjoy these pictures of when fall meet winter a few days ago.