Ken Rockwell | FUJI X WEEKLY

Wedding Photographers Adapt to Couples who want Instant Images — An Opportunity for You!

Posted on July 25, 2023 by Ritchie Roesch

I saw an article on PetaPixel today about a particular wedding photography trend. Entitled The Demand for Instant Images is Upending Wedding Photography, the post is based off of a lengthier Associated Press piece called Wedding photographers adapt to couples who want instant images and less tradition. I don’t want to get into the details of either, but the summary is this: customers want a quicker turnaround so they can share pictures and videos of their big event more timely.

I’m not a wedding photographer. I’ve photographed a couple of weddings in the past—many years ago—and I have no desire to jump into that genre. Good wedding photographers are sometimes the first there and last to leave. It’s not uncommon to work 12, 14, or even 16 hours on the big day. Then there are thousands of exposures to cull through, and then edit. That might be an additional 24, 28, or even 32 hours of work! That’s not my cup of tea. For others, though, this is their thing, and they love what they do. Their passion is capturing incredible memories of other people’s weddings.

The shift to a faster turnaround must be frustrating for many in the industry, but it’s actually an opportunity. The article states that some wedding photographers are trying to get some social media type content into the hands of their customers within 48 hours. But why that long? Why not much quicker? Why not as the wedding is happening? If you can do that, you have a huge leg-up on your competition.

*Captured with a Fujifilm X100V using the Kodak Tri-X 400 Film Simulation Recipe.*

I cohost a live YouTube series with official Fujifilm X-Photographer Nathalie Boucry. She does a lot of business photography. Recently she was hired to photograph a corporate event, but they wanted to have the pictures available to share on their social media platforms immediately, in real-time as the event was happening. How did she do this? First, she used Fujifilm gear combined with my Film Simulation Recipes, and shot JPEGs. The pictures looked good straight-out-of-camera, and no editing was needed. Every so many minutes she downloaded the pictures off the camera and uploaded them onto a cloud drive that the customer had access to. Within 10 or 15 minutes of the pictures being captured, the customer was able to share them across the world. This went so well that a week later she was hired to do it again for a different corporate event. I do believe this is the future of event photography, including wedding photography.

Maybe real-time photo sharing isn’t something you’re ready to offer, but if your pictures look great straight-out-of-camera, and further manipulation isn’t needed (or only lightly needed), you can speed up your turnaround significantly. Instead of providing the client with a small batch of photos within 48 hours for social media sharing while they wait up to six weeks for the rest, you can deliver the whole wedding the next day or maybe two. This is, of course, in theory. I’m not aware of anyone who is actually doing this right now. A few different wedding photographers have told me that they are using my Film Simulation Recipes on their Fujifilm cameras, and delivering some of the pictures either same-day or next-day to the client, while providing the rest of photographs at some point later on. I do think, if you’ve got good settings dialed into your camera, and you’re especially careful to get everything right at the time the pictures are captured, that delivering unedited JPEGs of the wedding to the couple is possible, and nobody will be the wiser that you didn’t actually spend hours post-processing RAW files.

This is something I’ve talked about before. Back in December I published Want to be a Wedding Photographer? Your Opportunity Awaits! and earlier this month I posted The Future of Photography is Unedited, where I touched on this topic. I keep bringing it up because I see this shift happening, and those who already have a simplified workflow using Film Simulation Recipes are ahead of the curve, and are primed for success in this changing environment. I want to make sure that you are aware of it, in case you want to take advantage of the opportunity.

I don’t do wedding or event photography, but there are still plenty of advantages to shooting JPEGs. Despite having way more photographs to cull through and share, I was able to publish my pictures of the Central Coast of California tour much quicker than Ken Rockwell did, because my workflow is much quicker than his. That’s a pretty meaningless example; I don’t have a lot of strict photographic deadlines. Perhaps a better case is this: on December 8th of last year, Nathalie, myself, a group of guests, and those who tuned-in, created a Film Simulation Recipe during the Let’s Get Festive holiday-special SOOC Live broadcast—this is the first and (as far as I’m aware) only time a Fujifilm Recipe has been made live on YouTube. Within minutes of its creation, I (and others) had captured a picture using the new Film Simulation Recipe and shared it with all those watching. The very next day I published the Recipe, which the live audience named Mystery Chrome, on this website (and the Fuji X Weekly App), complete with 24 example pictures. That’s my best quick-turnaround example.

Even though I don’t have the need to publish pictures immediately after they’ve been captured, I do sometimes share a photo quickly through text or social media, which is never a problem because I don’t post-process my images. What’s more meaningful to me is that I don’t spend hours and hours sitting at a computing fiddling with files, which saves me a ton of time, making me more productive, while also freeing up time for other things (such as writing blog posts and spending time with my family). It’s changed my life, no hyperbole. I think it can and will change event photography and even wedding photography. It will just take some pioneer photographers to give it a try, which could be you.

Not post-processing your pictures is called one-step photography, a term coined by Edwin Land and perpetuated by Ansel Adams in his book Polaroid Land Photography. “The effect of one-step processing on both amateur and professional creative photography,” Adams stated, “has been revolutionary.” With film, step-one is capturing the picture in-camera and step-two is developing and printing it in a darkroom; however, Polaroid cameras removed the second step, creating a one-step process, which greatly simplified the photographic workflow. With digital, step-one is capturing the picture in-camera and step-two is post-processing in software like Lightroom; however, Film Simulation Recipes remove the second step, creating a one-step process, which greatly simplifies the photographic workflow. “The process has revolutionized the art and craft of photography,” Adams concluded. It still is, for those who embrace the one-step approach.

Travel: Central Coast of California “En Plein Air” — w/Ken Rockwell & Dave Wyman — Day 5, Part 2

Posted on July 3, 2023 by Ritchie Roesch

*Flowers on the Coastal Bluffs* – San Simeon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 18mm – Pacific Blues

Day 1 — Day 2 — Day 3 — Day 4, Part 1 — Day 4, Part 2 — Day 5, Part 1

Day 5, Part 2 — June 9, 2023 — San Simeon & Morro Bay

There were twelve photographers on the Central Coast tour: Dave Wyman, Ken Rockwell, myself, and nine others. Seven of those nine had previously been on at least one other of these tours (some had been on several), which I think speaks strongly of the value the excursions. It was mostly an older crowd; there was a young college student, I was second youngest (at 43), and I’m pretty sure everyone else was in their 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s—most above the age of 60. One was shooting Canon. Three had Sony. I, of course, was using Fujifilm. The other seven had Nikon. Ken seems to especially like Nikon, so it shouldn’t be too surprising that so many on this tour had that brand. I believe there were more DSLRs than mirrorless. I saw a lot of long telephoto lenses.

For this part of Day 5, after the abandoned cars, we wound our way back to the Pacific Coast Highway, then up to Elephant Seal Vista Point north of San Simeon. I had already photographed this location on Day 2, so I used the opportunity to try some underutilized lenses in my bag, and take a more laid-back approach. Following that, we went to the San Simeon Pier below Hearst Castle. The last stop of the day was Morro Bay to photograph the famous monolith.

The group was going to assemble one more time the next morning, but I wasn’t going to join them, so this was the end of Ken and Dave’s tour for me. I captured a lot of images—more than I’ve shown in this article series—and it was a highly rewarding experience. I would definitely recommend it, for anyone considering joining one of these tours in the future. It was very insightful, and I had a good time. I said goodbye and called it a night.

*Boats in the Bay* – Morro Bay, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Meike 35mm – Pacific Blues

The camera gear that I used on the second part of Day 5 (you can read the entirety of the gear that I brought with me in my Ultimate Travel Compact Camera Kit article) was a Fujifilm X100V with a 5% CineBloom filter, a Fujifilm X-E4 with a Fujinon 18mm f/2, Meike 35mm f/1.7, Pergear 10mm f/8, and Xuan 30mm f/10, a Ricoh GR III, and the RitchieCam App on my iPhone 11.

For this part of Day 5, the Film Simulation Recipes that I used on my Fujifilm cameras (which can be found in the Fuji X Weekly App) were Kodak Tri-X 400, Kodachrome 64, Superia Premium 400, The Rockwell, Pacific Blues, Urban Dreams, Vintage Color, and 1981 Kodak. On the GR III, I used the Monochrome Film Recipe (which can be found in the Ricoh Recipes App) for the entirety of the trip, treating the camera as a monochrome-only model. For the iPhone, I used my Standard Film filter on RitchieCam.

The photographs below are in order of when they were captured. The picture at the top of this article, Flowers on the Coastal Bluffs, was the first image captured during this part of the day. The second photo, Boats in the Bay, fits in-between Lifeguard Tower 1 and Cocktail Cruise. I hope that you enjoy the pictures!

*Yellow Flowers, Grey Coast* – San Simeon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Pergear 10mm – Kodachrome 64

*Green Bushes, Grey Coast* – San Simeon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Pergear 10mm – Kodachrome 64

*Elephant Seal Beach* – San Simeon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Xuan 30mm – Vintage Color

*Gloomy Coast 1* – San Simeon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 18mm – Vintage Color

*Gloomy Coast 2* – San Simeon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 18mm – Vintage Color

*Gloomy Coast 3* – San Simeon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 18mm – Vintage Color

*It Was all Yellow* – San Simeon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 18mm – Vintage Color

*Lazy Seals* – San Simeon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 18mm – The Rockwell

*Flowery Bluffs* – San Simeon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 18mm – Kodachrome 64

*Right* – San Simeon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 18mm – Vintage Color

*Gull* – San Simeon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 18mm – Vintage Color

*Flight* – San Simeon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 18mm – The Rockwell

*White & Yellow* – San Simeon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Meike 35mm – Kodachrome 64

*They May Bite* – San Simeon, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Urban Dreams

*Hearst Ranch Schoolhouse* – San Simeon, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Urban Dreams

*Biting Horses* – San Simeon, CA – Fujifilm X100V – 1981 Kodak

*School Horse* – San Simeon, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Superia Premium 400

*Tractor on Display* – San Simeon, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Superia Premium 400

*Green Chevy Wagon* – San Simeon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Meike 35mm – Kodachrome 64

*Green Car* – San Simeon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Meike 35mm – Kodachrome 64

*Driver* – San Simeon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Meike 35mm – Kodachrome 64

*Pier Railing* – San Simeon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Meike 35mm – Kodachrome 64

*Pier Corner* – San Simeon, CA – Ricoh GR III – Monochrome Film

*San Simeon Pier* – San Simeon, CA – Ricoh GR III – Monochrome Film

*Morro Beach –* Morro Bay, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Kodak Tri-X 400

*Morro Rock behind Ice Plant* – Morro Bay, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Kodak Tri-X 400

*Rock & Ice* – Morro Bay, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Urban Dreams

*Rock View* – Morro Bay, CA – iPhone 11 – RitchieCam App – Standard Film

*Morro Shores* – Morro Bay, CA – Ricoh GR III – Monochrome Film

*Lifeguard Tower 1* – Morro Bay, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Kodak Tri-X 400

*Cocktail Cruise* – Morro Bay, CA – Ricoh GR III – Monochrome Film

*Rosana’s Ride* – Morro Bay, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Meike 35mm – Pacific Blues

Day 6

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Fujifilm X100V — Amazon B&H  Moment
Fujifilm X-E4 — Amazon B&H  Moment
Ricoh GR III — Amazon  B&H  Moment
Fujinon 18mm f/2 — Amazon   B&H   Moment
Meike 35mm f/1.7 — Amazon B&H
Pergear 10mm f/8 Fisheye — Amazon
Xuan Focus Free 30mm F/10 — Amazon

Travel: Central Coast of California “En Plein Air” — w/Ken Rockwell & Dave Wyman — Day 5, Part 1

Posted on June 27, 2023 by Ritchie Roesch

*Abandoned Classics* – Cambria, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Fujicolor 100 Gold

Day 1 — Day 2 — Day 3 — Day 4, Part 1 — Day 4, Part 2

Day 5, Part 1 — June 9, 2023 — Morro Bay, Cayucos, Harmony & Cambria

I’ve been asked by several of you, “What’s Ken Rockwell like?”

He’s been quite popular for a very long time, as Ken Rockwell’s website is one of the longest running in all of photography. He’s a controversial character, and people seem to either love or hate him. On this day, because we were assigned to the same car, I had the opportunity to spend a significant amount of time with him, and we talked about a lot of things. To a limited extent, I got to know the real Ken Rockwell.

Ken was born and raised in New York City. Like a stereotypical New Yorker, he has an opinion that he’s not afraid to share. He tells it like it is; don’t expect anything to be sugarcoated. He’s honest. He’s very knowledgeable—when he’s interested in something, he dives deeply into it and becomes an expert. He asks a lot of questions, and you can tell he’s a logical person. Ken’s also very funny, with a dry humor that often utilizes sarcasm.

Those who hate Ken Rockwell (yes, hate is a strong word, but it’s often used in this context) seem to either be put off by his strong opinions, dislike something controversial he said, don’t believe he’s a good photographer, or are jealous of his success. To the first, I’ll say this: Ken is upfront about where he stands. Sometimes two people can look at the same thing and come to opposite conclusions; it’s always ok to agree to disagree. To the second, I’ll say this: without nonverbal cues, deciphering when someone on a website is stating opinion vs. making a sarcastic joke can be difficult, so if something sounds offensive, perhaps it wasn’t said in seriousness, and the benefit of the doubt should be given. I would caution against running with assumptions. If you want to know for sure, just ask! Ken is a nice guy who I’m sure would answer your questions. To the third, I’ll say this: every artist has strengths and weaknesses. I actually had a conversation with Dave Wyman about this. Ken’s photographic strengths are capturing striking colors, making the ordinary appear interesting, and in-studio product pictures. To the fourth, I’ll say this: haters are going to hate, I suppose. Just because someone else is successful and you are not doesn’t mean that you’ll never be, or that they don’t deserve to be.

*Ice Flower & Chain Link* – Morro Bay, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – Pacific Blues

I enjoyed interacting with Ken on this trip, and learned several things from him about the photography industry. The conversations were very insightful, and Ken was kind to share his knowledge and experiences with me. Anyone who thinks he is a bad person has not met him in-person.

With all of that out of the way, let’s get to the first part of Day 5 of the Central Coast of California tour!

We met up once again at a hotel in San Luis Obispo. Because it was forecasted to be overcast, we began a little later than the day before. We loaded up into a few cars, and caravanned up the Pacific Coast Highway. The first stop was at a beach on the north end of Morro Bay, followed by Cayucos, which is a cool little coastal community. Then we visited Harmony, a tiny tourist town that would be easy to overlook, but is actually quite interesting, photogenic, and tasty (if, like me, you enjoy ice cream). Afterwards, we turned down an unassuming road near Cambria and drove way back into the hills, where we found some abandoned antique cars.

What’s crazy about the cars is that after winding down this barely used backroad for miles, we parked and walked up a side road (if you can even call it a road), then up a barely visible steep trail to the top of a hill. Once your eyes crest the top, you see the cars; otherwise, they’re hidden. I asked Dave, “How did you even find this place?” He answered, “As I was exploring the road, I saw a glint of light. It was just for a moment. So I came up here to find out what it was.” The cars are on private property, but Dave befriended the owner, a legit fifth generation rancher who’s great-great-grandfather settled the land before California was even a state.

*Old Window Blinds* – San Luis Obispo, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Kodak Tri-X 400

The camera gear that I used on the first part of Day 5 (you can read the entirety of the gear that I brought with me in my Ultimate Travel Compact Camera Kit article) was a Fujifilm X100V with a 5% CineBloom filter, a Fujifilm X-E4 with a Fujinon 90mm f/2 lens, and the RitchieCam App on my iPhone 11. Mostly, I chose the X100V.

For this part of Day 5, the Film Simulation Recipes that I used on my Fujifilm cameras (which can be found in the Fuji X Weekly App) were Kodak Tri-X 400, Fujicolor 100 Gold, Superia Premium 400, Fujicolor Superia 1600, Pacific Blues, Urban Dreams, Expired Velvia, and 1981 Kodak. For the iPhone, I used my Standard Film filter on RitchieCam.

The photographs below are in order of when they were captured. The picture at the top of this article, Abandoned Classics, fits in-between Classic Oak and Dodge, Didn’t Dodge. The second image, Ice Flower & Chain Link, fits in-between Ken & Dave and Classic Rear Fender. The third image, Old Window Blinds, was the first photograph of the day.

*Morro Rock Behind Sand Dune* – Morro Bay, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – Pacific Blues

*Ken & Dave* – Morro Bay, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – Pacific Blues

*Classic Rear Fender* – Cayucos, CA – Fujifilm X100V – 1981 Kodak

*In the Same Boat* – Cayucos, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Expired Velvia

*Fishing Pole* – Cayucos, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Kodak Tri-X 400

*Rusted Tempest* – Cayucos, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Kodak Tri-X 400

*Ken Rockwell & ’61 Pontiac Tempest* – Cayucos, CA – Fujifilm X100V – 1981 Kodak

*Tempest* – Cayucos, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Fujicolor 100 Gold

*Go Skate* – Cayucos, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Kodak Tri-X 400

*Dog & Skateboard* – Cayucos, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Kodak Tri-X 400

*Old Van* – Cayucos, CA – Fujifilm X100V – 1981 Kodak

*Cornejo Guitars* – Cayucos, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Fujicolor 100 Gold

*Rural Gate* – Harmony, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Kodak Tri-X 400

*Town of Harmony* – Harmony, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Kodak Tri-X 400

*Ice Cream & Wine Tasting* – Harmony, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Fujicolor 100 Gold

*Dodge Truck* – Harmony, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Fujicolor 100 Gold

*Classic Gauges* – Harmony, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Fujicolor 100 Gold

*Rolleiflex Dave* – Harmony, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Kodak Tri-X 400

*Nearly Bloomed* – Harmony, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Superia Premium 400

*Cookies & Cream* – Harmony, CA – iPhone 11 – RitchieCam App – Standard Film

*Bougainvillea Wall* – Harmony, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Fujicolor 100 Gold

*Glass Blowing* – Harmony, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Fujicolor Superia 1600

*Glass Spinning* – Harmony, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Fujicolor Superia 1600

*You Never Know* – Harmony, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Fujicolor Superia 1600

*Clean Hands* – Harmony, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Fujicolor Superia 1600

*Hot Cylinder* – Harmony, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Fujicolor Superia 1600

*Glass Works* – Harmony, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Fujicolor Superia 1600

*Glass Shaping* – Harmony, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Fujicolor Superia 1600

*Tree Fallen on Abandoned Car* – Cambria, CA – Fujifilm X100V – 1981 Kodak

*Classic Oak* – Cambria, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Kodak Tri-X 400

*Dodge, Didn’t Dodge* – Cambria, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Expired Velvia

*Smashed Ford* – Cambria, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Urban Dreams

*Rusty Door* – Cambria, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Urban Dreams

*Abandoned Ford* – Cambria, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Urban Dreams

*Old Ford* – Cambria, CA – Fujifilm X100V – 1981 Kodak

*Shapes of Abandoned Ford* – Cambria, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Kodak Tri-X 400

*Classic Grill* – Cambria, CA – Fujifilm X100V – 1981 Kodak

*Cattle Gate* – Cambria, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Kodak Tri-X 400

*Grass Hill* – Cambria, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Kodak Tri-X 400

*12 Stars* – Cambria, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Fujicolor 100 Gold

*Rural Rancher* – Cambria, CA – Fujifilm X100V – 1981 Kodak

*Rancher* – Cambria, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Kodak Tri-X 400

*Storytelling* – Cambria, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Kodak Tri-X 400

Day 5, Part 2 — Day 6

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Fujifilm X100V — Amazon B&H  Moment
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Travel: Central Coast of California “En Plein Air” — w/Ken Rockwell & Dave Wyman — Day 4, Part 2

Posted on June 24, 2023 by Ritchie Roesch

*Pacific Poppies* – Montaña de Oro SP, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – Pacific Blues

Day 1 — Day 2 — Day 3 — Day 4, Part 1

Day 4, Part 2 — June 8, 2023 — Avila Beach, San Luis Obispo, Montaña de Oro & Pismo Beach

Buckle up! Part 2 of Day 4 was very busy, and I captured a whole bunch of pictures. I don’t like to include any more than 50 photographs in an article because it can cause the page to load slowly (even 50 can be problematic), but I exceeded that pretty significantly here. If the images are not loading quickly, I apologize up front. On the positive side, if you like viewing photos, there are a ton to enjoy!

After Prefumo Canyon, Dave Wyman led the tour to Avila Beach where we walked down the historic Harford Pier, built in 1919. There used to be a townsite at the pier called Port Hatford, which was founded in 1871, but the pier is pretty much all that remains today. Although it’s still a working pier, it is open to the public, and you can even drive down it.

The midday sun was high, which isn’t the best time for photography, but I kept my eye out for picture opportunities anyway. Something I have learned is that there are photographic opportunities anytime of the day or night if you look hard enough, and it is up to the photographer to find them. Some times of the day, such as golden hour, tend to offer more obvious options, but even during midday sunlight there are chances to use your camera.

*No Cigarettes* – Avila Beach, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 27mm – Kodachrome 64

After the pier we hiked a short distance down the Bob Jones City-to-the-Sea Trail, then we headed back to San Luis Obispo to visit the historic Octagon Barn. This unusual structure is one of those places you’d not likely stop at unless your tour guide drove you there, which is exactly what Dave did. The site is surprisingly well kept and photogenic.

The next stop was Montaña de Oro State Park near Los Osos, which is just an incredible place! This landscape is quite diverse, with steep cliffs, miles of shoreline (both sandy and rocky), sand dunes, coastal plains, trees, streams, canyons, and hills—a photographer’s playground! The sun was beginning to move a little lower in the sky (especially towards the end of the visit), but it was still harsh light that wasn’t ideal for photography; however, some of my favorite pictures from the trip were captured at Montaña de Oro State Park.

We did a fair amount of walking and hiking on this day, and by the time we got back to the cars I was pretty exhausted. It probably didn’t help that I had a short night of rest. I think most people on the tour felt similarly, and Dave made the decision to go back to the hotel and take an intermission. I called it a day and returned to my accommodations, and spent the remainder of the evening with my wife and kids. We did walk to the Pismo Beach Pier, but I purposefully left my cameras behind and only used my iPhone. I believe everyone else walked around San Luis Obispo that evening.

*Window View* – Montaña de Oro SP, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – The Rockwell

The camera gear that I used on the second part of Day 4 (you can read the entirety of the gear that I brought with me in my Ultimate Travel Compact Camera Kit article) was a Fujifilm X100V with a 5% CineBloom filter, a Fujifilm X-E4 with a Fujinon 18mm f/2, Fujinon 27mm f/2.8, Fujinon 90mm f/2, and Meike 35mm f/1.7, a Ricoh GR III, and the RitchieCam App on my iPhone 11.

For this part of Day 4, the Film Simulation Recipes that I used on my Fujifilm cameras (which can be found in the Fuji X Weekly App) were Kodak Tri-X 400, Kodachrome 64, Kodak Portra 400 v2, Fujicolor 100 Gold, Superia Premium 400, Pacific Blues, The Rockwell and Vintage Color. On the GR III, I used the Monochrome Film Recipe (which can be found in the Ricoh Recipes App) for the entirety of the trip, treating the camera as a monochrome-only model. For the iPhone, I used my Standard Film, Instant Color 1, and Dramatic B&W filters on RitchieCam.

The photographs below are in order of when they were captured. The picture at the top of this article, Pacific Poppies, fits in-between Seaside Poppies and Native Plants & Bird. Sometimes it takes a few tries to capture the strongest picture. The second image, No Cigarettes, fits in-between Boat in the Cove and Pro Boat. The third image, Window View, fits in-between Spooner Cove and Window Rock. Otherwise, the order is correct. I hope that you enjoy these pictures!

*Peeling Paint* – Avila Beach, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 27mm – The Rockwell

*Restaurant Rose* – Avila Beach, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 27mm – Kodachrome 64

*Rafter Light* – Avila Beach, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Fujicolor 100 Gold

*Ceiling Lines Abstract* – Avila Beach, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Kodak Tri-X 400

*Three Small Boats* – Avila Beach, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 27mm – Kodachrome 64

*Red Buckets* – Avila Beach, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 27mm – Kodachrome 64

*Pier Stairs* – Avila Beach, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 27mm – Kodachrome 64

*Yellow Bag on Buckets* – Avila Beach, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 27mm – Kodachrome 64

*Caution* – Avila Beach, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 27mm – Kodachrome 64

*Lift* – Avila Beach, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 27mm – Kodachrome 64

*Big Tire* – Avila Beach, CA – Ricoh GR III – Monochrome Film

*Crab Cages* – Avila Beach, CA – Ricoh GR III – Monochrome Film

*For Crabs* – Avila Beach, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 27mm – Kodachrome 64

*Boat in the Cove* – Avila Beach, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 27mm – Kodachrome 64

*Pro Boat* – Avila Beach, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 27mm – Kodachrome 64

*Curious Seal* – Avila Beach, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 27mm – Kodachrome 64

*Bike & Can* – Avila Beach, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 27mm – Kodachrome 64

*Seagull* – Avila Beach, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 27mm – Kodachrome 64

*Bob Jones* – Avila Beach, CA – iPhone 11 – RitchieCam App – Standard Film

*Yellow Ice* – Avila Beach, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Meike 35mm – Vintage Color

*White Barn* – San Luis Obispo, CA – Ricoh GR III – Monochrome Film

*Dramatic Barn* – San Luis Obispo, CA – iPhone 11 – RitchieCam App – Dramatic B&W

*Octogon Ceiling* – San Luis Obispo, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 18mm – Kodak Portra 400 v2

*Hole with a View* – San Luis Obispo, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 18mm – Kodak Portra 400 v2

*Octogon Barn & Poppies* – San Luis Obispo, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 18mm – Kodak Portra 400 v2

*Windmill* – San Luis Obispo, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 18mm – Kodak Portra 400 v2

*Eucalyptus Forest* – Montaña de Oro SP, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Kodak Tri-X 400

*Ken’s Hood Ornament* – Montaña de Oro SP, CA – Ricoh GR III – Monochrome Film

*Ocean Overlook* – Montaña de Oro SP, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Superia Premium 400

*Small Creek* – Montaña de Oro SP, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Superia Premium 400

*Small Pond* – Montaña de Oro SP, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Superia Premium 400

*Ken Twice* – Montaña de Oro SP, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Superia Premium 400

*Tide Pond* – Montaña de Oro SP, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Superia Premium 400

*Pacific Pool* – Montaña de Oro SP, CA – Ricoh GR III – Monochrome Film

*Rock & Reflection* – Montaña de Oro SP, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – Pacific Blues

*Morro Bay far Away* – Montaña de Oro SP, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – Pacific Blues

*Rocks & Water* – Montaña de Oro SP, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – Pacific Blues

*Stones & Water* – Montaña de Oro SP, CA – Ricoh GR III – Monochrome Film

*Tide Creek* – Montaña de Oro SP, CA – Ricoh GR III – Monochrome Film

*Rocks in the Water* – Montaña de Oro SP, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Superia Premium 400

*Dave Wyman using RitchieCam* – Montaña de Oro SP, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Superia Premium 400

*Dave Wyman using RitchieCam 2* – Montaña de Oro SP, CA – Ricoh GR III – Monochrome Film

*Rocky Ocean* – Montaña de Oro SP, CA – iPhone 11 – RitchieCam App – Dramatic B&W

*Rocks & Waves* – Montaña de Oro SP, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Kodak Tri-X 400

*Colorful Hill* – Montaña de Oro SP, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – The Rockwell

*Colorful Hill 2* – Montaña de Oro SP, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – The Rockwell

*Purple Flower* – Montaña de Oro SP, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – The Rockwell

*Colorful Beach* – Montaña de Oro SP, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – The Rockwell

*Dave & Phone* – Montaña de Oro SP, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – The Rockwell

*Green Hills, Blue Ocean* – Montaña de Oro SP, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 18mm – The Rockwell

*Gold Coast* – Montaña de Oro SP, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Fujicolor 100 Gold

*Spooner Cove* – Montaña de Oro SP, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Fujicolor 100 Gold

*Window Rock* – Montaña de Oro SP, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – Pacific Blues

*Cave* – Montaña de Oro SP, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – Pacific Blues

*Stay Back* – Montaña de Oro SP, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – Pacific Blues

*Cloudy Countryside* – Montaña de Oro SP, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – The Rockwell

*Dave & RitchieCam* – Montaña de Oro SP, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – The Rockwell

*Morro in the Distance* – Montaña de Oro SP, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – Pacific Blues

*Yellow Weeds 1* – Montaña de Oro SP, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – Pacific Blues

*Yellow Weeds 2* – Montaña de Oro SP, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – Pacific Blues

*Across the Cove* – Montaña de Oro SP, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – Pacific Blues

*Two Poppies* – Montaña de Oro SP, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – Pacific Blues

*Seaside Poppies* – Montaña de Oro SP, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – Pacific Blues

*Native Plants & Bird* – Montaña de Oro SP, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – Kodak Portra 400 v2

*About to Fly* – Pismo Beach, CA – iPhone 11 – RitchieCam App – Instant Color 1

Day 5, Part 1 — Day 5, Part 2 — Day 6

This post contains affiliate links, and if you make a purchase using my links I’ll be compensated a small amount for it.

Fujifilm X100V — Amazon B&H  Moment
Fujifilm X-E4 — Amazon B&H  Moment
Ricoh GR III — Amazon  B&H  Moment
Fujinon 18mm f/2 — Amazon   B&H   Moment
Fujinon 27mm f/2.8 — Amazon   B&H   Moment
Fujinon 90mm f/2 — Amazon   B&H   Moment
Meike 35mm f/1.7 — Amazon B&H

Travel: Central Coast of California “En Plein Air” — w/Ken Rockwell & Dave Wyman — Day 4, Part 1

Posted on June 22, 2023 by Ritchie Roesch

*Bench with a View* – Prefumo Canyon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Pentax-110 24mm – Pacific Blues

Day 1 — Day 2 — Day 3

Day 4, Part 1 — June 8, 2023 — Prefumo Canyon

I’m not a morning person. When my alarm sounded and it was still very dark outside, I didn’t want to jump out of the warm bed that I was comfortably resting in. I knew this was going to be a fun, memorable, and photographically productive day, so I wiped the sleep from my eyes and began to get ready. I was finally going to meet Ken Rockwell and Dave Wyman, and all the others who also signed up for the Central Coast of California tour, and I did not want to be late.

Everyone knows who Ken Rockwell is. His longstanding website has been one of the most popular in photography for decades. Dave Wyman is perhaps less well-known, but he has been teaching photography, leading tours, and publishing books for a long, long time—an incredible talent who deserves to be a household name in photography circles. I was very excited for the opportunity to meet them both in-person.

The tour began at a hotel in San Luis Obispo, where we all met up and decided who would be driving and who would be riding in which car. There were twelve of us total, including Ken and Dave, which means there were 10 attendees, including myself. Interestingly, I found out that seven were repeat customers, and had participated in at least one of Ken and Dave’s tours before.

After everyone had their gear loaded up, and as the sun was rising, we carpooled and caravanned to Prefumo Canyon, which is a mountainous area in-between San Luis Obispo and Avila Beach. It’s not a place anyone would likely stumble upon, unless they were purposefully exploring back roads that few ever take. But Dave knows these hidden gems very well thanks to the research he did for his first two books: Backroads of Northern California and Backroads of Southern California. While Dave does take his tours to the iconic locations that everyone photographs, he also goes to places almost nobody else does because virtually no one else knows where they are. Prefumo Canyon is one such spot.

*Light in the Woods* – Prefumo Canyon, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Kodak Ektachrome E100VS v1

Dave Wyman is the tour organizer and leader, while Ken Rockwell is brought along as a subject matter expert. They are both available during the trip for any questions or advice that anyone might have. There’s no classroom portion of the tour—it’s all “en plein air”—so any and all education is done in-the-field. One can learn as much or as little as one wants to, and it is up to the attendees to ask any questions that they might have. Both Dave and Ken make themselves available throughout the tour; however, the information and advice that they provide is limited until questions are asked. If anyone is considering joining one of their tours in the future, my advice is to think about what you want to learn, and have a list of questions written down in advance. Also, don’t be afraid to approach Dave and Ken, as they’re both eager to help.

We spent much of the morning in Prefumo Canyon, photographing in a few different locations before moving on to Avila Beach. Thankfully the sun was shining—this would be the only non-dreary day of the entire trip! I did so much photography at this spot that I decided to separate Day 4 into two parts.

The camera gear that I used on the first part of Day 4 (you can read the entirety of the gear that I brought with me in my Ultimate Travel Compact Camera Kit article) was a Fujifilm X100V with a 5% CineBloom filter, a Fujifilm X-E4 with a Fujinon 18mm f/2, Fujinon 90mm f/2, Pentax-110 24mm f/2.8, and Pentax-110 50mm f/2.8, and the RitchieCam App on my iPhone 11.

For this part of Day 4, the Film Simulation Recipes that I used on my Fujifilm cameras (which can be found in the Fuji X Weekly App) were Kodak Tri-X 400, Kodachrome 64, Kodak Portra 400 v2, Kodak Ektachrome E100VS v1, Fujicolor 100 Gold, Superia Premium 400, Pacific Blues, The Rockwell and Vintage Color. For the iPhone, I used my Vintage Kodak, Classic Color, and B&W Fade filters on RitchieCam.

The photographs below are in order of when they were captured. The picture at the top of this article, Bench with a View, fits in-between Retro Yellow and Dave with Rolleiflex. The second image, Light in the Woods, fits in-between Light in the Dark Forest and Ken & Distant Moon. Otherwise, the order is correct. I hope that you enjoy these pictures!

*Morro Rock from Above* – Prefumo Canyon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – The Rockwell

*Curvy Canyon Road* – Prefumo Canyon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – The Rockwell

*Tall Grass & Fence Post* – Prefumo Canyon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – The Rockwell

*California Hills* – Prefumo Canyon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – The Rockwell

*Post & Shrub* – Prefumo Canyon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 18mm – The Rockwell

*Hilltop view of Morro Rock* – Prefumo Canyon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – Pacific Blues

*Dave Wyman* – Prefumo Canyon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – Pacific Blues

*Rock Vista* – Prefumo Canyon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – Pacific Blues

*Pyramid* – Prefumo Canyon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – Pacific Blues

*Poison Oak* – Prefumo Canyon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – Pacific Blues

*Hills with Distant Clouds* – Prefumo Canyon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – Pacific Blues

*Thistles* – Prefumo Canyon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – Kodachrome 64

*Backlit Ken* – Prefumo Canyon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – Kodak Portra 400 v2

*Photograph of Photographers* – Prefumo Canyon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 18mm – Kodak Portra 400 v2

*Falling Windmill* – Prefumo Canyon, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Superia Premium 400

*Old Barn* – Prefumo Canyon, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Superia Premium 400

*Barn & Moon* – Prefumo Canyon, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Superia Premium 400

*Rural* – Prefumo Canyon, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Superia Premium 400

*Rustic* – Prefumo Canyon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Pentax-110 24mm – Kodak Portra 400 v2

*Pacific Aermotor* – Prefumo Canyon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Pentax-110 50mm – Kodak Portra 400 v2

*15 MPH* – Prefumo Canyon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Pentax-110 50mm – Kodak Portra 400 v2

*Rural Pole* – Prefumo Canyon, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Superia Premium 400

*Yellow* – Prefumo Canyon, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Superia Premium 400

*Retro Yellow* – Prefumo Canyon, CA – iPhone 11 – RitchieCam App – Vintage Kodak

*Dave with Rolleiflex* – Prefumo Canyon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Pentax-110 24mm – Pacific Blues

*Rural Watch* – Prefumo Canyon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Pentax-110 24mm – Pacific Blues

*Green Bush* – Prefumo Canyon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Pentax-110 24mm – Vintage Color

*Ken & Distant Moon* – Prefumo Canyon, CA – iPhone 11 – RitchieCam App – Classic Color

*Half Moon* – Prefumo Canyon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Pentax-110 50mm – Vintage Color

*Windmill* – Prefumo Canyon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Pentax-110 50mm – Vintage Color

*Canopy* – Prefumo Canyon, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Fujicolor 100 Gold

*Tree Arch* – Prefumo Canyon, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Fujicolor 100 Gold

*Rural Road* – Prefumo Canyon, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Kodak Tri-X 400

*Ken Rockwell* – Prefumo Canyon, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Kodak Tri-X 400

*Dave in B&W* – Prefumo Canyon, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Kodak Tri-X 400

*Sunlight in a Black Forest* – Prefumo Canyon, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Kodak Tri-X 400

*Flare over a Log*– Prefumo Canyon, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Fujicolor 100 Gold

*Light in the Dark Forest* – Prefumo Canyon, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Fujicolor 100 Gold

*Ken at 1,017′* – Prefumo Canyon, CA – iPhone 11 – RitchieCam App – B&W Fade

*Backlit Gate* – Prefumo Canyon, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Kodak Tri-X 400

Day 4, Part 2 — Day 5, Part 1 — Day 5, Part 2 — Day 6

This post contains affiliate links, and if you make a purchase using my links I’ll be compensated a small amount for it.

Fujifilm X100V — Amazon B&H  Moment
Fujifilm X-E4 — Amazon B&H  Moment
Fujinon 18mm f/2 — Amazon   B&H   Moment
Fujinon 90mm f/2 — Amazon   B&H   Moment

Travel: Central Coast of California “En Plein Air” — w/Ken Rockwell & Dave Wyman — Day 3

Posted on June 20, 2023 by Ritchie Roesch

*House on the Seaside Cliffs* – Pismo Beach, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Urban Dreams

Day 1 — Day 2

Day 3 — June 7, 2023 — Pismo Beach & Avila Beach

En plein air is a French expression that means outside or outdoors. Specific to art, it was made popular by Pierre-Henri de Valenciennes in 1800, who encouraged artists to immerse themselves into the landscapes that they were creating by painting the scene while at the scene, and not in a studio (the most common practice at the time). The en plein air philosophy was embraced by impressionist painters, such as Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Alfred Sisley, and others.

Dave Wyman calls the Central Coast of California tour “En Plein Air” because there’s no classroom or lecture portion—everything happens while out in the landscape actively capturing photographs. It’s about learning to see and interpret the scene around you by being immersed in it. Additionally, this part of California has some similarities to some French and Italian regions, so applying the en plein air expression seems appropriate.

While this was Day 3 for me, for everyone else on the tour it was Day 1. This was their travel day. Once settled into their hotel, they spent the evening photographing San Luis Obispo and Pismo Beach; however, I did not join them yet. The prior day was busy, and I knew the next several days would be, too, so I kept this one low-key with my family. We did make it to the ocean a few different times at various locations around Pismo Beach and Avila Beach, but I purposefully did less with my cameras and tried to just be in the moment more often.

*Shell* – Pismo Beach, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Superia Premium 400

The camera gear that I used on Day 3 (you can read the entirety of the gear that I brought with me in my Ultimate Travel Compact Camera Kit article) was a Fujifilm X100V with a 5% CineBloom filter, a Fujifilm X-E4 with a Meike 35mm f/1.7 lens, a Ricoh GR III, and the RitchieCam App on my iPhone 11. I did not use a tripod at any point on this trip, including the night shots below.

For Day 3, the Film Simulation Recipes that I used on my Fujifilm cameras (which can be found in the Fuji X Weekly App) were Kodak Tri-X 400, Kodachrome 64, Kodak Portra 400 v2, Superia Premium 400, The Rockwell, Urban Dreams, Xpro ’62, and Serr’s 500T. On the GR III, I used the Monochrome Film Recipe (which can be found in the Ricoh Recipes App) for the entirety of the trip, treating the camera as a monochrome-only model. For the iPhone, I used my Night Negative filter on RitchieCam. As always, these pictures are camera-made JPEG’s that are unedited, aside from cropping and straightening sometimes—my workflow is so quick and easy!

Regarding the order, the top picture, House on the Seaside Cliffs, was the very first photo of the day, while Shell fits in-between Hanging Ice Plant and Camera Fight with Jon. Although I used my cameras less on this day, and despite the drab overcast weather, I still was able to capture a few good shots. I hope that you enjoy these pictures!

*Seaweed on the Seashore* – Pismo Beach, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Kodak Tri-X 400

*Grey Coast* – Pismo Beach, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Kodak Tri-X 400

*Hanging Ice Plant* – Pismo Beach, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Superia Premium 400

*Camera Fight with Jon* – Avila Beach, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Meike 35mm – Kodachrome 64

*Green Dodge Van* – Avila Beach, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Meike 35mm – Kodachrome 64

*Dodge* – Avila Beach, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Meike 35mm – Kodachrome 64

*Old Man & the Sea* – Avila Beach, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Meike 35mm – Kodak Portra 400 v2

*Waiting to Rescue* – Avila Beach, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Meike 35mm – Xpro ’62

*Sibling at the Seashore* – Avila Beach, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Meike 35mm – Xpro ’62

*Incoming Surf* – Avila Beach, CA – Ricoh GR III – Monochrome Film

*Prelaunch* – Avila Beach, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Meike 35mm – Kodak Portra 400 v2

*Preparing to Launch* – Avila Beach, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Meike 35mm – The Rockwell

*Dry Dock* – Avila Beach, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Meike 35mm – The Rockwell

*Little Giant* – Avila Beach, CA – Ricoh GR III – Monochrome Film

*Violet Night* – Pismo Beach, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Serr’s 500T

*Dee’s Pizzeria* – Pismo Beach, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Serr’s 500T

*Lonely Lamp* – Pismo Beach, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Serr’s 500T

*Empty Pier* – Pismo Beach, CA – iPhone 11 – RitchieCam App – Night Negative

*Ocean Airstream* – Pismo Beach, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Serr’s 500T

*Pier View* – Pismo Beach, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Serr’s 500T

*Town, Reflected* – Pismo Beach, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Serr’s 500T

*Spirit of the Sea* – Pismo Beach, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Serr’s 500T

*Pismo Beach at Night* – Pismo Beach, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Serr’s 500T

Day 4, Part 1 — Day 4, Part 2 — Day 5, Part 1 — Day 5, Part 2 — Day 6

This post contains affiliate links, and if you make a purchase using my links I’ll be compensated a small amount for it.

Fujifilm X100V — Amazon B&H  Moment
Fujifilm X-E4 — Amazon B&H  Moment
Ricoh GR III — Amazon  B&H  Moment
Meike 35mm f/1.7 — Amazon B&H

Travel: Central Coast of California “En Plein Air” — w/Ken Rockwell & Dave Wyman — Day 2

Posted on June 17, 2023 by Ritchie Roesch

*Splash* – San Simeon, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Fujicolor 100 Gold

Day 1

Day 2 — June 6, 2023 — Morro Bay, San Simeon & Cambria

This was our first full day at the ocean. My wife and I decided to drive up the Pacific Coast Highway to explore Morro Bay, followed by the elephant seals north of San Simeon, and finally Moonstone Beach in Cambria on the way back down. This area is just incredible, and is one of my favorite sections of coastline in California!

Did you know that there are wild zebras near San Simeon? There are! Actually, they were once part of William Hearst’s private zoo, but they escaped (were released?), and now live wild in the coastal hills below Hearst Castle. Sometimes you can spot them from the highway. We were fortunate to find a few; while they weren’t very close, I was able to photograph a couple of them with my 90mm lens. I would have loved to visit the castle on this trip, but it just didn’t work out this time.

The weather was cool and overcast. It was fairly poor light for photography. A couple of times the sun did briefly try to peek through, but it mostly remained drab all day. Still, this area is stunning, so there were many photographic opportunities—in fact, the potential for great photography always exists no matter the time and location, and it is up to the photographer to find it.

*Playing with Waves* – Cambria, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Kodak Tri-X 400 Recipe

The camera gear that I used on Day 2 (you can read the entirety of the gear that I brought with me in my Ultimate Travel Compact Camera Kit article) was a Fujifilm X100V with a 5% CineBloom filter, a Fujifilm X-E4 with a Fujinon 90mm f/2 lens, a Ricoh GR III, and a Samsung ST76 digicam. The X100V was utilized the most and the X-E4 + 90mm was second most. The GR III and Samsung digicam were barely used, while everything else remained in the camera bag on this day.

For Day 2, the Film Simulation Recipes that I used on my Fujifilm cameras (which can be found in the Fuji X Weekly App) were Kodak Tri-X 400, Kodachrome 64, Kodak Ektachrome E100VS v2, The Rockwell, Urban Dreams, Fujicolor 100 Gold, Superia Premium 400, Pacific Blues, Expired Velvia, and Xpro ’62. On the GR III, I used the Monochrome Film Recipe (which can be found in the Ricoh Recipes App) for the entirety of the trip, treating the camera as a monochrome-only model. On the Samsung ST76 I used the Retro filter.

The photographs below are in order of when they were captured. The picture at the top of this article, Splash, fits in-between Wave Crash on Rock and Picture-in-Picture. The second image, Playing with Waves, fits in-between Beach Play and Self Portrait. Despite the drab weather, I was able to get a few good shots (interspersed between some so-so images)—with four more days still to go (including with Ken and Dave), there would be many, many more photographic opportunities to come.

*X Leaves* – Pismo Beach, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Urban Dreams

*Two Stacks* – Morro Bay, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Urban Dreams

*Bay Boats* – Morro Bay, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Urban Dreams

*Sea Weed* – Morro Bay, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Kodak Tri-X 400

*Dena’s Boat* – Morro Bay, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Expired Velvia

*Fender* – Morro Bay, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Kodak Tri-X 400

*Rock Veiled by Poles* – Morro Bay, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Kodak Tri-X 400

*Sub Sea* – Morro Bay, CA – Ricoh GR III – Monochrome Film

*Happy Boat* – Morro Bay, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Urban Dreams

*Notice* – San Simeon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – Kodachrome 64

*Penal Code* – San Simeon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – Kodachrome 64

*Better View* – San Simeon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – Kodachrome 64

*How Thou Cow?* – San Simeon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – Kodachrome 64

*Cows & Zebra* – San Simeon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – Kodachrome 64

*Zebra Below Castle* – San Simeon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – Kodak Ektachrome E100VS v2

*Yellow Coast* – San Simeon, CA – Samsung ST76 – Retro filter

*Blossom Cliff* – San Simeon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – The Rockwell

*Yellow, Green & Sea* – San Simeon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – The Rockwell

*Blooms Above Waves* – San Simeon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – Pacific Blues

*Yellow Cliff* – San Simeon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – Pacific Blues

*Protect our Wildlife* – San Simeon, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Urban Dreams

*Resting* – San Simeon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – Kodachrome 64

*Yawning* – San Simeon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – The Rockwell

*Fighting* – San Simeon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – The Rockwell

*Watching* – San Simeon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – The Rockwell

*Biting* – San Simeon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – The Rockwell

*Elephant Seal Beach* – San Simeon, CA – Samsung ST76 – Retro filter

*Seals* – San Simeon, CA – Ricoh GR III – Monochrome Film

*Coastal Flowers Reaching* – San Simeon, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Kodak Tri-X 400

*Two Rocks* – San Simeon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – The Rockwell

*Patch of Yellow* – San Simeon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – Pacific Blues

*Seaside Cliffs* – San Simeon, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Superia Premium 400

*Colorful Cliffs* – San Simeon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – The Rockwell

*Green Shrub* – San Simeon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – The Rockwell

*Wave Crash on Rock* – San Simeon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – The Rockwell

*Picture-in-Picture* – San Simeon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – The Rockwell

*Rocky Coast* – San Simeon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – Xpro ’62

*Rocks in the Water* – San Simeon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – Xpro ’62

*Cloudy Coast* – San Simeon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – Xpro ’62

*Purple Beach Blooms* – Cambria, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Superia Premium 400

*Hillside Blossoms* – Cambria, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Superia Premium 400

*Shark & Stick* – Cambria, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Kodak Tri-X 400

*Beach Play* – Cambria, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Kodak Tri-X 400

*Self Portrait* – Cambria, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Kodak Tri-X 400

*Alligator Log* – Cambria, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Kodak Tri-X 400

Day 3 — Day 4, Part 1 — Day 4, Part 2 — Day 5, Part 1 — Day 5, Part 2 — Day 6

This post contains affiliate links, and if you make a purchase using my links I’ll be compensated a small amount for it.

Fujifilm X100V — Amazon B&H  Moment
Fujifilm X-E4 — Amazon B&H  Moment
Ricoh GR III — Amazon  B&H  Moment
Fujinon 90mm f/2 — Amazon   B&H   Moment

Travel: Central Coast of California “En Plein Air” — w/Ken Rockwell & Dave Wyman — Day 1

Posted on June 15, 2023 by Ritchie Roesch

*No Lifeguard on Duty* – Pismo Beach, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 27mm – Kodachrome 64

Day 1 — June 5, 2023 — Travel Day

I recently returned from photographing California’s amazing central coast with Ken Rockwell and Dave Wyman. It was such an incredible adventure! I’m getting a little ahead of myself, though, so let me give you a little backstory first.

After more than a decade of shooting film, I purchased my first digital camera in 2009. I was one of those “holdouts” who stubbornly refused to go digital, and who would proudly proclaim why analog was preferable. Eventually I gave in; however, the transition wasn’t easy. In many ways it was like learning photography all over again. So in 2010 I began searching the internet for help and advice, and unsurprisingly I stumbled upon Ken Rockwell, who’s website has been one of the most popular photography pages for decades.

Ken is well-known and controversial. People seem to either love or loathe him. I found his website to be helpful; while I didn’t agree with everything he said, I did read a lot of useful information, and Ken’s advice was occasionally critical. In fact, it was an off-hand remark by Ken that convinced me to start blogging in the first place.

Nearly three years ago I published a Film Simulation Recipe called The Rockwell, which was inspired by Ken. I stated that it’s “a Recipe that Ken might use on his X100V if he ever read this article.” Well, to my surprise, a year later Ken did use The Rockwell Recipe and talked a little about it in his Fujifilm X-S10 review! It turned out that Leigh and Raymond Photography (formally known as The SnapChick) tipped Ken off to the Recipe, and then Ken actually emailed me, and we had a brief back-and-forth conversation.

Ken has been conducting photo tours—mostly in California—with Dave Wyman for years. Dave is a super-talented photographer who has published four books: Backroads of Northern California, Backroads of Southern California, Yosemite in Photographs, and Fearless Photographer: Nature. He’s been leading tours—not just photography tours, but various nature tours—since the mid-1970’s. Even though he’s 75, he has more energy than I do. Anyway, I’ve wanted to join in on one of these photo tours for years and years, but the opportunity never came until this year. The timing of Central Coast of California En Plein Air was perfect, so I signed up!

*Rusty Rail* – Pismo Beach, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 27mm – Kodachrome 64

The tour began on the June 7th in the late-afternoon, but I arrived two days early on June 5th. My wife, Amanda, and our four kids came along, too, although they did not take part in the tour (maybe next time). It was a long drive to the Pacific Coast from my home near Phoenix, Arizona; a stop in Bakersfield allowed us to stretch our legs. Once we settled into our accommodations at Pismo Beach, we took a stroll to the ocean. It was overcast, and as daylight began to fade into blue-hour, the weather turned into rain and thunder.

The complete list of photography gear that I brought on this trip can be found in my Ultimate Travel Compact Camera Kit article, where I go into much more detail. Specific to Day 1, I used a Fujifilm X100V with a 5% CineBloom filter, a Fujifilm X-E4 with a Fujinon 27mm f/2.8 lens, a Ricoh GR III, and the RitchieCam App on my iPhone 11. If I had known it was going to rain, I wouldn’t have taken the X-E4 and GR III out, but thankfully I was able to keep them mostly dry.

For the first day, the Film Simulation Recipes that I used on my Fujifilm cameras (which can be found in the Fuji X Weekly App) are Kodachrome 64, Kodak Portra 400 v2, Fujicolor 100 Gold, Superia Premium 400, Pacific Blues, and Xpro ’62. On the GR III, I used the Monochrome Film Recipe (which can be found in the Ricoh Recipes App) for the entirety of the trip, treating the camera as a monochrome-only model (something Ricoh should definitely consider releasing). For the iPhone, I used my Color Negative Low filter on RitchieCam.

The photographs below are in order of when they were captured. The picture at the top of this article, No Lifeguard on Duty, fits in-between By-the-Wind Sailor and Josh on a Stump. The second image, Rusty Rail, fits in-between Yellow Ice Flower and Clean Up Your Dog. Otherwise, the order is correct. Although these are mostly snapshots, I hope that you still enjoy them—my photography got a little more serious as the week progressed.

*No!* – Bakersfield, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Fujicolor 100 Gold

*Watering the Dogs* – Bakersfield, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Fujicolor 100 Gold

*Green Seat* – Bakersfield, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Fujicolor 100 Gold

*Three Slides* – Bakersfield, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Superia Premium 400

*Broken* – Bakersfield, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Superia Premium 400

*Purple Blooms* – Pismo Beach, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 27mm – Pacific Blues

*Cat in the Road* – Pismo Beach, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 27mm – Xpro ’62

*Red Stairs* – Pismo Beach, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 27mm – Xpro ’62

*$19.95* – Pismo Beach, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 27mm – Xpro ’62

*Stairs Down* – Pismo Beach, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 27mm – Kodachrome 64

*Yellow Ice Flower* – Pismo Beach, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 27mm – Pacific Blues

*Clean Up Your Dog* – Pismo Beach, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 27mm – Kodachrome 64

*Surf’s Up* – Pismo Beach, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 27mm – Kodachrome 64

*By-the-Wind Sailor* – Pismo Beach, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 27mm – Kodachrome 64

*Josh on a Stump* – Pismo Beach, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 27mm – Kodak Portra 400 v2

*Hotel on a Hill* – Pismo Beach, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 27mm – Kodak Portra 400 v2

*Seashore Fishing* – Pismo Beach, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 27mm – Kodak Portra 400 v2

*Five* – Pismo Beach, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 27mm – Kodachrome 64 Recipe

*Water, Rocks & Sky* – Pismo Beach, CA – iPhone 11 – RitchieCam – Color Negative Low

*Dark Shores* – Pismo Beach, CA – Ricoh GR III – Monochrome Film

*Coast Girl* – Pismo Beach, CA – Ricoh GR III – Monochrome Film

*Gamer Work* – Pismo Beach, CA – Ricoh GR III – Monochrome Film

*Sea Gypsy* – Pismo Beach, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 27mm – Kodachrome 64

Day 2 — Day 3 — Day 4, Part 1 — Day 4, Part 2 — Day 5, Part 1 — Day 5, Part 2 — Day 6

This post contains affiliate links, and if you make a purchase using my links I’ll be compensated a small amount for it.

Fujifilm X100V — Amazon B&H  Moment
Fujifilm X-E4 — Amazon B&H  Moment
Ricoh GR III — Amazon  B&H  Moment
Fujinon 27mm f/2.8 — Amazon   B&H   Moment

I Disappeared for a Week, but Now I’m Back!

Posted on June 11, 2023 by Ritchie Roesch

*Pacific Poppies* – Montaña de Oro SP, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – Pacific Blues Recipe

I packed my bags and disappeared for a week. It might have seemed as though I dropped off the face of the planet, but I assure you I was on Earth the entire time. I returned home late last night. I’m sure it will take some time to catch up on everything, such as comments, emails, etc., but I promise that I will. Thanks for being patient!

Where did I go? I took a roadtrip to the central California coast, which is one of my absolute favorite places. I had a great time and captured tons of pictures—expect a lot of articles about the journey in the coming weeks! I had planned to do a little work while out of town, but each day was so busy that it just didn’t happen.

The pictures in this article are a little teaser of what I did and what you can expect to see more of soon. I have some great content ideas that I plan to publish in the coming days and weeks. You won’t want to miss any of it, so stay tuned. In the meantime, I hope that you enjoy these photographs that I captured last week while at the California coast!

*Shell* – Pismo Beach, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Superia Premium 400 Recipe

*Rural* – Prefumo Canyon, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Superia Premium 400 Recipe

*Hearst Ranch Schoolhouse* – San Simeon, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Urban Dreams Recipe

*Abandoned Classics* – Cambria, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Fujicolor 100 Gold Recipe

*Light in the Dark Forest* – Prefumo Canyon, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Fujicolor 100 Gold Recipe

*Spooner Cove* – Montaña de Oro SP, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Fujicolor 100 Gold Recipe

*Dave Wyman* – Prefumo Canyon, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 & Fujinon 90mm – Pacific Blues Recipe

*Ken Rockwell* – Prefumo Canyon, CA – Fujifilm X100V – Kodak Tri-X 400 Recipe

There’s an Easier Way — JPEG Photography for a Faster Workflow

Posted on February 3, 2023 by Ritchie Roesch

*Arches National Park, Utah — iPhone 11 — RitchieCam App — Analog Gold filter*

“I’ve been working on my photos from October rather than reviews….”
—Ken Rockwell, February 2, 2023

I just stumbled upon that quote from Ken, which was followed by an iPhone photo from October (that’s why this article begins with an iPhone picture). I bet a lot of you can relate to his statement. When you photograph a lot, your post-processing workflow can get backed up quite a bit. I have thousands of unprocessed RAW files that have been sitting on a now-obsolete computer’s hard drive for at least seven years now. I get it: you’ve got stuff to do, and your limited time is being pulled every which way, so something’s got to give.

I discovered that there’s a better way. There’s no need to get four or five months behind. There’s no need to let your photographic work back up so much. You can can accomplish so much more with the time that you’ll save. What is this better way? It’s really simple: shoot JPEGs, and skip the picture editing step (called One Step Photography, as explained by Ansel Adams in his book Polaroid Land Camera). More and more photographers are embracing this approach.

*Sitting Above Horseshoe Bend* – Horseshoe Bend, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4 & Pergear 10mm – “The Rockwell” Recipe

Ken Rockwell knows this. Not only does he often shoot JPEGs, but he once tried one of my Film Simulation Recipes on a Fujifilm camera. He shoots with a lot of brands, and Fujifilm isn’t his main make. I have Film Simulation Recipes for Fujifilm cameras, I have Recipes for Ricoh GR cameras, and I have an iPhone camera app called RitchieCam; if you don’t shoot with Fujifilm, Ricoh, or iPhone, your options are much more limited (I did make a few Recipes for Nikon Z, too, but it’s a pretty small number).

The reason why it’s important to shoot with Recipes is because the settings have been fine-tuned to produce a particular aesthetic that doesn’t require editing. The images look good straight from the camera, as if they had been post-processed or perhaps were even shot on film. Except they weren’t, which saves you a ton of time, money, and hassle. If you aren’t shooting with Recipes, you are most certainly doing some amount of post-processing, whether you shoot RAW or JPEG. There are some people who do still edit their camera-made-using-Recipes JPEGs, but they’re doing much less editing than they otherwise would be. The point of using Film Simulation Recipes is to edit less or (preferably) not at all, which has a huge upside, but it does require Recipes that produce excellent results, and a little extra care by the photographer in the field, since “I’ll fix it in post” isn’t really an option.

If Ken had used a Fujifilm camera programmed with Fuji X Weekly Recipes, surely he would not be busy right now post-processing pictures captured way back in October. Instead, he’d be writing those reviews that have been delayed, or out on some other photographic adventure. The October exposures would have been completed in October, or maybe early November at the latest. If he had used RitchieCam, there would be no need to process his iPhone images with Skylum software, because they would have been ready-to-publish the moment they were captured. Ken, you should try my iPhone camera app. And you should shoot with Fujifilm cameras more often.

*Captured at the end of October, posted to Instagram the next day, and published on this website November 8th.*

With the Canikony brands, shooting awesome straight-out-of-camera (SOOC) JPEGs isn’t as easy or prevalent. Sure, it can be done, but it is much more often done with other brands because of things like the Fuji X Weekly App, which contains approaching 300 Film Simulation Recipes for Fujifilm cameras, so no matter your desired aesthetic, there’s a Recipe for you. Download the Fuji X Weekly App for free today (Android here, Apple here), and consider becoming a Patron subscriber to unlock the best App experience. Ken is sitting at a computer right now fiddling with files, since he didn’t shoot with Fujifilm cameras programmed with Film Simulation Recipes.

People seem to either love or hate Ken Rockwell. To be clear, this article is not bashing him. I’ve actually had correspondence with Ken, and he seems like a very nice guy. I think his “real” personality is much more kind and genuine than his online persona, which can sometimes come across as abrasive and perhaps even offensive. If you hate him, I would suggest that you reach out to him with an open mind and heart, and try to get to know him a little, because your mind might get changed, even if just a bit. Personally, I have found some of his articles, insights, and commentary to be quite helpful; however, I certainly don’t agree with everything that he says, and I take his words with a grain of salt (as you should with mine). He’s very successful at what he does, so he’s obviously doing something “right” even if I don’t fully agree with what it is.

All of that is to say, if you don’t want your workflow backed up for months because you have so many exposures to edit, and you’d rather spend your time doing something else—including capturing more photographs—then SOOC JPEGs might just be the thing for you. If you don’t own a Fujifilm camera, consider picking one up. Download the Fuji X Weekly App. Select a few Film Simulation Recipes to try. Let your RAW editor subscription expire.

This post contains affiliate links, and if you make a purchase using my links I’ll be compensated a small amount for it.

Fujifilm X-E4 in black: Amazon B&H Moment
Fujifilm X-E4 in silver: Amazon B&H Moment

Ken Rockwell Used “The Rockwell” Film Simulation Recipe!

Posted on May 24, 2021 by Ritchie Roesch

I’m shocked! Ken Rockwell actually used “The Rockwell” film simulation recipe! Not only did he try it, but he also included pictures with these settings in his Fujifilm X-S10 review, with a link back to this website. Sure, he misspelled my name just a little (a common mistake), but I’m not worried about it. I’m honored that he even knows about the Fuji X Weekly blog, I’m ecstatic that he tried one of my film simulation recipes, and I’m just blown away that he shared it on his website!

The Rockwell is one of my favorite recipes for landscape photography to achieve wild colors similar to (but not exactly like) Velvia 50 film, which was one of my favorite films for color landscape photography. Below are a few pictures that I captured using this recipe:

*Gibbon Falls* – Yellowstone NP, WY – Fujifilm X100V – “The Rockwell”

*Half Dome* – Yosemite NP, CA – Fujifilm X-E4 – “The Rockwell”

*Sitting Above Horseshoe Bend* – Horseshoe Bend, AZ – Fujifilm X-E4 – “The Rockwell”

Find “The Rockwell” and over 150 other Fujifilm film simulation recipes on the Fuji X Weekly app!

Fujifilm X100V Film Simulation Recipe: The Rockwell (Velvia)

Posted on July 18, 2020 by Ritchie Roesch

Abandoned Dream – Red Rock Lakes NWR, MT – Fujifilm X100V – “The Rockwell”

Ken Rockwell likes to say that Fujifilm cameras aren’t good for landscape photography because the JPEG colors aren’t “wild” enough for him. Even on his review of the X100V, he says, “The as-shot JPG color palette and contrasts are quite sedate,” and, “the X100V won’t amp-up colors if they aren’t strong to begin with.” He adds, “The Velvia film simulation modes don’t look any better; certainly not like real Velvia.” He’s entitled to his opinion, but I think he just hasn’t used the “right” recipe, and he might change his mind if he did. This recipe is one that Ken Rockwell might approve of, as it’s inspired by him, and that’s why I call it The Rockwell.

Ken mentions that the Velvia film simulation isn’t like real Velvia, and he means Velvia 50. There are, in fact, a few different films that share the Velvia name. Straight out of the box, the film simulation differs a little from the film. My X-T30 Velvia recipe is intended to get the film simulation closer to actual Velvia 50 film. “The Rockwell” recipe is also in the ballpark of Velvia 50 film, although it might actually exceed it. I’ve heard it said that Fujifilm’s short lived Fortia film (which Color Chrome Effect and Color Chrome Effect Blue are inspired by), which is like Velvia 50 on steroids, was a mistake. Supposedly it (or at least the original Fortia 50) was a botched Velvia run, but instead of trashing it Fujifilm sold it as a new film. This recipe isn’t as crazy as Fortia, but it’s every bit as crazy as Velvia 50 and perhaps slightly more. Another film that is in the general vicinity of this aesthetic is Kodak’s Ektachrome 100VS, which was essentially Kodak’s closest film to Velvia, but this recipe is a little off from that film. No, “The Rockwell” isn’t an exact match to any film, it’s just a recipe that Ken might use on his X100V if he ever read this article.

Gibbon Falls – Yellowstone NP, WY – Fujifilm X100V – “The Rockwell”

This film simulation recipe is definitely not for everyone. Just like the person it was named after, it’s bold yet sometimes over-the-top. Many of you will find it to be much too much for your photography. But some of you are going to love it. In the right situations, this recipe is stunning! It uses Clarity, which slows down the camera considerably, but this is a recipe that you might want to work slow with anyway, so it should be alright. This recipe is only compatible (as if this writing) with the X100V, X-Pro3 and X-T4.

Velvia
Dynamic Range: DR200
Highlight: -1
Shadow: -1
Color: +4
Noise Reduction: -4
Sharpening: +4
Clarity: +5
Grain Effect: Weak, Small
Color Chrome Effect: Strong
Color Chrome Effect Blue: Strong
White Balance: Auto, +1 Red & -1 Blue
ISO: Auto, up to ISO 6400
Exposure Compensation: +1/3 to +2/3 (typically)

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs using this “The Rockwell” film simulation recipe on my Fujifilm X100V:

Lake McDonald Shore Trees – Glacier National Park, MT – Fujifilm X100V

Driftwood Shore – Glacier National Park, MT – Fujifilm X100V

McDonald Lake & Rocks – Glacier National Park, MT – Fujifilm X100V

Lake McDonald – Glacier National Park, MT – Fujifilm X100V

Flathead Lake – Flathead Lake, MT – Fujifilm X100V

Clear Blue Water – Glacier National Park, MT – Fujifilm X100V

Tree & Snake River – Idaho Falls, ID – Fujifilm X100V

McDonald Creek Behind Pines – Glacier National Park, MT – Fujifilm X100V

Trees Obscuring the River – Glacier National Park, MT – Fujifilm X100V

McDonald Creek – Glacier National Park, MT – Fujifilm X100V

Green Trees – Glacier National Park, MT – Fujifilm X100V

Forest Flowers – Glacier National Park, MT – Fujifilm X100V

Lake Daisies – Flathead Lake, MT – Fujifilm X100V

Blossomed Bush by the Lake – Flathead Lake, MT – Fujifilm X100V

Upper Red Rock Lake – Red Rock Lakes NWR, MT – Fujifilm X100V

Red Lake Light – Flathead Lake, MT – Fujifilm X100V

Morning Rays – Canyon Ferry Lake, MT – Fujifilm X100V

Sunset Through The Trees – Island Park, ID – Fujifilm X100V

Aspen Sunstar – Island Park, ID – Fujifilm X100V

Johnny Sack Cabin – Island Park, ID – Fujifilm X100V

Hanging Flower Pot – Big Sky, MT – Fujifilm X100V

Mountain Wildflowers 1 – Red Rock Lakes NWR, MT – Fujifilm X100V

Mountain Wildflowers 2 – Red Rock Lakes NWR, MT – Fujifilm X100V

Rural Blossoms – Island Park, ID – Fujifilm X100V

Mountain Springtime – Island Park, ID – Fujifilm X100V

Blossom by the River – Island Park, ID – Fujifilm X100V

River Grass – Island Park, ID – Fujifilm X100V

Grassy Hills – Wild Horse Island State Park, MT – Fujifilm X100V

Pine in the Field – Wild Horse Island State Park, MT – Fujifilm X100V

Abandoned Rural Building – Wild Horse Island State Park, MT – Fujifilm X100V

Pop of Color Cabin – Polebridge, MT – Fujifilm X100V

Birdhouse Fence – Island Park, ID – Fujifilm X100V

Playground at the Edge of Nowhere – Island Park, ID – Fujifilm X100V

Hot Water – Yellowstone National Park, WY – Fujifilm X100V

Blue Eye – Yellowstone National Park, WY – Fujifilm X100V

Red Rock Turtle – Island Park, ID – Fujifilm X100V

Colorful Pallets – Bozeman, MT – Fujifilm X100V

Westfield – Idaho Falls, ID – Fujifilm X100V

Pink – Island Park, ID – Fujifilm X100V

Stop for the Pink Bus – Silos, MT – Fujifilm X100V

18 – Silos, MT – Fujifilm X100V

Stop Here – Yellowstone National Park, WY – Fujifilm X100V

Blue Trailer – Rexburg, ID – Fujifilm X100V

Grease Work – Rexburg, ID – Fujifilm X100V