Landscape photography | FUJI X WEEKLY

Vivid Velvia – Fujifilm X-E5 (X-Trans V) Film Simulation Recipe

*Roaring Fork* – Great Smoky Mountains NP, TN – Fujifilm X-E5 – Vivid Velvia

One item on my “bucket list” was to visit the Great Smoky Mountains in the fall. Two weeks ago I was able to check that one off; however, I was a little early for the peak autumn show. The trees were only just starting to show fall colors, with little pops here and there. I’ll have to try again sometime in the future, and hopefully time it just a little better. Even though I was a week or two early, it was still an amazing place to visit, and I’m so glad that I was able to go.

I created the Vivid Velvia Film Simulation Recipe in preparation for the trip, intending to use it on this adventure. My two favorite Velvia-based Recipes are The Rockwell and Velvia Film. The Rockwell Recipe, named after Ken Rockwell and designed to be similar to his aesthetic (he actually used it!), is very bold and a bit over-the-top, sometimes a smidge too much. The Velvia Film Recipe, which is a part of the Film Dial universal Recipe set, is very nice, but occasionally not bold enough. This Recipe is intended to bridge the gap between the two, sitting right in-between both of them. It’s a slightly less over-the-top alternative to The Rockwell, and a slightly more bold version of Velvia Film; overall, it’s similar to both.

*Autumn Spires* – Gatlinburg, TN – Fujifilm X-E5 – Vivid Velvia

After using this Vivid Velvia Recipe quite extensively on the trip, I’m very happy with the results. It does well in a variety of situations, including nighttime photography. Obviously, this is not a good choice for portraits, but it’s one of the best options for colorful landscape pictures. This Recipe is compatible with “newer” X-Trans IV cameras (Fujifilm X-T4, X-S10, X-E4, and X-T30 II), all fifth-generation X-Trans models (X-H2s, X-H2, X-T5, X-S20, X100VI, X-T50, X-M5, X-E5, and X-T30 III), and “newer” GFX cameras (GFX100S, GFX100S II, GFX100 II, and GFX100RF).

Film Simulation: Velvia
Dynamic Range: DR400
Grain Effect: Weak, Small
Color Chrome Effect: Strong
Color Chrome FX Blue: Weak
White Balance: Auto Ambience Priority, +1 Red & -3 Blue
Highlight: -1
Shadow: -1
Color: +4
Sharpness: +1
High ISO NR: -4
Clarity: +3
ISO: Auto, up to ISO 6400
Exposure Compensation: +1/3 to +1 (typically)

Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs captured using this Vivid Velvia Film Simulation Recipe on my Fujifilm X-E5:

*Rotary Club* – Gatlinburg, TN – Fujifilm X-E5

*Lights Left On* – Gatlinburg, TN – Fujifilm X-E5

*Cold Drinks* – Gatlinburg, TN – Fujifilm X-E5

*White House* – Canton, GA – Fujifilm X-E5

*Abandoned Garage* – Gatlinburg, TN – Fujifilm X-E5

*Sky Tram* – Gatlinburg, TN – Fujifilm X-E5

*Compass Tower* – Gatlinburg, TN – Fujifilm X-E5

*Fall Colors* – Gatlinburg, TN – Fujifilm X-E5

*Fall Bridge* – Gatlinburg, TN – Fujifilm X-E5

*Fall Trees* – Gatlinburg, TN – Fujifilm X-E5

*Pine Trees* – Canton, GA – Fujifilm X-E5

*Sunlight through Tree Branches* – Canton, GA – Fujifilm X-E5

*Ely’s Mill Trucks* – Gatlinburg, TN – Fujifilm X-E5

*Leconte Creek* – Gatlinburg, TN – Fujifilm X-E5

*Roaring Fork Waterfall* – Great Smoky Mountains NP, TN – Fujifilm X-E5

*Thousand Drips* – Great Smoky Mountains NP, TN – Fujifilm X-E5

*Falls Between Boulders* – Great Smoky Mountains NP, TN – Fujifilm X-E5

*Autumn Leaves on Rocks* – Great Smoky Mountains NP, TN – Fujifilm X-E5

*Log Fence* – Great Smoky Mountains NP, TN – Fujifilm X-E5

*Log Cabin* – Great Smoky Mountains NP, TN – Fujifilm X-E5

*Ephraim Bales Cabin* – Great Smoky Mountains NP, TN – Fujifilm X-E5

*Red Gondolas* – Gatlinburg, TN – Fujifilm X-E5

*Nantahala River* – Wesser, NC – Fujifilm X-E5

*Stop at Ela Cabins* – Ela, NC – Fujifilm X-E5

*Abandoned Store at Night* – White House, TN – Fujifilm X-E5

*Rock Concert* – White House, TN – Fujifilm X-E5

*Electric Guitars* – White House, TN – Fujifilm X-E5

*Blues & Red* – White House, TN – Fujifilm X-E5

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-E5 in black:
Amazon, B&H, Moment, Nuzira
Fujifilm X-E5 in silver:
Amazon, B&H, Moment, Nuzira

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Antelope Island State Park – Two Cameras, Two Photographers

Posted on June 21, 2020 by Ritchie Roesch

Rainbow over Antelope Island. Photo by Ritchie Roesch with a Fujifilm X100V.

One of my favorite places in northern Utah is Antelope Island State Park. It’s such a strange land! Antelope Island, which sits in the Great Salt Lake, seems like a world away from the Salt Lake City metro area, even though it is located very close to the city. Wildlife abounds, including buffalo, mule deer, pronghorn antelope, big horn sheep and many other animals. At one time the bison herd on Antelope Island was the largest in America. There are a huge variety of birds that migrate across the area. The water is often calm, and the reflections can be incredible. There are sandy beaches. There are trails that curve across the rugged landscape. There is a unique beauty to Antelope Island that draws me back. It’s one of my favorite places to photograph!

Antelope Island is also disgusting! There’s a certain “rotten egg” smell that can be found near the shores. There are tons and tons of bugs, including biting no-see-ums, brine flies (that cover the shore like a thick cloud), mosquitoes, tons of spiders (venomous and non-venomous), among other things. It’s pretty common to see dead birds. There’s plenty to love and hate about this place. I try to look beyond the gross to see the beauty. It is indeed an odd place, and one has to purposefully look beyond the negative aspects to truly appreciate it. I feel like it is a secret treasure that is easily overlooked.

My wife, Amanda, and I visited Antelope Island earlier this week. I brought my Fujifilm X100V, while she had her X-T20 with a Fujinon 10-24mm f/4 lens attached to it. For my pictures, I used my Kodak Tri-X 400 film simulation recipe for black-and-white and my Fujicolor Reala 100 film simulation recipe for color. I reprocessed in-camera a couple of the rainbow pictures using Velvia. Amanda had PRO Neg. Hi loaded into her camera, but she reprocessed most of her pictures using either Acros or Velvia.

Even though we used different cameras with different generation sensors, I thought that our pictures worked well together. I wanted to share them with you as a set. I found it interesting that for some images our vision was nearly identical, and for others we captured our pictures differently. Amanda did a great job, and it was a fun experience to go out and photograph with her. Antelope Island once again proved to be a great location for photography. Enjoy!

B&W

Photo by Amanda Roesch with a Fujifilm X-T20 and 10-24mm.