What’s in the February issue? The cover story is Flare For Photography, which takes a close look at lens flare. There are a total of 18 photographs this month, including the cover image (above). I hope that you find it enlightening, entertaining, and inspiring!
Note: this was a Creative Collective article, but now it’s available for everyone.
Mountain Reeds – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1 – “Scanned Negative”
I was playing around with white balance shift, and came across some settings that I thought looked interesting. I wasn’t attempting to mimic any specific film or process, but was simply experimenting with tints. I’m pretty well acquainted with white balance shift, but I was searching for inspiration—and I found it!
While this film simulation recipe wasn’t modeled after any specific film, what it reminded me of is an improperly color-corrected negative film scan. You see, color negative film is orange (because of the yellow and magenta masks), and when scanned and inverted into a positive image, it will have a green-cast that needs to be color corrected. Some scanners will do this automatically, and some will require manual adjustments. If not color corrected completely right, the picture can have a color cast that might seem a little off—in this case, slightly too green (depending on the light), but not by a lot (and not always). In any event, I think this recipe has a certain mood that’s definitely interesting in the right situations.
Sidewalk Bell – Bountiful, UT – Fujifilm X-T1 – “Scanned Negative”
This “Scanned Negative” film simulation recipe is compatible with all X-Trans II cameras that have the PRO Neg. Std film simulation. The XQ1, XQ2, and X10 I believe don’t have this film simulation, so it’s not compatible with those cameras. If you have an X-Pro1 or X-E1, feel free to try this recipe, too, although the results will be slightly different.
PRO Neg. Std Dynamic Range: DR200 Highlight: -1 (Medium-Soft) Shadow: 0 (Standard) Color: -2 (Low) Sharpness: 0 (Standard) Noise Reduction: -2 (Low) White Balance: 5300K, -5 Red & -4 Blue ISO: Auto up to ISO 3200 Exposure Compensation: +1/3 to +2/3 (typically)
Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs captured on my Fujifilm X-T1 using this “Scanned Negative” film simulation recipe:
Classic Adventures Parked – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1
Open Sign – Layton, UT – Fujifilm X-T1
Yellow Poncho – Bountiful, UT – Fujifilm X-T1
Icy Hose – Bountiful, UT – Fujifilm X-T1
Reflected, Not Reflected – Bountiful, UT – Fujifilm X-T1
Stairway to Nativity – Bountiful, UT – Fujifilm X-T1
Post & Trashcan – Bountiful, UT – Fujifilm X-T1
Ivy & Winter Home – Bountiful, UT – Fujifilm X-T1
Snow On Green Bush – Bountiful, UT – Fujifilm X-T1
Neighborhood in Winter Snow – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-T1
Nobody pays me to write the content found on fujixweekly.com. There’s a real cost to operating and maintaining this site, not to mention all the time that I pour into it. If you appreciated this article, please consider making a one-time gift contribution. Thank you!
I figured out a simple technique for creating dreamy, surreal photographs using two cameras. It’s pretty simple, really, but it will require some specific tools. What you’ll achieve with this technique is something Lomo-looking—perhaps toy camera or even instant-film-like. If you are drawn to a soft, analog-esque aesthetic, this is something you’ll want to try!
Let’s dive in!
Note: This was originally a Creative Collective article, but now is available to everyone.
Fujifilm X-Pro1 Viewfinder
First, you’ll need two cameras, and one needs to have an optical viewfinder, because we’ll be shooting through the optical viewfinder. I chose an X-Pro1. More on this in a moment.
For the capturing camera, you can use any camera and any recipe. I chose a Fujifilm X-E4 loaded with the Fujicolor Superia 1600 film simulation recipe because I especially like the film-like-look of this recipe. I attached my Fujinon 90mm f/2 lens to the X-E4. You’ll need a telephoto lens. I found that 50mm is the minimum, and that only works marginally with a lot of vignetting—you’ll probably need to crop. The 90mm focal-length worked really well, and probably the longer the focal-length the better.
Instax pictures of me shooting with a Fujifilm X-E4 & X-Pro1.
I tried three different cameras with optical viewfinders to shoot through: Fujifilm X-Pro1, Fujifilm X100V, and Fed 5c (a vintage Russian rangefinder). The X-Pro1 and X100V worked similarly well, but I felt like the X100V produced slightly softer results (yet with less vignetting). The FED 5c was fine other than a bright spot that’s in the viewfinder. Below are examples captured through an X100V and a Fed 5c. I went with the X-Pro1 for most of my pictures, but I think almost any camera with an optical viewfinder will work. Also, just as a note, the optical viewfinder cameras were not powered on, as there’s no need for them to be operating, we’re simply using their glass (I assume it’s glass).
Shot using Fujifilm X-E4 through Fujifilm X100V viewfinder.
Shot using Fujifilm X-E4 through FED 5c viewfinder.
So we have our capturing camera, lens, film simulation recipe, and optical viewfinder camera picked out. Now What?
I found the hardest part of this was getting the lens to line up with the viewfinder. You could rig something to attach the lens to the viewfinder (maybe using electrical tape?), but I didn’t—I simply put the lens (or really, a UV filter attached to the lens) against the viewfinder, holding one camera in one hand, and the other camera in the other hand. If you’re off by just a little left, right, up, or down, it won’t work, so take care to make sure the lens is centered on the viewfinder. I think how centered and flush the lens is on the viewfinder will affect the vignetting and sharpness (or should I say softness?) of the picture. It will probably take some practice to get proficient at this.
Another note is that the lens will become less telephoto. I’m not certain what the 90mm focal-length became, but it was definitely not 90mm! Maybe closer to 50mm? It was noticeably less telephoto.
Also, there’s a lot less light that reaches the sensor. I calculated four-stops less! So you’ll need to take that into consideration, and make sure there’s plenty of light when you’re doing this technique.
Beyond that, my only suggestion is to give this two-camera technique a try and see what happens. Maybe you’ll like the results, maybe you won’t. But if you are looking for something different to try, this might be just the thing! I wouldn’t want to do this with every picture, but it might make for an interesting photo series.
Teasals & Frozen Lake – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4 + X-Pro1
Oquirrh Mountains Beyond The Pond – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4 + X-Pro1
Barn Across The Frozen Pond – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4 + X-Pro1
Arrow to Weather Radar – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4 + X-Pro1
Farm Equipment – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4 + X-Pro1
Pointing To Where We Should Go – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4 + X-Pro1
Highrise, Reflection & Lamp – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-H1 – “Kodak Gold 200”
I took my Fujifilm X-H1 to downtown Salt Lake City, Utah, loaded with my Kodak Gold 200 film simulation recipe, to do some urban photography. Attached to the camera was a Fujinon 18mm f/2 lens, which I find to be a good focal-length for cityscape and street images.
Kodak Gold, which was introduced in the late-1980’s and is still around today, is a general purpose color negative film. It was originally called Kodacolor VR-G, then Kodacolor Gold, and finally Gold. It replaced Kodacolor VR. While the film has been improved a few times over the years, it still looks pretty much the same today as it did in the 1980’s. My film simulation recipe is an approximation of Kodak Gold for Fujifilm X-Trans III plus the X-T3 and X-T30 cameras.
For those following the SOOC video series, Kodak Gold 200 is the current recipe-of-the-month. Fujifilm X-Photographer Nathalie Boucry and I will be discussing this recipe, including showcasing your pictures captured with it, in the next episode. We’re taking January off, so the next video, which will be Episode 01 of Season 02, will be on February 10th. Be sure to mark your calendar! Since there’s extra time to shoot with this recipe, we’d like to show two of your pictures in the next episode, captured in different light situations and/or of different subjects. Upload your pictures here to be featured in the next video!
In the meantime, this article is a photoessay of five photographs captured in downtown Salt Lake City with a Fujifilm X-H1 using the Kodak Gold 200 film simulation recipe. Enjoy!
100 South – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-H1 – “Kodak Gold 200”
Vespa Mirror Reflection – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-H1 – “Kodak Gold 200”
Reflected Center – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-H1 – “Kodak Gold 200”
Zamboni – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-H1 – “Kodak Gold 200”
Ice Cold Pepsi – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4 – “Kodak Max 800”
The Fuji X Weekly App is free, yet becoming a Fuji X Weekly Patron unlocks the best App experience! One benefit of being a Patron is you get early access to some new film simulation recipes. These Early-Access Recipes will eventually become available free to everyone in time, including this new one. In fact, many Early-Access Recipes have been publicly published on this blog and the App, so now everyone can use them! Patrons help support Fuji X Weekly and, really, without them there would be no App. So I want to give a special “thank you” to all of the Patrons!
This new Patron Early-Access Recipe is modeled after some prints I found in a box that I thought looked interesting. I didn’t initially know what film had been used, but after locating the negatives I discovered it was something called Kodak GT 800-3, and I had no idea what that was. After much sleuthing, I found out it was Kodak Max Zoom 800, also known as Max 800. The film was shot in 2006 (I believe by my wife), and it was the third and final iteration of the emulsion (this version was introduced in 2000). Max Zoom 800 was replaced in 2006 by the similar Max Versatility Plus 800 (which was around for five or six years before its discontinuation).
Kodak made Max 800 film for point-and-shoot and disposable cameras—specifically, they marketed it for point-and-shot cameras with a zoom lens, which exaggerated camera shake. It was a cheap high-ISO consumer color negative film intended for the novice. It had a large latitude for underexposure and (especially) overexposure, but color reproduction was a little different (some have said bland or weird) when compared to other Kodak films. Kodak intended the film to be printed on Ektacolor Edge paper, but my samples were printed on Fujicolor Crystal Archive paper (which certainly affects the aesthetic)—this recipe is modeled after my samples.
Winter Greenhouse – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4 – “Kodak Max 800”
This Kodak Max 800 Patron Early-Access Recipe is compatible with the Fujifilm X-Pro3, X100V, X-T4, X-S10, X-E4, and X-T30 II cameras. If you are a Fuji X Weekly Patron, it’s available to you right now on the Fuji X Weekly App! If you don’t have the App, download it for free today.
Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs captured using this “Kodak Max 800” film simulation recipe on my Fujifilm X-E4:
Frozen Ponds at a Bird Refuge – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4
Winter Gate – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4
Open Gate – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4
Icy Marshland – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4
What Remains of Summer – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4
Winter Water – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4
Frozen Marsh Pond – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4
Nature Trail – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4
Green Truck – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4
Santa’s Sled – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4
Neighborhood Path in Winter – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4
Trail Closed – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4
No Shooting Past the Fence – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4
Pallets – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4
Inside Abandoned Shed – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4
Walking Tunnel – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4
Farm in the City – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4
Barnes & Noble Window – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4
Building Top in Last Light – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-E4
It’s nearly Christmas, and a lot of people have time off of work at this time of the year. While this is a wonderful season for many reasons, there’s a chance that at some point you might find yourself a little bored. If you do, this article could be just what you need, because we’re going to do something fun and crazy. We’re going to capture surreal images without a lens!
Below is a photograph that I captured using a homemade pinhole “lens” (pictured above) that takes peculiar pictures. In this article I’ll show you how you can do this yourself—no special tools or skills required. It’s cheap (probably free, in fact), easy, and fun. All you need is an interchangeable-lens camera and a body cap.
Let’s do some homemade pinhole macro photography!
Note: this was a Creative Collective article, but now it’s available to everyone.
The first step is to locate a camera body cap. You probably already have one lying around somewhere that you don’t use; however, you might not want to “destroy” it in case you later sell your camera. I happened to have an extra one somehow. You can buy an “official” Fujifilm body cap for $10 or a generic one for $4. If you don’t want make your own, you can buy a pinhole lens for $70, and it’s probably going to be better than a homemade one. For this project, I used an official Fujifilm body cap that I already owned.
Step two is to drill a tiny hole in the center of the body cap. I didn’t have any drill bits that were small enough, so I used a screw, and stopped turning just as soon as the tip poked through. Even though the hole was small (which you can see in the pictures below) it was actually much too big. I put a piece of black electrical tape (you could alternatively use duct tape) over the hole on the inside of the cap, and then poked a tiny hole using a small sewing needle, sending it through the hole made by the screw, but not poking it all the way through. The hole needs to be especially small—that’s why they call it pinhole photography.
Once you have your pinhole lens made, the next step is to attach it to your camera. Within the camera menu, enable “Shoot Without Lens” or else your camera won’t let you capture a picture. Also, set the camera to Manual Focus—there’s no ability to focus, manual or otherwise, and maybe this doesn’t matter, but to me it makes sense to set it to Manual. Now you’re ready to shoot!
I discovered several things when I started capturing pictures with the pinhole lens.
First, the aperture is roughly around f/256. That means you need a lot of light! I used my Ilford XP2 Super 400 film simulation recipe on a Fujifilm X-H1 with the ISO cranked all the way up to ISO 12800—this was outdoors on a bright and sunny day, and the shutter speed was usually less than 1/100, sometimes much less. The “lens” doesn’t have any glass to focus the light, so it’s going to be soft, but, because of the tiny aperture, you’ll also have a huge amount of diffraction, so you just have to know going into this that the pictures aren’t going to be sharp. The extreme softness is a big reason why the pictures seem so surreal, and is a part of the charm—use it creatively!
Next, the focal-length is somewhere right around 20mm (30mm full-frame-equivalent). Knowing roughly the aperture and the focal-length, it’s possible to more-or-less calculate the depth-of-field, if I could figure out where the lens was focusing at. After several experiments, I decided that the point-of-focus is somewhere around 2″ to 2 1/4″, which puts the depth-of-field roughly between 3/4″ and 5″ (the pictures seem to confirm this). Nothing within that range will be anywhere close to “tack sharp” but will be a little less blurry than elsewhere. It also means that this is a macro lens, and you need to get close to the subject (although, again, use the blur creatively). All of this is variable, depending on the size of the hole and such.
I had strong vignetting in the pictures, so I used the 1:1 aspect ratio to minimize it. Because the vignetting wasn’t even (it was strongest on the bottom-right corner, and least strong on the upper-right), I cropped the pictures a little in an effort to even it out some.
Also, because of the tiny aperture, any and all dust spots on the sensor will be easily visible, especially in the lighter and less busy parts of the frame. Even a sensor that seems to be clean will likely show some dust spots.
Below are some sample pictures captured using the homemade pinhole lens on a Fujifilm X-H1. My favorite photograph is the one towards the top of this article.
If you are bored one day (or stuck in some photographic rut), give this DIY pinhole trick a try. You might not capture any award-winning images (although you never know…), but you’ll certainly have fun, and, if nothing else, photography should be fun.
Red Freightliner – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X100V – Kodachrome 64 – Frame 05
Back in the film days, most of the cameras I had were fully manual. No auto or semi-auto modes. No autofocus. Manual everything. In the digital age, modern cameras are pretty good at taking care of some tasks for you. You can afford to be a little lazy and still get the shot with ease. It’s a marvel of modern camera technology!
Nowadays I mostly shoot in Aperture-Priority (with Shutter and ISO set to A), or occasionally Shutter-Priority (with Aperture and ISO set to A). Only on rare occasions do I manually select shutter, aperture, and ISO. It’s not uncommon that I manually focus, especially if I’m using a vintage lens, but most of the time I’m allowing the camera to autofocus for me. It’s just easier. But sometimes easier isn’t better. It’s good to stay in photographic shape, and to challenge yourself from time-to-time.
I decided to challenge myself yesterday to this: shoot 36 frames (like a roll of film) with the same film simulation recipe, using manual everything. Manual aperture. Manual shutter. Manual ISO. Manual focus. The camera I chose was the Fujifilm X100V, and I loaded it with my Kodachrome 64 film simulation recipe. I headed out right at sunrise.
This was my experience.
Note: this was a Creative Collective article, but now it is available to everyone.
Before I get to the photographs, I want to briefly point out why a camera like the X100V is so great for this exercise: you don’t need to dig through any menus to change anything. It’s all clearly marked on knobs and switches on the body. The aperture ring is on the lens, as is the focus ring. A switch on the side activates manual focus. The shutter is controlled by a knob on the top, and the ISO is controlled by a ring around the shutter knob. It’s as close to a film experience as you can get from a digital camera. Yet you have modern tools, such as focus assist and histograms, to help you get it right. Of course, the same thing could be said for many Fujifilm models, and not just the X100V.
One other technical note I’d like to point out is that I had a 5% CineBloom filter attached to the lens, which only makes an extremely subtle difference, but a difference nonetheless. I figured it was worth pointing out.
I’m going to jump right into the pictures, then I’ll end with a little commentary about this experience. Here we go!
Frame 01:
ISO 320, f/11, 1/250
Frame 02:
ISO 320, f/5, 1/500
Frame 03:
ISO 320, f/6.4, 1/500
Frame 04:
ISO 320, f/4.5, 1/500
Frame 05:
ISO 320, f/4.5, 1/500
Frame 06:
ISO 320, f/4.5, 1/500
Frame 07:
ISO 320, f/9, 1/125
Frame 08:
ISO 320, f/9, 1/125
Frame 09:
ISO 320, f/9, 1/125
Frame 10:
ISO 320, f/9, 1/125
Frame 11:
ISO 320, f/9, 1/125
Frame 12:
ISO 320, f/10, 1/125
Frame 13:
ISO 320, f/10, 1/125
Frame 14:
ISO 320, f/10, 1/125
Frame 15:
ISO 320, f/9, 1/125
Frame 16:
ISO 320, f/8, 1/125
Frame 17:
ISO 320, f/8, 1/125
Frame 18:
ISO 320, f/8, 1/125
Frame 19:
ISO 320, f/10, 1/125
Frame 20:
ISO 320, f/10, 1/125
Frame 21:
ISO 320, f/8, 1/125
Frame 22:
ISO 320, f/10, 1/125
Frame 23:
ISO 320, f/10, 1/125
Frame 24:
ISO 320, f/13, 1/125
Frame 25:
ISO 320, f/13, 1/125
Frame 26:
ISO 320, f/10, 1/250
Frame 27:
ISO 320, f/10, 1/500
Frame 28:
ISO 320, f/8, 1/640
Frame 29:
ISO 320, f/8, 1/640
Frame 30:
ISO 320, f/8, 1/640
Frame 31:
ISO 320, f/8, 1/640
Frame 32:
ISO 320, f/8, 1/640
Frame 33:
ISO 320, f/6.4, 1/800
Frame 34:
ISO 320, f/6.4, 1/500
Frame 35:
ISO 320, f/8, 1/250
Frame 36:
ISO 320, f/8, 1/250
This was a fun photographic exercise! I thoroughly enjoyed going all-manual and shooting 36 frames with the same film simulation recipe to mimic the good ol’ film days. I’d recommend this project to anyone, and I encourage you to give it a try, too.
Since I hadn’t shot fully manual all that much in the last few years, I really found myself out of practice. There’s more to mentally consider with each frame.
On one hand, I wasn’t always focusing in on why I was using the settings I did. I believe that I needed to think beyond, “Is this correctly exposed?” And consider more, “Which specific settings would be best for this exposure?” These things used to come more naturally to me, and it’s because I was doing it all of the time. I practiced it frequently back then. Now that I almost always let the camera sort some of it out, full manual takes more intentional thought, and I didn’t always do that. For that reason, I really believe I could benefit from doing this project on a regular basis.
On the other hand, going all manual slowed me down a little, which made me capture better pictures—at least a little—or perhaps more simply, I got the picture I wanted without snapping three-to-five exposures to do it. In most cases, I captured only one image, as I tried hard to get it right the first time. I couple of times I didn’t, so I made a second attempt. Normally I’m a bit lazy, using the spray-and-pray method to ensure I got a good exposure. It’s quick and easy to snap several pictures of the same thing, and choose later which one is best; however, it’s even better to make just one exposure and have confidence that it’s good.
You might notice that I used ISO 320 for all 36 exposures. I decided at the beginning that I was going to stick with one ISO because in the film days that’s what you had to do. I selected ISO 320 because that’s the lowest ISO available for the Kodachrome 64 recipe.
It was a partly-to-mostly overcast day, but at sunrise the sunlight was pouring out between the clouds. For that reason I started out with a faster shutter speed, but soon the sun disappeared behind the clouds, which allowed me to slow it in order to use a smaller aperture. Later the sun peaked through again, and I increased the shutter speed. Often the light changed between shots, and I used small aperture adjustments to get a correct exposure. I didn’t always get the exposure as correct as I would have liked, which was a result of not making the necessary adjustments with the rapidly changing light conditions (basically, not paying as close of attention to everything as I should have).
20 years ago when I shot real Kodachrome film, if I got back from the lab five or six slides out of the whole roll that I was really happy with, I’d call it a success. So, with that same standard, I’d call this excursion a success. My five favorite frames are 05, 06, 08, 19, and 21. Which frames do you like the best? Let me know in the comments below.
I hope you give this challenge a try! It’s a great way to keep yourself in photographic shape. I discovered that I’m not in as good of shape as I thought I was, so I’m going to keep practicing, and I’ll do this challenge again very soon.
Follow the Bird to Salt Lake – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-H1
I recently took my Fujifilm X-H1 camera to downtown Salt Lake City, Utah, loaded with my Cross Process film simulation recipe, to do some creative urban photography. Attached to the camera was a Fujinon 18mm f/2 lens, which I find to be a good focal-length for cityscapes and street images.
For those who don’t know, cross-process is an analog technique where film is developed in chemistry intended for a different emulsion type. Most commonly, it is E6 slide film developed in C41 color negative chemistry, although it is certainly not limited to that. The results of cross-processing can vary wildly, but usually there’s a strong color shift, and an increase in contrast and grain. It’s a fun way to get bold pictures!
My Cross Process recipe isn’t intended to model any specific film, but is more of a generic cross-processed aesthetic; however, there are some similarities to Velvia, Provia, Sensia, Elite Chrome, and others. Considering that Fujifilm doesn’t have a “cross process” film simulation, the fact that this look can be achieved in-camera without the need for editing is really quite amazing! It’s an enjoyable recipe for unusual results.
For those following the SOOClive YouTube video series, Cross Process is the current recipe-of-the-month. Fujifilm X-Photographer Nathalie Boucry and I will be discussing this recipe, including showcasing your pictures captured with it. Be sure to tune-in this Thursday, December 9, at 9am Pacific Time, 12 PM Eastern! I hope to see you then!
In the meantime, this article is a photoessay of 14 photographs captured in downtown Salt Lake City with a Fujifilm X-H1 camera using the Cross Process film simulation recipe. Enjoy!
1. Know Where It Goes – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-H1
Hotel & Crane Reflected – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-H1
Contrail – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-H1
Last Light on the Lofty Building – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-H1
Leaning – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-H1
Yield on Flashing – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-H1
Wreath Behind Glass – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-H1
Crane Reflection – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-H1
Trees in the City – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-H1
A Corner Downtown – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-H1
Lift – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-H1
Escalator Collecting Leaves – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-H1
Caution: Tree – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-H1
The Winter Solstice is fast approaching, and for those like me in the Northern Hemisphere, the days are getting shorter and the nights are longer. I find this to be a good opportunity for after-sunset or pre-sunrise photography, but there aren’t very many film simulation recipes for X-Trans III cameras that are specifically intended for this situation—in fact, there’s only one: CineStill 800T (although several others will still do well enough). So I set out to create another night film simulation recipe, because it’s good to have choices.
Unlike the CineStill 800T recipe, I didn’t model this one after any specific film, although it has some fairly close similarities to Fujicolor NPL 160 Pro Tungsten color negative film, which Fujifilm produced from 2000 through 2004. NPL 160 was specifically made for long exposures under artificial light. While I didn’t intend to mimic that film, you wouldn’t know it based on just how close of a match it is. I never used NPL 160 myself, as it wasn’t available in 35mm format, but I did some research on it for this article. It was available in 120 film (also, 4×5 sheets), which could be captured in three ratios (depending on the camera), including square, but 3:2 wasn’t one of those options. You could use 3:2 like I did, or more accurately shoot in the 1:1 ratio, or crop after-the-fact to whatever shape you prefer.
Blue Light Tree – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-H1 – “Fujicolor NPL 160 Tungsten”
This Fujicolor NPL 160 Tungsten recipe is compatible with all X-Trans III cameras, so if you have a Fujifilm X-Pro2, X100F, X-E3, X-T20, X-T20, or X-H1, this recipe is for you! It’s also compatible with the X-T3 and X-T30—simply set Color Chrome Effect to Off, and limit the maximum ISO to 6400. For those with newer X-Trans IV cameras, consider using Grain size Small and Clarity set to 0 or even -2. Those with a GFX 50S and GFX 50R can use this recipe, too, although it will look very slightly different. For night photography, I most commonly set exposure compensation to -1/3 or 0, and for daylight photography I most commonly set exposure compensation to +1/3 to +2/3.
PRO Neg. Std Dynamic Range: DR400 Highlight: -2 Shadow: 0 Color: -2 Sharpening: -1 Noise Reduction: -4 Grain: Weak White Balance: Fluorescent 3, -6 Red & -3 Blue ISO: Auto up to ISO 12800 Exposure Compensation: -1/3 to +2/3 (typically)
Example photographs, all camera-made JPEGs captured using this “Fujicolor NPL 160 Tungsten” film simulation recipe on my Fujifilm X-H1:
Sunset Afterglow on Building – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-H1
Waffled – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-H1
Christmas Tree Outside A Mall – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-H1
Lights Wrapped Around A Trunk – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-H1
Girl at a Lighted Fountain – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-H1
Survivor – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-H1
Headless Lampshade – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-H1
Stored Clothes – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-H1
Crowd Around the Tree – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-H1
German Night – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-H1
Krampus – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-H1
Christkindlmarkt – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-H1
Carolers – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-H1
ZCMI – Salt Lake City, UT – Fujifilm X-H1
Soaring Over a Neighborhood – Farmington, UT – Fujifilm X-H1
Nobody pays me to write the content found on fujixweekly.com. There’s a real cost to operating and maintaining this site, not to mention all the time that I pour into it. If you appreciated this article, please consider making a one-time gift contribution. Thank you!
Episode 06 of SOOC is this Thursday, December 9, at 9am Pacific Time, 12 PM Eastern! Please note the new time.
For those who may not know, SOOC is a monthly live video series, with each episode focused on a different film simulation recipe. It is a collaboration between Tame Your Fujifilm (Fujifilm X-Photographer Nathalie Boucry) and Fuji X Weekly (Ritchie Roesch). SOOC is a fun and educational experience where we not only talk about Fujifilm camera settings, but also answer your questions and give tips and tricks. Basically, we’re trying to help you master your Fujifilm camera, with a focus on simplifying your photographic workflow. This is an interactive show, so we not only need you to tune in, but your participation is essential to making the episode great.
This month we will discuss the Cross Process film simulation recipe (a fun one, for sure!), as well as look at your photos captured with it—upload your pictures here to be featured in the next video! We’ll also introduce the next recipe. We have a lot of great things planned, and I know you’ll appreciate this one. Episode 06 will be on December 9th, so mark your calendars, and I look forward to seeing you then!
The Fuji X Weekly App originally launched on iOS one year ago today! Later, in the spring, it launched on Android. And, less than a week ago, an update was released that made it even better! There’s more coming, too, that will further improve the App. I’m always adding new film simulation recipes, and it’s approaching the 200 mark rather quickly.
It’s been an amazing 12 months!
The Fuji X Weekly App has been downloaded over 180,000 times! Now, some people might have the App on more than one device, or they switched devices and downloaded the App more than once. So I’m not sure how many individuals have downloaded it, but it is absolutely mind-blowing that it has been downloaded that many times! There are about 45,000 active users (meaning, individuals that have used the App at least once in the last month). By far, the vast majority of people use the free version, yet the best App experience is unlocked by becoming a Patron, so if you’re not a Patron, you’re missing out on some great features. Also, Patrons help support the App and other great things within the Fujifilm community. Without the support of Patrons there would be no App, so I want to give a big “Thank You” to all the Fuji X Weekly App subscribers!
If you own a Fujifilm camera, you should have the Fuji X Weekly App on your phone and/or tablet. If you don’t, download it for free today!
Introducing the FXW Zine, a publication of Fuji X Weekly!
This new eZine is an extension of this website and a part of the Creative Collective. If you are a Creative Collective subscriber, then you can download the inaugural issue of FXW Zine right now (below).
What’s in the December issue? How big is it? There are four articles: Behind the Picture: The Story of Jacob’s Ladder, The Beauty of Grey, Perfectly Pine, and Photograph Before It’s Too Late. There are 17 photographs, including the cover image (above). This issue is 12 pages long cover-to-cover. I hope that you find it entertaining and inspiring. I plan on this being a monthly publication, but I don’t want to promise that in case I have to skip a month here and there, but it should be roughly a once-a-month thing.
If you haven’t joined the Creative Collective (learn more about it here), consider subscribing today to get access to bonus articles and the brand-new FXW Zine.
Note: This was a Creative Collective article, but it is now available to everyone.
If your phone or tablet didn’t automatically update the App, be sure to manually update it right away. Depending on your device and how you have it configured, it’s possible that you might have to delete the App and reinstall, but most people shouldn’t have to do that in order to update it. Hopefully for most of you it happened automatically already, and you’re good to go. The App update is in both the Google Play Store for Android and the Apple App Store for iOS.
What’s in this “big” update? Plenty! Some of the things are for everyone, and some of the things are only for Fuji X Weekly App Patrons. Let’s talk about the improvements that are for everyone first, and then we will get to the good stuff that’s for Patrons.
View Sample Pictures Larger
Normal size pictures.
Tap to view pictures larger.
This is a pretty straightforward improvement: tap on a picture to view larger, and tap again to return to normal size. One request that I’ve received many times is the ability to enlarge the sample pictures in each recipe. Now you can! Of course, you can view them even larger (and see more of them) on the website—there’s a link at the bottom of each recipe.
Sort by A-Z, Z-A, Newest-to-Oldest, & Oldest-to-Newest
Before this update, you could only sort the recipes either alphabetically A-Z or chronologically Newest-to-Oldest. Now I’ve added Z-A or Oldest-to-Newest as options. If you know the name of the recipe and it begins on or after the letter N, sorting Z-A might make it quicker to locate. Or if you know that a recipe you are looking for was published awhile ago, sorting Oldest-to-Newest might make more sense. This should make it a little easier and quicker to locate what you are searching for.
Now, to the good stuff!
All of the improvements mentioned below are available for Fuji X Weekly App Patrons. The best App experienced is reserved for Patrons, so if you are not one, consider subscribing today! Simply tap the Gear icon in the App, and then select Become a Patron.
Filter by White Balance or Dynamic Range
There are two new Filter options: White Balance and Dynamic Range. Some users will benefit from Filter by Dynamic Range, but Filter by White Balance is huge! If your Fujifilm camera is older than the X-Pro3, you cannot save White Balance Shift within C1-C7 Custom Presets, and each time you change Presets, you have to remember to adjust the WB Shift. It can be a little annoying. However, for each White Balance type, the camera will remember one WB Shift, so if each of your C1-C7 presets uses a different White Balance type, when you switch Presets, you won’t have to adjust the WB Shift. For many, this is a game-changer!
Favorite with Colored Stars
One really great upgrade is Favoriting with colored Stars. Before, when you tapped the Star to Favorite a recipe, it came in one color (yellow). But now you can choose between five different colors: yellow, red, green, blue, and purple. The benefit of this is that you can use colored Stars to organize recipes. Maybe yellow represents the recipes currently loaded into your camera, red represents the recipes you want to try next, and green represents the ones you tried in the past and really liked. Or maybe yellow is your favorite portrait recipes, green your favorite landscape recipes, and blue your favorite street recipes. Use the colored Stars to categorize the recipes however is meaningful to you. This is a great organizational tool, and, for some, this makes the App a significantly better experience.
Blank Recipe Cards
If you’ve ever created your own film simulation recipe, or if you’ve found some elsewhere that you like (perhaps on the Fuji X Weekly Community Recipes page, such as AstiAmore in the example above), you can now add them to your App! A new feature is blank recipe cards that you fill out. You can even add your own pictures from your camera roll! At some point down the road the idea is that you’ll be able to export, import, and share these custom recipes; however, that ability isn’t in this update—with any luck it will come before summer. Several of you have asked for blank recipe cards, and now you have them! This is a great new feature that many of you will really appreciate.
There’s one other thing that I want to mention: if you tap the Gear icon in the top-left of the App and look way down at the bottom, you will see Shop The Latest Fujifilm Gear. These are affiliate links to B&H and Amazon. If you are shopping for some new gear and you happen to think about it, I’ll be compensated a small amount if you make a purchase using my links. It’s a simple way to support Fuji X Weekly that doesn’t cost you anything.
Below are even more images of the new and improved Fuji X Weekly App!
I want to give a special thanks to Sahand Nayebaziz for all his hard work on this App update! Without him, not only would the App not be nearly as good as it is, but there wouldn’t be a Fuji X Weekly App at all. Thank you so much, Sahand!
The Fujinon 35mm f/2 was once my most-used lens. It was what you would typically see attached to my Fujifilm X-T30, or sometimes my Fujifilm X-T1. There’s a lot to love about this lens, but I don’t use it nearly as often as I once did, and it has absolutely nothing to do with image quality.
The 35mm f/2 is a lovely little lens that’s super sharp, has nice bokeh, has a pretty good maximum aperture of f/2, is fast, small and lightweight. It captures wonderful pictures! There’s not much at all that can be said negatively about it. It’s a solid prime with a very useful focal length. It’s a great example of the Fujinon quality that Fujifilm has become known for, and I would recommend it to anyone.
If it’s all sunshine and lollipops, why don’t I use this lens much anymore? It has to do with the focal-length. Earlier this year I got the new Fujinon 27mm f/2.8, which has a full-frame-equivalent focal-length of 40.5mm—nearly “standard” (as the eyes see), and only barely wide-angle. The 35mm lens is 52.5mm full-frame-equivalent, which is also in the range of “standard,” but is a little telephoto. (For those wondering, roughly 30mm on a Fujifilm camera, or 45mm on full-frame, is neither telephoto nor wide-angle). So these two lenses—27mm f/2.8 and 35mm f/2—are similar and in many ways redundant. The 27mm lens isn’t necessarily “better” but it is my preference because I like the focal-length just a little more. They’re both excellent options, but I only need one.
I do still use the 35mm f/2 sometimes. If I want just a little more reach, or if I need a little larger maximum aperture (such as for low-light photography), the 35mm lens is the one to grab. However, the number one reason why I choose it over the 27mm is because my wife often has the 27mm lens on her camera, so the 35mm—being a close second pick—is what I use on my camera instead. Of course, I have many other lenses to choose from, so sometimes I use the opportunity to try something completely different. In any event, I would be a little sad parting ways with the Fujinon 35mm f/2, but it wouldn’t really change much for me.
If you are looking for a standard prime lens that’s not too big or expensive and just captures wonderful pictures, the Fujinon 35mm f/2 is one to strongly consider. I like the 27mm f/2.8 just a little better, but the new one (with the aperture ring) is tough to find at the moment, so if you are impatient, this is an excellent alternative. The 35mm f/2 is such a good lens that it just seems “wrong” to give it a silver medal instead of gold, but when there are multiple options that are exceptional, things like that happen. Beside, you might prefer it over the 27mm, because you like the focal-length or larger aperture better. Maybe the Fujinon 35mm f/2 would suit your photography just a bit better.
Even though I don’t use it much anymore, I still love the Fujinon 35mm f/2, and would be plenty happy if it were the only lens I owned.
This post contains affiliate links, and if you make a purchase using my links I’ll be compensated a small amount for it. Fujinon 35mm f/2 (Black) B&HAmazon Fujinon 35mm f/2 (Silver) B&HAmazon
Man in Red – Fujifilm X-T1 & Fujinon 35mm f/2 – “Kodacolor”
Pigeons Over A Roof – Fujifilm X-T30 & Fujinon 35mm f/2 – “Kodachrome 64“
Bokeh is an often discussed aspect of picture quality. A lot of people use the term, but I don’t know how commonly it is understood. Bokeh is a misspelled Japanese word that means fuzziness. In photography, it is used to describe the out-of-focus portion of a photograph. Good bokeh simply means that the quality of the blurry part of an image is pleasant. Obviously what is “good” is subjective, as different people have different tastes. When there are bright points (such as lights) that are out-of-focus in a picture, the camera will render them as blurry orbs, which are sometimes called “bokeh orbs” or “bokeh balls” or “bokeh circles” (depending on who you ask). Sometimes when people discuss “bokeh” they’re specifically talking about these orbs and not the rest of the blurry part of the picture, even though technically all of it is bokeh, and not just the bokeh balls.
In this article we’re going to purposefully create blurry bokeh balls as abstract art. We’re going to do some things in the name of creativity that might seem photographically unusual or even outlandish.
Hold on tight, because things are about to get fuzzy!
Note: This was a Creative Collective article, but now it is available to everyone.
This is a common use of “bokeh balls.”
The picture above is an example of how you most commonly see bokeh balls used in an image. The method is simple: subject closely focused to the lens, large aperture, and some background lights. In this case, the subject is holiday decor, the lens is the Fujinon 90mm f/2 at f/2, and the background is a lit Christmas tree. The bokeh balls aren’t the subject—they’re the background—although without them the picture would be a lot less interesting.
A similar technique can be used to make bokeh balls a more prominent part of a picture. Photograph wet glass, such as a car window, focusing on the drops, with some lights in the background. The two pictures below are examples of this. The first is a wet car windshield. The drops in the center are in focus, which is also where the bokeh balls are. Because of contrast, the water drops are secondary to the bokeh, and the fuzzy light circles are the subject. I used a Fujifilm X100V for this picture, programmed with the Kodachrome 64 film simulation recipe. The second picture is actually the glass from a picture frame that I removed and took to downtown Salt Lake City. I sprayed it with water, and focused on the drops. The city lights in the background became bokeh balls, which (again), because of contrast, is the subject. I used the Fujifilm X-T30 and 90mm f/2 lens, and the Jeff Davenport Night recipe.
Out-of-focus lights are the subject of this picture.
Even though you also notice the water, the lights are the subject of this picture.
Let’s take this a step further. What if none of the picture is in focus? What if everything is fuzzy? Certainly nobody actually purposefully captures a completely unfocused picture, right?
One technique is like the picture below. You can still tell what everything is. Even though the picture is entirely fuzzy, you know that it’s a tree with some string lights in it. It was captured with an X100F at f/2.8, manually focused short of the subject so that it would all be out-of-focus.
I don’t have to tell you that this is a tree.
Let me pause for a moment to talk about gear. In this case the camera doesn’t really matter, but the lens does—sort of. You can use any lens, but I find that telephoto tends to work better than wide-angle. The larger the maximum aperture the better—I used f/2.8 or larger. The close-focus capability of the lens is another factor to consider; you don’t need a macro lens, but it’s good if it can closely focus. You will manually focus the lens—typically, you’ll focus it to the close end, although occasionally you might focus to infinity if you are photographing something close.
What I wanted to do with this project is capture images like Bokeh Abstract at the very top of this article. The pictures would need to be completely out-of-focus (like the one above), but where you cannot tell what it is (like the top picture). Something more fanciful and even perhaps dreamlike—maybe more like that moment between sleep and wake when we’re wiping the slumber from our eyes and attempting to become aware of our surroundings but aren’t quite there yet. I wanted to create abstract art.
Let’s look at some images!
Holiday lights in a tree.
Lights above a dining room table.
Control panel in a car.
Lights on the front of a Costco building.
Lights on a strip-mall.
What’s great about this type of photography is that very ordinary and not especially photogenic scenes can become extraordinary. Yes, the tree covered in holiday lights could make a nice picture if in-focus, but out-of-focus it’s much more interesting. The other scenes I promise were not particularly intriguing, but make for compelling abstract pictures nonetheless. These are subjects that you might typically encounter in the course of your day, and, as long as you have a camera with you, the opportunity to create art is there for the taking. These were all captured after dark (after all, you need points of light, and, while not impossible, it is much less practical to do this in daylight), and with days getting shorter (in the northern hemisphere), the opportunities increase to create blurry bokeh balls as abstract art.
You don’t even need to leave your home! Crumple up and then unfold a small sheet of tinfoil. Shine a flashlight at it and—boom!—instant bokeh orbs to capture. That’s how I made the two photographs below. If you are bored one night, try this technique, and see what you capture.
Made with tinfoil and flashlight.
Shining the light from different angles creates different looks.
What about the picture at the very top? What is that?
The story behind Bokeh Abstract is interesting. I was sitting on my living room couch, getting ready to transfer the pictures from my camera to my phone. The camera was sitting on my lap, and when I powered it on, that’s what I saw on the rear screen. My four-year-old daughter has a mermaid blanket that’s covered in sequins, which was right in front of me reflecting the ceiling light. I quickly captured it before anything changed. After I snapped the picture, she got up and left the room, taking the blanket with her. It really was by happenstance that the lens was facing just right (and out of focus just right), and I had the awareness to snap the picture the moment that I saw it. That was an easy-to-miss picture opportunity that I was fortunate to capture. Keep your eyes peeled for not just lights, but reflected lights, too!
The Oxford dictionary defines abstract art as “art that does not attempt to represent external reality, but seeks to achieve its effect using shapes, forms, colors, and textures.” I don’t think any of these pictures will ever find themselves in an art exhibit, but they’re absolutely abstract art nonetheless. Maybe they’d make an interesting series if I captured enough of them.
Now it’s your turn! As the days get shorter, opportunities increase to create abstract photographs. Use a large aperture and don’t focus correctly, so that the points of light in the frame are bokeh orbs. See what interesting colors and patterns (or even randomness) that you can discover.
I’ve been asked a few times recently to demonstrate through video how to use the Fuji X Weekly App. How do you get the most out of it? Some people are visual learners, and seeing it done makes much more sense than reading about it. If that’s you, this post is intended to help you.
I don’t currently have any videos that demonstrates this, as my two (below) only give a brief glimpse. They’re promotional videos and not how-to, although you can likely glean the gist of how it all works from them. I’m not really a “video guy” (just lightly dabble, I guess), so it’s not easy for me to whip something up real quick. However, I hope this article is helpful to you, as I share what is on YouTube regarding this. There are several great resources out there.
The SOOC series is a good starting point. For those who may not know, SOOC is a monthly live video series, with each episode focused on a different film simulation recipe. It is a collaboration between Tame Your Fujifilm (Fujifilm X-Photographer Nathalie Boucry) and Fuji X Weekly (Ritchie Roesch). SOOC is a fun and educational experience where we not only talk about Fujifilm camera settings, but also answer your questions and give tips and tricks. Basically, we’re trying to help you master your Fujifilm camera, with a focus on simplifying your photographic workflow.
As a part of this, Nathalie and I discuss and even demonstrate aspects of the Fuji X Weekly App. So if you are trying to understand how to use the App and how to get the most out of it, you without a doubt want to watch these episodes! They’re quite long, so under each video I’ve put a time that you should skip ahead to if you don’t want to watch the whole thing.
Skip to 48:43 & 1:06:30
Skip to 32:32
Skip to 23:58
Skip to 42:46 & 49:43
Skip to 21:00 & 29:20
Those SOOC episodes are great resources, and if you have the time I recommend watching them in their entirety. But if not, just skip ahead to those times under each video. Be sure to tune in on December 9th to catch Episode 06, as we will certainly discuss the App even more!
While I don’t have videos that show how to use the Fuji X Weekly App, other people have made some great videos that demonstrate how to do it! Yea! You’ll find these below—I’m sure they’ll be helpful to you.
Hopefully those above videos are great resources to you and will help you understand how to use the App. For those who prefer written words, check out these articles:
Jonathan capturing pictures for his middle school art project.
Do you remember the television gameshow hosted by comedian Jeff Foxworthy called Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? If not, the premise was pretty simple: answer questions from elementary school textbooks, with the most difficult questions taken from the fifth grade. Actual fifth grade students were on hand to offer help if the contestants should need it (and they always did). It turns out that most adults don’t remember the things they learned in elementary school—only two people ever won the million dollar grand prize. Those who lost had to admit on camera that they were not smarter than a fifth grader.
My 12-year-old son, Jon, is taking an art class in school, and one unit of this class is on photography. A project that he had to complete for this was to capture 10 photographs, each using a different and specific element of art. I let Jon use my Fujifilm X-E4 with a Fujinon 27mm f/2.8 lens attached. I did this same project right along side him, and I used a Fujifilm X-T30 with a Fujinon 35mm f/2 lens attached. Were my pictures going to be better than a middle schooler’s? How about you—are your pictures better than a middle schooler’s?
Let’s do this challenge together! There’s no prize, but it will be fun.
Note: this was a Creative Collective article, but now it’s available to everyone.
The “Are You A Better Photographer Than A Middle Schooler?” photography challenge is this: – Capture 10 pictures – Each picture needs to incorporate a different element of art – The 10 “elements of art” for this project are: 1. Balance 2. Color 3. Contrast 4. Framing 5. Line 6. Movement 7. Pattern 8. Shape 9. Space 10. Texture
For this challenge, Jonathan and I went to a small downtown in Bountiful, Utah. The location for this project doesn’t matter, but I chose this spot for us because I thought we’d encounter a good variety of subjects that might make things a bit easier. We spent maybe an hour doing this, all during the “golden hour” because that’s when good light is most commonly plentiful, and good light is often a prerequisite to good photographs. If you are looking for advice to improve your photography, let me offer this: concentrate capturing pictures during the hour immediately following sunrise and the hour immediately before sunset. I programmed the Fujicolor Superia 1600 recipe into the X-E4 because that’s what Jon chose (via the Fuji X Weekly App). I used my Porto 200 and Cross Process recipes on my X-T30.
Now, to the pictures!
Element of Art: Balance
Jon’s photo:
My photo:
This was a more challenging “element of art” to capture photographically than I expected. Maybe my creative mind wasn’t running on all cylinders for this particular image, or perhaps there just wasn’t a lot of opportunities for a “balance” picture. For my image, I was trying to find where the bench balanced between the vertical, horizontal, and diagonal lines. I don’t think I was particularly successful. This image would have worked better in black-and-white, and definitely if there had been a person sitting on the bench. Jon said of his picture, “I was balancing the door with the trashcans.”
Element of Art: Color
Jon’s photo:
My photo:
Color was a much more obvious and easier element of art to incorporate. Jon found a vibrant jacket in a store to photograph, while I used the Cross Process recipe to make the colors in my image stand out.
Element of Art: Contrast
Jon’s photo:
My photo:
Contrast can be tackled a number of different ways—I took it more literally. The building (which was partly in the sun and partly not) was reflected in the car window, which made it appear more contrasty, and the Cross Process recipe helped accentuate that. Jon said of his picture, “I saw the white sign with black writing on a black pole.”
Element of Art: Framing
Jon’s photo:
My photo:
Jon framed his subject (the monument) with flowers. I framed my subject (the words “Studio 10” twice) with a window frame. Framing is easy, framing effectively isn’t always easy. My picture for Color was probably a better example of framing, but I was thinking of color and not framing when I captured it.
Element of Art: Line
Jon’s photo:
My photo:
I used the stair’s railing as leading lines to the door. Jon said of his picture, “I used the lines on the sidewalk to take you to the vertical lines of the poles.” Having lines run from the corners of the picture to the subject is an effective way to guide the viewer through an image.
Element of Art: Movement
Jon’s photo:
My photo:
Jon did some panning with a slow shutter speed to incorporate this element of art into his photograph. I used a slow shutter speed, too, but kept the camera still and let the moving objects blur as they passed through the frame.
Element of Art: Pattern
Jon’s photo:
My photo:
What drew my attention to this photo opportunity was the Albert Einstein quote in the window situated above the trashcans, and I thought of the potential commentary of it. How does the picture fulfill the Pattern element? Obviously the bricks are a repeated pattern, but what I saw was the trashcans and the electrical box with a similar shape. Perhaps this picture is a stretch for this element. The natural patterns in Jon’s picture are a little more obvious.
Element of Art: Shape
Jon’s photo:
My photo:
Jon and I both photographed circles, although much differently. I think there’s a lot of opportunity with this element for creativity, but we didn’t do much to explore it. Mine was captured near the very beginning of our outing (before the creative juices were flowing), and Jon’s at the very end (when he was looking for anything to fulfill the Shape element).
Element of Art: Space
Jon’s picture:
My pictures:
For this element of art, Jon photographed a large empty room that looked even bigger because of a mirror running across the back wall. The small streak of light leads to a barely visible stool, and perhaps a ballet shoe sits on the floor. I photographed a largely empty room for this element, too, although not nearly as spacious-looking. Jon makes an appearance in both pictures. I think this element would be easier in a rural environment.
Element of Art: Texture
Jon’s photo:
My photo:
Jon was really unsure of how to capture Texture, so I suggested to him that we do some double-exposure photography for this. It worked out pretty well, although this is certainly not the only way to tackle this element of the challenge.
Conclusion
This challenge was actually more difficult than I thought it was going to be. It’s not necessarily hard to photograph these 10 elements of art by happenstance throughout time, but to purposefully seek these things out and create an interesting photograph of them is a whole different story. It’s definitely something that I want to try again!
Doing challenges like this are good because they keep you in photographic shape. Musicians constantly practice. Athletes constantly train. Photographers need to continuously practice their art, but it’s easy to get in a rut. Challenges like this help you to get out of your rut and stay in photographic shape, even if none of your images from this challenge are particularly compelling.
How do you think that I did? Am I a better photographer than a middle schooler? Or do I need to say that I’m not? Let me know in the comments who did better with each Element of Art! I think Jon beat me in at least a few of them.
This challenge is for you, too! Below is a Word document that you can download—print it and take it with you! I had the 10 elements of art typed out on a note on my phone, and that worked well enough. Whatever helps you to remember the elements and keep track of what you’ve captured is what you should do. The Word document may or may not be helpful, but it is available to you if you want it, and I’m hoping that at least a few of you find it useful.
I hope that you try this challenge. If you do, let me know! Even better, try it with a friend. If you post the pictures somewhere on the web, leave a link to it in the comments, because I’d love to see them.
In my article No Edit Photography: 7 Tips To Get The Film Look From Your Digital Photos, I suggested that you should sometimes use diffusion filters (Tip 3) in order to better achieve an analog aesthetic. In that article I stated, “You want the effect to be subtle.” I think that’s generally good advice, as in most circumstances subtleness will get you the best results. But what happens when you ignore the “rules” and get crazy? What happens when you use multiple diffusion filters together in order to get a bold effect? This article will explore those questions, and hopefully it will inspire you to do your own experiments with diffusion filters.
Ready to get crazy?
Note: this was a Creative Collective article that required a subscription, but it is now available to everyone!
I don’t think diffusion filter designers deliberately intended for their filters to be stacked together, but of course creative people will experiment with something just to see what happens. Maybe it will be terrible, but maybe it will be great, so it is worth the time and effort to try. The idea to do this wasn’t actually mine—a Fuji X Weekly reader shared with me his pictures where he stacked diffusion filters—and I knew that it was something that I needed to try.
I currently own five diffusion filters: Tiffen 1/4 Black Pro Mist, Tiffen 1/2 Black Pro Mist, Moment 5% CineBloom, Moment 10% CineBloom, and Moment 20% CineBloom. The 1/2 Black Pro Mist is a different thread size than the others, so I didn’t use it for these experiments. Because the other four are the same 49mm thread, I was able to use them together on my Fujifilm X100V. My very first image using stacked diffusion filters was the picture below:
A bright lamp is just off frame in the upper-right corner of the picture. Combining the 10% & 20% CineBloom filters dispersed the highlights, softening the transition from bright white to shades of grey. There’s also a softening effect on the transition to black. It’s a greater effect than using the 1/4 Black Pro Mist on its own, and closer to the 1/2 Black Pro Mist (although I didn’t directly compare it to the 1/2 Tiffen filter).
Let me make a quick note of my impressions of Black Pro Mist vs CineBloom. Black Pro Mist seems to effect overall contrast slightly less than CineBloom while delivering similar halation (or highlight bloom); however, it also produces a barely visible warm/red color cast. CineBloom reduces contrast slightly more overall than Black Pro Mist, but doesn’t have the color cast. So they’re quite similar, yet produce a noticeably different look. For example, the 10% CineBloom is more similar to the 1/2 Black Pro Mist when it comes to overall contrast, but closer to the 1/4 Black Pro Mist when it comes to halation. Which is better? I can’t answer that for you. They both have strengths and weaknesses. Overall, I lean a little more towards liking CineBloom just a bit better, just because it doesn’t have the color cast.
Unsurprisingly, using the 10% and 20% CineBloom filters together produces a stronger effect compared to using the 20% alone. It is definitely stronger than using the 1/4 Black Pro Mist, and it seems to be as strong of halation as the 1/2 Black Pro Mist (although, again, I didn’t directly compare it to that filter). This combination noticeably reduces contrast, producing slightly “faded” (but still dark) shadows. Let’s look at a few.
Fujifilm X100V using both 10% & 20% CineBloom filters plus Fujicolor Pro 400H recipe.
Fujifilm X100V using both 10% & 20% CineBloom filters plus Fujicolor Pro 400H recipe.
Fujifilm X100V using both 10% & 20% CineBloom filters plus Fujicolor Pro 400H recipe.
Fujifilm X100V using both 10% & 20% CineBloom filters plus Fujicolor Pro 400H recipe.
Fujifilm X100V using both 10% & 20% CineBloom filters plus Fujicolor Pro 400H recipe.
The reduction in overall contrast is noticeable in the above pictures, which isn’t necessarily good or bad—it’s a matter of if you like it or don’t like it. When there’s a light source (like the image immediate above this) you get a misty effect (while it was partly-cloudy, it wasn’t misty). When the sun was near the frame, the halation was much too strong, and I didn’t like those pictures; however, when the light wasn’t too strong, the effect seems quite nice. I think the 20% filter or (especially) the 10% filter used alone (not used together) would have done better for the pictures with a bright light. The softer look created with stacked diffusion filters when there isn’t a bright light is actually rather lovely.
None of that, of course, is crazy. I said at the beginning of this article that we were going to get rather wild, so let’s get crazy! What happens when you stack a 1/4 Black Pro Mist, 20% CineBloom, and 10% CineBloom together? Let’s find out!
Fujifilm X100V using three diffusion filters plusVelvia v2 recipe.
Fujifilm X100V using three diffusion filters plusFujicolor Pro 400H recipe.
Fujifilm X100V using three diffusion filters plusFujicolor Pro 400H recipe.
Fujifilm X100V using three diffusion filters plusFujicolor Pro 400H recipe.
Fujifilm X100V using three diffusion filters plusFujicolor Pro 400H recipe.
Fujifilm X100V using three diffusion filters plusFujicolor Pro 400H recipe.
Fujifilm X100V using three diffusion filters plusFujicolor Pro 400H recipe.
Fujifilm X100V using three diffusion filters plusFujicolor Pro 400H recipe.
Fujifilm X100V using three diffusion filters plusFujicolor Pro 400H recipe.
Fujifilm X100V using three diffusion filters plusFujicolor Pro 400H recipe.
Fujifilm X100V using three diffusion filters plusFujicolor Pro 400H recipe.
Fujifilm X100V using three diffusion filters plusFujicolor Pro 400H recipe.
Fujifilm X100V using three diffusion filters plusFujicolor Pro 400H recipe.
Fujifilm X100V using three diffusion filters plusFujicolor Pro 400H recipe.
Fujifilm X100V using three diffusion filters plusFujicolor Pro 400H recipe.
Fujifilm X100V using three diffusion filters plusFujicolor Pro 400H recipe.
Fujifilm X100V using three diffusion filters plusKodak Tri-X 400 recipe.
When there’s not a light source in or near the frame, the results of stacking three diffusion filters can be wonderful, with an elegant softness that you might really appreciate. I think the two pumpkin pictures at the top of this set show this effect especially well. Look at those beautiful tones! When there is a light in or near the frame, stacking filters can definitely produce a pronounced Orton effect—in some pictures it can be alright, and others not so much.
I have four different diffusion filters, but I’ve only showed you two combinations. I tried the 5% CineBloom, but it’s such a subtle effect that it didn’t make much sense to use it for these experiments (which are supposed to be crazy). I also tried the 1/4 Black Pro Mist with the 10% CineBloom and 20% CineBloom separately. Using the 1/4 Black Pro Mist with the 10% CineBloom is similar to using the two CineBlooms stacked together (not 100% the same, but similar enough). Combining the 1/4 Black Pro Mist and 20% CineBloom (without the 10%) is in-between using the two CineBlooms and using all three diffusion filters. In your own experiments, feel free to try any combination and see if you like the results.
Diffusion filters are great for taking the “digital edge” off of digital pictures to subtly give them a more analog aesthetic. My recommendation, if you like the effect, is to use a 5% CineBloom, 10% CineBloom, 1/8 Black Pro Mist, or 1/4 Black Pro Mist. Some people will find the 5% CineBloom and 1/8 Black Pro Mist to be too weak, and some people will find the 10% CineBloom and 1/4 Black Pro Mist to be too strong. You’ll have to decide what works best for you, and it might even be situationally dependent.
While not likely for everyday photography, stacking diffusion filters can give you a faded, misty, or Orton effect (depending on the light). You can sometimes get results that are especially nice. If you have more than one diffusion filter with the same thread size, I invite you to use them at the same time. The results can be serendipitous, producing pictures that you might dislike or that you absolutely love. I definitely captured a few that I love.
I love getting an analog aesthetic right out of camera! Fujifilm X cameras offer many great tools to get film-like results straight-out-of-camera without the need to edit. By adjusting the JPEG parameters, you can create various looks that I call film simulation recipes—I have published nearly 200 of them! These settings save you time, simplify the photographic process, and make capturing pictures even more enjoyable.
“By making it possible for the photographer to observe his work and his subject simultaneously,” wrote Edwin H. Land, co-founder of Polaroid, “and by removing most of the manipulative barriers between the photographer and the photograph, it is hoped that many of the satisfactions of working in the early arts can be brought to a new group of photographers.”
Ansel Adams called it One-Step Photography, and added, “The effect of one-step processing on both amateur and professional creative photography has been revolutionary. As with all art forms, we must accept the limitations of the medium as well as revel in the advantages.”
Land and Adams were specifically talking about Polaroid pictures, but I think it applies similarly to Fujifilm X cameras and film simulation recipes. The “manipulative barriers between the photographer and the photograph” have been removed! Now you just have to decide which recipe you want to use, like picking which film to load, and start creating, without worrying about how you’re going to later manipulate the pictures, because the straight-out-of-camera pictures are pretty darn good, and don’t require manipulation. Sure, edit if you want—there’s nothing wrong with that—but you don’t have to if you don’t want to, and there’s nothing wrong with that, either. Ansel Adams called it “revolutionary” and said to “revel in the advantages.” There’s freedom in this.
All of the pictures in this article are unedited (except for perhaps some minor cropping) straight-out-of-camera JPEGs that I recently captured using a Fujifilm X camera and a film simulation recipe.
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
