OWH Film 2: Analog Film Look Fujifilm Recipe
Get a decent analaog look to your JPGs without painting yourself into a corner with OWH Film 2.
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A year ago I published a Fujifilm recipe I called OWH Film, which I still use to this day. But since then I’ve experimented a lot, learned a lot and in the end I wanted to refine that recipe. I’ve started shooting different subjects and also shot a lot more raw recently, as well as reviewing a lot of old prints. This has made me realise a few things about the way Fujifilm cameras process files. This then is the culmination of everything I’ve learned about Fujifilm and from studying analog photography.
Digital vs film reds and yellows
One thing that struck me is how much more versatile daylight film stock is in varying conditions than digital daylight white balance. When shooting daylight film at night for instance you can still get acceptable results. Although the lighting temperature is obviously warm it just looks moody, whereas on digital it just looks yellow. I boiled this down to analog film being more sensitive to reds than yellow, whereas digital sensors will typically strive for an accurate result in all conditions.
I tested my hypothesis by adding in a pronounced red cast and sure enough, it worked! What I realised in the process is that I don’t particularly like the way Fujifilm processes yellows in general and by shifting them more towards red I get something that looks much better to my eye in all conditions.
Fujifilm greens vs Kodak greens
I don’t know how accurate this statement is, but anecdotally it seems that when talking about analog film, Fujifilm is know for producing vibrant greens to a level that Kodak never did. Kodak greens are typically darkened, less saturated and cooler, whereas Fujilfilm greens are bright and everpresent. Makes me wonder whether this is an intentional differentiator for Fujifilm, given how prominent the color green is in all their branding.
