Cool Air
Nostalgia, cooled off.
Colour
- White BalanceAuto, −2 Red, −4 Blue
- Color+4
- Color Chrome EffectStrong
- Color Chrome FX BlueOff
Tone
- Dynamic RangeDR200
- Highlight+1.5
- Shadow+3
Texture
- Grain EffectStrong, Small
- Clarity−3
- Sharpness−2
- High ISO NR−4
Exposure
- ISOAuto, max 6400
- Exposure Comp.−1/3 to +1/3
Why this recipe
Nostalgic Neg. follows the American print films of the seventies. Medium contrast, warm saturation, amber in the highlights and a light magenta cast through the midtones.
The warmth changes with brightness instead of lying evenly over the frame. That's why no white balance setting on its own can rebuild it.
Cool Air takes the red out of it. A shift toward green moves the image in the direction of an aged consumer negative, so the amber highlights turn pale instead of golden.
In one line: a memory look with the nostalgia cooled off.
It lives on grey days. Overcast, shade, morning light and green surroundings the shift can lean on.
Every photo here is a JPEG straight out of my Fujifilm X-H2S. No editing, no Lightroom, no cropping. Shot in the Alps, Scotland, Norway, Lofoten, Denmark and London.
Save it to one of the custom slots (C1 to C7). It takes about a minute to type in, and from then on the camera hands you a finished JPEG.
Shoot it in
Overcast, shade, morning light and green surroundings the shift can lean on.
Skip it in
Golden hour, where the green cast fights the warm light, and mixed artificial light indoors. For warm light, Summer Sauce is the better pick.
Straight out of camera
No edits. Just the JPEG.
What each setting does
Built from the bottom up.
A recipe is easier to trust when you know why every value is there.
Film Simulation
Nostalgic Neg. follows the American print films of the seventies: medium contrast, warm shifted saturation, amber in the highlights and a light magenta cast through the midtones. Foliage tips into yellow green.
The warmth changes with brightness instead of lying evenly over the frame, which is why no white balance setting on its own reproduces it.
White Balance shift
Auto, −2 Red, −4 Blue.
This takes the red out. The image moves toward green, the direction of an aged consumer negative, and the amber highlights turn pale rather than golden.
Dynamic Range, Highlight, Shadow
The shift and DR200 flatten the image, so Highlight +1.5 and Shadow +3 rebuild the contrast.
DR200 needs twice the base ISO, which means ISO 320 or higher on the X-H2S.
Color
Color +4 keeps the palette saturated. Without it, the cool shift would drain the greens along with the red.
Color Chrome Effect
Strong. Adds depth to the most saturated colours, so a green hillside keeps its gradation instead of turning into one flat tone.
Clarity, Sharpness, Grain, Noise
Fine grain with Clarity −3 and High ISO NR −4 keeps the surface soft. Sharpness −2 takes the digital edge off.
The trade off: with Clarity on, the camera takes a moment longer to save each shot.
Quick start
- Put it on a custom slot (C1 to C7) and set ISO to Auto with a max of 6400.
- Start at 0 exposure comp. Go to −1/3 in bright overcast, +1/3 in shade.
- Use it on grey and green days. Switch recipes when the golden hour starts.
Works on
- All X-Trans V bodies
Nostalgic Neg. only exists on X-Trans V bodies, so older cameras can't run this one.
Cool Air
Thanks for reading.
@danieljschwarzSave it · Tag me · Share it with a Fuji friend
If you try Cool Air, I'd love to see what it does with your grey days. Tag me on Instagram at @danieljschwarz, that's also where I post new recipes first.
Cool Air is recipe 08 in My Fuji Cookbook. The full book with twelve recipes is in my shop.
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