Summer Sunset
Golden hour, made explicit.
Colour
- White BalanceAuto, +4 Red, −6 Blue
- Color+4
- Color Chrome EffectStrong
- Color Chrome FX BlueWeak
Tone
- Dynamic RangeDR400
- Highlight−2
- Shadow+3
Texture
- Grain EffectWeak, Large
- Clarity−4
- Sharpness−2
- High ISO NR−4
Exposure
- ISOAuto, max 6400
- Exposure Comp.−2/3 to 0
Why this recipe
Nostalgic Neg. renders like an American print from the seventies. Medium contrast, amber highlights, a magenta cast in the midtones and generous shadow detail.
It's the most light dependent simulation in the menu, because its warmth is tied to brightness rather than applied evenly. Low, warm light is where it comes alive.
Summer Sunset pushes it further into the warm end. Amber over the whole frame, a curve that keeps a low sun from clipping, and enough shadow to stop all that warmth from turning soft.
In one line: golden hour made explicit, with the contrast put back so it still reads.
It's made for the last hour before sunset. Low sun, backlit haze, warm facades.
Every photo here is a JPEG straight out of my Fujifilm X-H2S. No editing, no Lightroom, no cropping. Shot in Scotland, the Alps, Norway and Lofoten.
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
The last hour before sunset, low sun, backlit haze and warm facades.
Skip it in
Midday and fluorescent light, where Nostalgic Neg. goes strange and the amber looks like a mistake.
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. renders like an American print from the seventies: medium contrast, amber highlights, a magenta cast in the midtones and generous shadow detail.
Its warmth is tied to brightness rather than applied evenly, which makes it the most light dependent simulation in the menu.
White Balance shift
Auto, +4 Red, −6 Blue.
This lays amber over the whole frame. Together with the simulation's own warm highlights, golden hour turns unmistakably golden.
Dynamic Range, Highlight, Shadow
DR400 with Highlight −2 keeps a low sun from clipping. Shadow +3 stops all that warmth from turning the image soft.
DR400 needs four times the base ISO, which means ISO 640 or higher on the X-H2S.
Color
Color +4. Warm light is already rich, and this makes sure the colour holds up against the glow.
Color Chrome Effect
Strong. Adds depth to the most saturated colours, so orange skies and golden grass keep their gradation instead of blowing into one flat tone.
Color Chrome FX Blue
Only Weak. It keeps the remaining blue of the sky separated from all that amber, without cooling the frame.
Clarity, Sharpness, Grain, Noise
Clarity −4, Sharpness −2 and High ISO NR −4 keep the highlights glowing rather than sharp. Grain Weak, Large adds a soft film texture.
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, so DR400 always works.
- Start at −2/3 exposure comp, go up to 0 when the sun is behind you.
- Use it in the last hour before sunset. Switch to another recipe at midday.
Works on
- All X-Trans V bodies
Nostalgic Neg. only exists on X-Trans V bodies, so older cameras can't run this one.
Summer Sunset
Thanks for reading.
@danieljschwarzSave it · Tag me · Share it with a Fuji friend
If you try Summer Sunset, I'd love to see what it does with your golden hours. Tag me on Instagram at @danieljschwarz, that's also where I post new recipes first.
Summer Sunset is recipe 12 in My Fuji Cookbook. The full book with twelve recipes is in my shop.
More recipes
