rambles

assorted thoughts on Fujifilm, recipes, and photography

  • 11.25pm*, Valentine’s Day, 2025 - I decided I needed microbangs urgently and immediately, and went at it with kitchen scissors.

    I succeeded (ish), and I think maybe I felt a bit like if I could cut my own hair, I could definitely be brave and put my images out for the world to see (this makes no sense) and so @fujifugue was born sometime after midnight.

    No logic, no plans, but I had pictures and they wanted to go somewhere, and suddenly it’s a year later and I think part of me is…. surprised I lasted this long?

    I have historically never stuck with a hobby for more than a few months at a time.

    But photography genuinely doesn’t even feel like effort - a camera is almost always at hand, and I mean look at the world, its just THERE bursting at the seams with life and colour, begging to be seen. It feels like the most natural thing to do, it feels right, and maybe this is why I stuck with it, because I had finally found a medium to express something that none of my other hobbies allowed me to.

    Bookbinding, leather crafting, painting, embroidery, long boarding, guitar-ing - I started them all with a passion and practiced for as long as it brought me joy, as long as it held my interest.

    I see now that maybe I was looking for a way to Make things and hadn’t found the right way for me, yet.

    I’m now in an entirely new country and thankful every day for how photography has helped me engage with my new surroundings and find a community, and I have loved all of it so much that it doesn’t matter if I quit tomorrow - I’ll always look back at this precious year with the rosiest of tinted glasses. :)

    If you’re reading this bit, thank you for being here, I share my love with you. And if you go on a photowalk with me I’ll share SNACKS with you <3

    *I have picture proof for this precise timestamp :)

    ** I use “-” a lot and always have, promise this was straight from brain to keyboard, no AI

  • I spent months exploring the incredible variety of recipes online, and while I certainly have not tried all of them, I started wanting to experiment with making my own!

    Mostly because I realized:

    1. I had been using recipes without really understanding why I liked the look, or even what MADE “the look”

    2. I didn’t actually understand what any of the settings did lol

    Experimentation meant about 50000 versions of the exact same picture, but I learnt along the way that:

    1. I wanted to bring out the best (subjective) of each base simulation

    2. I wanted to move away from much warmer white balance shifts

    3. I just. . . don’t like grain, i’m sorry! maybe its a phase!

    All this to explain some of the choices I have made in each recipe.

    White Balance

    • Each film simulation has such a lovely unique tone to them, so the white balance shift was kept fairly modest to allow the base sim shine through.

    Exposure Compensation

    • I have no recommendations on this, its entirely up to you and what suits the moment!

    Color Chrome Effect

    • Generally a no, having the Color at +4 usually is plenty punchy for me.

    Color Chrome Blue

    • STRONG yes because I love an intense blue, especially in blue skies.

    Clarity

    • I don’t like the processing time it adds to saving images, I personally can do without this but please feel free to tweak to preference!

  • It will surprise no one to hear that all these recipes will look the best in sunny conditions. We follow the light after all!

    That said, there are some specific conditions I think these excel in:

    Lush Neg

    • Rainy days! Especially on foliage and wet roads, this brings out the lushest colors (thus the name)

    Nos

    • If you have good light but its a little cooler than preferred, Nos is great at imparting a tint of that golden hour glow any time of day

    Ether

    • Using Eterna Bleach Bypass as a base was a very happy accident. The white balance makes it poor for indoors / artificial light photography, but excellent for any natural light situation.

      It makes me think of the silver screen, faded film, the patina on well-loved bronze, instant nostalgia

    Cremachrome

    • The first recipe I started with! Classic chrome is so well-loved for such good reason. This is the all rounder, the jack of all trades, the heavy lifter when nothing else looks quite the way I want it to