Kopp’s Cycles

It was one of those weekends when I didn’t know what to write. I think it’s because I had something preying on my mind related to my work. Nothing terrible, just something I needed to decide that week that I’m not sure I’m fully prepared for. Usually, I get stressed because I already know what I need to choose, and I hope everything will go just fine, but that doesn’t stop my brain from flipping into anxiety mode. I was focusing on this one thing which meant I did not spend time thinking about a bunch of other things I needed to do (vacation planning), leading to cumulative general anxiety.

The photograph was captured during my foggy day walk around downtown Princeton. After I walked on Witherspoon Street, I circled back around to Spring Street. I was cold, the fog cleared, and I wanted to go home. I exposed a few frames outside Kopp’s Cycles, which thankfully, were the last unexposed frames on the cartridge.

Fujifilm Film Simulation Challenge Roll 6: Kodak Portra 160

UPDATE: After messing around with Color Efx Pro 4from DxO's Nik Collection 3, I think my criticism and reaction to the SOOC JPEGs from my Fujifilm Film Simulation Challenge Roll 5: Kodak Portra 400 test was "user error". I think the exposure compensation dial may have moved during my photo walk. That would certainly explain the washed-out look of the SOOC image. As a test, I used Fuji X RAW Studio to reprocess the images with Ritchie's Kodak Portra 160 Film Simulation recipe and adjusted exposure compensation settings, and the results are much better. I think the photos were over-exposed by between EV +1/3 to +1. In the interest of transparency, I left the original blog post but included reprocessed images at the bottom of the post.

This blog entry is my fifth instalment for the Ritchie Roesch's Fujifilm inspired Film Simulation Challenge. For this challenge, I chose Ritchie's Kodak Portra 160 Film Simulation recipe for X-Trans III sensors and went for an early morning walk around downtown Princeton. This recipe attempts to simulate the look of Kodak Portra 400 Professional ISO 400 film. I've never used the actual Kodak Portra 400 Professional ISO 400 film, but I like the SOOC JPEG images on Ritchie's web page and decided to give it a try.

I walked north on Nassau Street toward Hogie Haven. I shot using Kodak Portra 400 until I got to Shouse, then switched to Kodak Portra 160 Film Simulation.

I shot RAW + JPEG and EV +2/3. The challenge is all about film simulation recipes and SOOC JPEGs, so I've included the best of the roll of 36. Many of the SOOC images have been cropped and edited for perspective correction only. Despite my best efforts with the built-in level of the Fujifilm X-T2 I tend to tilt.

What I learned from this experience is that while it's an ISO 160 film, Kodak Portra 160 Film Simulation might not be the best for brightly lit scenes. The image of the woman walking toward me seems washed out, although this could be because I did not expose correctly. I think Kodak Portra 160 Film Simulation might be best when shooting in the shade or shadows or on more overcast days.

Other entries in this challenge series.

serving up foot-long hoagies since the early 1970s | Saturday 6 June, 2020 | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR | Kodak Portra 160 Film Simulation
man and woman wearing face mask avoid each other on the sidewalk
Physical distancing | Saturday 6 June 2020 | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR | Kodak Portra 160 Film Simulation
bicyclists
COVID spreader | Saturday 6 June 2020 | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR | Kodak Portra 160 Film Simulation
215 | Saturday 6 June, 2020 | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR | Kodak Portra 160 Film Simulation
Lunch | Saturday 6 June, 2020 | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR | Kodak Portra 160 Film Simulation
store front of upscale boutique  in Princeton
upscale boutique | Saturday 6 June, 2020 | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR | Kodak Portra 160 Film Simulation
Saturday 6 June, 2020 | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR | Kodak Portra 160 Film Simulation
Saturday 6 June, 2020 | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR | Kodak Portra 160 Film Simulation
Saturday 6 June, 2020 | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR | Kodak Portra 160 Film Simulation
Saturday 6 June, 2020 | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR | Kodak Portra 160 Film Simulation
princeton police car outside Starbucks
Starbucks | Saturday 6 June, 2020 | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR | Kodak Portra 160 Film Simulation
man outside Kopp’s bicycle shop on Spring Street
Oldest bicycle shop in the USA. | Saturday 6 June, 2020 | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR | Kodak Portra 160 Film Simulation
Glass House project on Spring Street
People in glass houses ... | Saturday 6 June, 2020 | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR | Kodak Portra 160 Film Simulation

Kodak Portra 160 Film Simulation Recipe


serving up foot-long hoagies since the early 1970s | Saturday 6 June, 2020 | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR | Kodak Portra 160 Film Simulation
Physical distancing | Saturday 6 June, 2020 | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR | Kodak Portra 160 Film Simulation
214 | Saturday 6 June, 2020 | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR | Kodak Portra 160 Film Simulation
Ladies lunch | Saturday 6 June, 2020 | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR | Kodak Portra 160 Film Simulation
upscale boutique | Saturday 6 June, 2020 | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR | Kodak Portra 160 Film Simulation
Saturday 6 June, 2020 | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR | Kodak Portra 160 Film Simulation
Saturday 6 June, 2020 | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR | Kodak Portra 160 Film Simulation
Saturday 6 June, 2020 | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR | Kodak Portra 160 Film Simulation
Saturday 6 June, 2020 | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR | Kodak Portra 160 Film Simulation
Starbucks | Saturday 6 June, 2020 | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR | Kodak Portra 160 Film Simulation
Oldest bicycle shop in the USA. | Saturday 6 June, 2020 | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR | Kodak Portra 160 Film Simulation
People in glass houses ... | Saturday 6 June, 2020 | FujiFilm X-T2 | XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR | Kodak Portra 160 Film Simulation