LR/ACR Preset: Agfa RSX II 50

Ah, it is Friday, my work week is over. Hopefully I can get some articles written...I can hope. But anyways, I did not even try to write an article for today, I decided to complete my trio of RSX II presets. Today I present my Agfa RSX II 50 preset. It completes the set, and is the best looking one on the vast majority of my images. Enjoy.

More and more photographers are using my LifeInDigitalFilm presets, and as I discover them I am going to keep sharing them with you. Today I would like to ask you to drop by Nate Lawson's photoblog Phototerium. Today he posted an interesting photo entitled "Learning Curve" utilizing my Adox CHS 50 preset. When I look at his image I have to say it screams art...look at it close, you will see what I mean. If you like his work, please follow him on Twitter @nate_lawson.

So, with that I am going to get back to my text editor and get to work on some articles I hope to eventaully complete and get up on LIDF. Also I am going to spend some time getting my WordPress theme worked on, and iron out some bugs in my "sandboxed" version of the new LIDF. Hoping to get it live in the next month or so.

Back tomorrow!

Michael

LR/ACR Preset: Agfa RSX II 200

Well I hoped to have an article up for today, however the article expanded well beyond the scope I desired for a post on LIDF. The article is on getting the most of of the LIDF film presets, but I decided I am going to work on it more and roll it into a PDF file that I will post here on the site once I get it completed. A manual of sorts to help people get started with my presets.

As for today, my post is running late..as will tomorrows..but I should get back to early releases over the weekend. I am going ahead and releasing the next preset based off my recent experiments with some expired Agfa RSX II. Today's flavor is the ISO 200 version that I got finished last night. Similar to the ISO 100, but with some shifting of color in the reds and in general a much higher key presentation of the photo.

Please download and use, see if you like it. If so please let me know. If not let me know also. If there is any film you want to see emulated, let me know...I'll do what I can. But for now enjoy today's release.

And another shout out to another great photoblogger out there putting my presets to use. I ask you to hop over and take a peek at Beau A.C. Harbin's blog. He has a stream of great photographs, one of the newest being and HDR image treated with my Fuji Velvia 50 preset from the Cold Storage collection. The image is unique and stunning. Please drop by and take a gander, click HERE. If you enjoy creative images you will enjoy his blog.

Speaking of the Fuji Velvia 50 preset, it can only be found in the Cold Storage collection, which can be purchased in the upper right side of the blog. If you need more information, please refer to the blog post for it HERE. I hope to have a dedicated page to the collection soon, with more information for those of you who are not sure...but for 9.99 it's an easy sale for anyone who wants to help LifeInDigitalFilm keep growing. There are so many different film stocks with so many ways to process it that we can keep the emulations going for quite some time, as long as there is a way or me to pay for film and processing.

Anyways that is all for today, hopefully things smooth out over the weekend and I am back to early posts every day...I almost missed today's post!

Until then,

Michael

LR/ACR Preset: Agfa RSX II 100

So, I am suffering from writers block and having an issue finishing off the article I planned for today. So instead of beating my head into the wall, I am going to let it slide another day and release my new preset a bit earlier.

Recently I received a small collection of older film. In that small collection, I received 9 rolls of Agfa RSX II film, 3 of each speed. This emulation is of the 100 speed that I shot and got developed at my local photo lab. I plan on shooting another roll and cross-processing it and shooting the final roll when I get started devloping E-6. So I shot a roll of 50, 100 and 200 and sent them all off at the same time. This is the first one I completed.

RSX II was designed as a low-contrast, neutral color film. It may have been where I got it developed, or just the fact it is expired, but the colors were fairly neutral but did run a bit toward red. Also, it is more contrasty than what I expected, but that could also be due to a slight underexposure in my test frames shot for emulation.

Please try it out and see what you think.

Before I log out for the morning, I would like to point you over to an interesting 365 photoblog I have stubled across. Julie McLeod has been working on her 365 Photos in 2009 blog, aiming for 365 photos, most of which shot in accordance with a list of themes. I find the concept fun, but I don't think I could ever to it with the style she has done so far. Also a few of her images have used my presets and I really loving seeing them in action. She is a very talented photographer with a great eye for wonderful images, so do me a favor and hop over to her blog and leave some kind comments. Click Here to make the hop 365photosin2009

Anyway, that is all for today, wish I had an article for you, but I'm sure most of you would rather have the presets. And if you ever have any questions about my presets feel free to reach me at help@lifeindigitalfilm.com, I check the mail in the account once a day in the evening and will try to get back to you as soon as possible.

Thanks,

Micahel

LR/ACR Preset: Agfa Scala

LR Preset Agfa Scala, originally uploaded by GrayImaging.

[Adobe Camera RAW preset added 01132009]

Today is Agfa Scala Slide Film's turn for my attempt at emulation. A unique film, with many similarities to it's print counterpart, APX. But instead of primarily being used for negatives, this film was marketed for use as a slide film (although you could develop it either was, as with most B&W films).

Get it HERE.

Hopefully later today or tomorrow I hope to have a post up about getting better results with these presets. I am working on it now. I have gotten a lot of feedback back about people not getting desired results, only to find out that they were simply clicking the preset and calling it done. It might work that way, but not always, you still have to do a bit more post to nail a films look. Each photo is different, and needs a slightly different approach, my presets just give you a start on the path.

If you like how they look straight-up, great! A lot of people seem to, but other really think that these will nail a film's look 100% with one click. Not even Alien Skin Exposure 2 or Nik Silver Efex Pro can truly duplicate the look of a film. You still have to follow them up in Photoshop to get a good simulation.

If you are die hard about making your digital images look exactly like film, with little to no extra post processing, shoot film. If you want to make your shots look like film, and are willing to finesse Lightroom, then I will have some tips up later for you. My presets get you started, but they will never make it look perfect. Although I still feel the 1-click results are still good, and still close. Just not a 100% copy of the film.

Hopefully will get it out later today or tomorrow.

Michael

PS: If you have any specific questions about how to use these presets, email me - michael@lifeindigitalfilm.com , I will answer as soon as possible.

LR/ACR Preset: Agfa APX

LR Preset: Agfa APX, originally uploaded by GrayImaging.

[Adobe Camera RAW presets added 01132009]

Well, time for another preset. This time it is Agfa APX, another "dead" film that I could not get a real roll for my preset development. So this is a best guess emulation, based off the published response curves and physical prints.

I don't have much to say about the film, as I have never used it, and there is not much information on it to accumulate a short report on it. I hope you enjoy it anyways.

Get it HERE.

As recurrent visitors can tell, I have been tweaking the blog itself quite a bit recently. Trying to find a good, black background theme to use, that is easy to read. Also will soon be adding a downloads section, where you can go to see samples, descriptions and download for all the presets.

Hopefully I will have this project done around new years, until then please forgive the random changes.

Until next time,
Michael

Thinking about it, and should I just use webpages for the film preset download pages, or should I use a wiki for the pages, so others can contribute samples of the origianl film and presetted photos, and help complete better profiles on the film stocks themselves. Email me or drop a comment and let me know which method seems better.