Pekka Keskinen photography

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Grainstorm 3200 (Fuji film simulation recipe)

This is a recipe for extremely hight contrast black & white photos with a ton of beautiful grain, designed to resemble Ilford HP5+ 400 or Kodak Tri-x 400 pushed to ISO 3200.


Grainstorm 3200 is a realistic film recipe that will require no editing in order to make your photos to look exactly like pushed black and white film. All done in-camera. Use it wisely and it will fulfil your grainiest fantasies.

Just like pushed film, Grainstorm 3200 certainly isn’t a multipurpose solution. You may want to avoid high contrast lighting situations (a sunny day for example). Pushed film looks amazing in lower lighting conditions that feature very mild naturally occurring contrast. Same with this recipe. Use Grainstorm for example in heavily overcast, cloudy weather, during the rain for some really atmospheric results. Dynamic range isn’t Grainstorm’s strong point. There’s only a small amount of highlight latitude as the contrast curve has been literally pushed in every imaginable way possible. Bear this limitation in mind and this recipe will serve you well.

Pros:
Looks amazing in low light
Realistic pushed film resemblance
Gives atmospheric noir look

Cons:
Good for specific lighting situations
Prone to highlight clipping

(Camera used: Fujifilm X-pro3)


Grainstorm 3200 recipe settings

ISO: 400—800 (not that critical for the outcome)
Film simulation: Monochrome + red filter
Monochromatic color: WC 0 MG 0
Grain effect: strong, large
Color chrome effect: off
Color chrome FX blue: off
White balance: auto
Dynamic rance: auto
Dynamic range priority: off
Tone curve: H +4, S +4
Sharpness: -2
Noise reduction: -4
Clarity: 0


Cropped

Cropped


Also check out:

NEW: Double-X 400 vintage monochrome
Vibe Blaster 800 film simulation
Grainbow 400 film simulation
Beyond Fuji’s film simulations — the secret recipe for more believable film look