The Home of the Hybrid Photographer

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).

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 Preset Ilford HP5+, originally uploaded by GrayImaging.

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Well the weekend is over, got to get up and work 3 days before vacation starts. Yay! So I finally found time for another post, and tonights menu consists of Ilford HP5+.

HP5+ is Ilford’s answer to Kodak Tri-X. A very versatile film with plenty of exposure latitude.

Wish I had more to say, but I have only shot it once, and it was for developing this preset. I think I will be sticking to Tri-X, but there is nothing wrong with this film, and I would probably prefer it for formal portraiture.

If you like Ilford film, check back in. I have quite a few ready to release in the coming days.

Until next time,
Micahel

LR Preset: Agfa APX, originally uploaded by GrayImaging.

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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.

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.

So once again I have had a lapse in new posts. Unfortunately it always gets that way this time of year. Upside, I get almost 2 weeks vacation after Christmas, so I will have more time for my fledgling photography business and more time to give to my blog. I refuse to promise a regular release schedule until I can get past Christmas.

However, although I have no new preset to release tonight, I am officially releasing my Kodak preset you all have been using. I have grouped up 9 of the Kodak presets from here, and 3 Presets from my 1st B&W set. I added my “curve” preset to the 3 re-released presets.

Other than the re-releases, If you have gotten all my downloads here so far then you have all this. But if you are just finding the site now, all my Kodak B&W films I have release to date are in this set.

As I go along, Ilford will get a set like this, along with Fuji, Rollei/Maco, and then a set of other film stocks. But for now Kodak is the set I have most complete so here it is:

Included Film Emulations (3 presets per film stock)

MikeyG!s Kodak BW CN Preset
MikeyG!s Kodak Copy Film Preset
MikeyG!s Kodak HIE Preset
MikeyG!s Kodak Panatomic X Preset
MikeyG!s Kodak Plus-X Preset
MikeyG!s Kodak Portra BW Preset
MikeyG!s Kodak T-Max Preset
MikeyG!s Kodak Technical Pan Preset
MikeyG!s Kodak Tri-X Preset
MikeyG!s Kodak T-Max 100 Preset *
MikeyG!s Kodak T-Max 400 Preset *
MikeyG!s Kodak Tri-X 400 Preset *

*- these are the re-released preset. All others are here on this blog and have sample pictures posted.

Get the file HERE

The collection has also been released by Pierre at PresetsHeaven. I ask you all to check out his site daily, as he produces some great presets and also distributes presets created by other talented individuals.

PS: (12/13/2008; 0703 CDT) I just discovered that I had goofed in my Panatomic X release, I accidentally placed my Plus-X Auto and Curve presets in with the PanX standard preset. This effects both the original PanX release and the Kodak Collection. I will fix the issue later today when I get back home. Sorry for the screw-up.

Until Next Time,

Michael

LR Preset: Ilford Delta, originally uploaded by GrayImaging.

[Adobe Camera RAW presets added 01132009]

Wow, another week passes and I am just now releasing a new preset. It has been a hectic week, but I have a weeks worth of presets ready to roll now, so hopefully it will get better.

Tonight I present to you my interpretation of Ilford’s Delta film. It is very similar to T-max and Fuji Neopan Acros. It is an excellent film in my opinion, better than T-max, but not quite as beautiful as Fuji’s. But that is my opinion. Very good for images with high contrast.

I hope you all enjoy this preset and that you are all doing well.

Until next time,
Michael