For me, colours have always been deeply connected to emotions and memories. There’s something about the way we experience life and the way we remember it: soft, bright, colourful, deep, fresh, crisp.
When I was creating this FS RECIPE, I thought of my sunset walks by the river: the sun low on the horizon, sending its warm beams toward me. I thought of the farmers’ market on a bright Sunday morning: familiar vendors smiling, baskets full of bell peppers and corn, and fresh, juicy peaches I couldn’t resist. I thought of coming home with sunflowers and a loaf of freshly baked bread, making breakfast, and taking a moment to admire the colours on my table — the yellow of the flowers, the green of avocado and leaves, the red of cherry tomatoes.
I also thought of all my travels — the beautiful architecture that always stops me on my way, the nature that takes my breath away. I realized it’s always about the small details: the curve of a window, or a pink lily popping up among green leaves, or the way soft white flowers sway in the wind.
I knew PROVIA was perfect for this — a Film Simulation designed to capture the world as we remember it. I just needed a few tweaks to make it feel like my memories — the way I see and feel the world around me.
I wanted the colours to be a little stronger, with peachy-pink highlights and rich, earthy shadows. I wanted it to be crisp, yet soft and gentle at the same time. I wanted it to feel romantically nostalgic.
So I began. A little grain was essential: I set it to small, weak. Then I set COLOR CHROME EFFECT to Strong and COLOR CHROME FX BLUE to Weak — I was sure this would give me lush colours.
For WHITE BALANCE, I used Auto, and then came one of my favourite parts of the process: discovering the perfect white balance shift. After some experimenting, I set it to R 5, B –5 to reach that peachy-mauve tint I was looking for.
To soften the contrast, I set Highlights to –2 and Shadows to –1.
To enhance tones, I set Color to +1.
For detail without harshness, Sharpness to +2 and Clarity to +1.
And here it is — my PROVIA.
Warm, gentle, and true to my memories.
FILM SIMULATION PROVIA
MONOCHROMATIC COLOR OFF
GRAIN EFFECT WEAK, SMALL
COLOR CHROME EFFECT STRONG
COLOR CHROME FX BLUE WEAK
SMOOTH SKIN EFFECT WEAK
WHITE BALANCE AUTO/ R 5, B-5
DYNAMIC RANGE AUTO
D RANGE PRIORITY OFF
TONE CURVE H -2, S -1
COLOR +1
SHARPNESS +2
HIGH ISO NR 0
CLARITY 1
