Shellharbour Beach with a Fujifilm Purple Velvia Recipe

A Fujifilm Recipe: Purple Velvia. Taken with Fujifilm X-T30ii and Fujinon XF 27mm f2.8 lens; Lightly edited in Lightroom. Location: Shellharbour South Beach, NSW Australia

Hi readers! Today, I take you to a special place I visited in June two years ago. It was while on a little NSW holiday with my best friends. We drove a couple of hours out as my friend from Canada finally visited us and we were reunited. On the last night, I walked out to catch the sunset just a few minutes from the house. The sky was a brilliant pastel pink and purple and I wish I could share the video so you can see.

For this photoshoot, I decided to delve into a Fujifilm recipe called Purple Velvia by Maxime Elhaik and it created all these beautiful photos with strong contrast and vivid purples, blues and pinks.

The three above photos were taken with these settings: 

F-stop: f2.8; Exposure time: 1/60 sec; ISO: 2000. Purple Velvia recipe on Fujifilm. For editing, I just increased Exposure in Lightroom.

I am thankful cameras these days can handle higher ISO and the noise doesn't get too much, especially for night shots. It also helps I had a steady hand that day.

(Map of Shellharbour South Beach)

This might feel out of order, this one was taken earlier in the night when the sun was just setting at around 5pm (June 2024): 

F-stop: f2.8; Exposure time: 1/125 sec; ISO: 500

I found the recipe pulled more pastel pinks with more light. I had alot of fun working with silhouettes, as the sky acted as a back light.

These were pointed towards the lake itself, with some charming boats and dinghies calmly drifting on the water. I remember standing here, taking it all in and enjoying the sight and sounds. Me and my friend decided to have an after dinner walk and it was so peaceful. 

A Fujifilm Recipe: Purple Velvia. Taken with Fujifilm X-T30ii and Fujinon XF 27mm f2.8 lens; Lightly edited in Lightroom. Location: Shellharbour South Beach, NSW Australia (June 2024)

The pelicans there were also such a joy to photograph. My favourite is the last photo in this set, with the bird perched on the street pole, silhouetted against the pink sky, and the light blooming from the street lights.

All in all, it was a very satisfying to see these colours come up on my camera screen. Normally I use my neutral recipes and then edit in Lightroom, but the purple sky inspired me to push my photography further. Below is the Recipe and Equipment I used:

PURPLE Velvia - Fujifilm Recipe Settings

Film Simulation: Velvia/Vivid

Grain Effect: Off

Color Chrome Effect: Strong

Color Chrome FX Blue: Strong

White Balance: Auto, +3(to +5) Red, 0 Blue

Dynamic Range: DR200

Highlight​: -1

Shadow: -1

Color​: -1

Sharpness​: -1

Noise Reduction​: -2

Clarity​: -1

Exp. Compensation​: 1​/3 to +1

ISO: Start at 400 up to ISO 1600

                              Equipment: Fujifilm X-T30ii and Fujinon XF 27mm f2.8 lens

I am packing up to go on holidays next week for a destination wedding. My timing couldn't be better though, I caught a mild virus and trying to combat that right now. Can't seem to catch a break as I've been sick the last few weeks, on and off. Hopefully I cam fully rest this weekend.

Hope you all have a wonderful week.

❤︎ Natalie