The Rewinder – A Fujifilm Film Simulation Recipe

During the middle of last year I was approached by Fujifilm Global to participate in a Film Simulation project that included creating my own film simulation recipe. 

I’ve been here before

I had been part of a Fujifilm project in 2024 that focused on creating straight-out-of-camera jpegs using the native film simulations. It turned out to be a fantastic challenge and opportunity to do what I love most – spending time creating images with film simulation recipes straight out of camera.

When I was asked again, I was ecstatic and happy to take up the challenge. Of course I accepted, especially because there was a twist.

This time around the project required me to create my own recipe for the Fujifilm X-E5 based specifically on the Classic Neg. film simulation. I then had to use that recipe to create everyday lifestyle photographs straight out of camera, write an article and create a short reel to promote it. Did I do it? You bet I did.

The recipe I created is “The Rewinder”. It was released in January 2026 as part of a collection of articles on Fujifilm’s Global website following the release of the X-T30 III.

In the article that I wrote I share insights into my creative process, details about the intended look, tips on getting the most out of using the recipe and a bunch of sample images.

Before you head over to the article, there are a few things I want to share, so please stick around to the end of this post before you dive into reading about my recipe.

Hello “The Rewinder”

Long story short – you can read the full article on Fujifilm Global’s website – “The Rewinder” is based on my nostalgic memory of the look of prints in my family’s photo albums and is suitable for most lighting conditions and genres.

Here are the settings:

Film Simulation: CLASSIC Neg.
Monochromatic Color: N/A
Grain Effect: WEAK, SMALL
Color Chrome Effect: STRONG
Color Chrome FX Blue: OFF
Smooth Skin Effect: OFF
White Balance: AUTO/ R+1, B-5
Dynamic Range: DR400
D Range Priority: OFF
Tone Curve: H+0.5, S-1.5
Color: -1
Sharpness: -2
High ISO NR: -4
Clarity: -2

What was I trying to achieve? Well, I believe that one of the super powers of film simulation recipes lies in the fact that you can dial the settings into your camera, then forget about all the technicalities and get lost in the creative process of taking photographs.

I think this recipe does that!

The project was tons of fun and very rewarding to do. The many hours of shooting in and out of town delivered a great variety of images that showcase the versatility of my recipe.

But, there are loads of Thank You’s that are owed

This would not have been possible without all the wonderful people involved and that made themselves available to me.

I’d like to take this opportunity to give a big shoutout to them.

Christina Holt

A consummate creative, whose hobbies include photography and painting.

Chloë Groening

A psychology post-graduate with a keen interest in fashion and style.

Thanks for your immaculate style, your smile and for keeping it cool on command which pulled it all together! It was a lot of fun to photograph you and I hope that we will have the opportunity to do this again soon.

David Zacheus

A craftsman and vendor at Victoria Yards’ First Sunday Market in Johannesburg.

Hats off to your spontaneity and for your openness to being part of this project at the drop of a hat. I love your style and am very grateful for showing it off with so much personality. Thank you.

Phoebe-ann Beukes

The daughter of the shop owner of “Mona Lisa”, a vintage clothing store in Clarens.

Thank you for your enthusiasm and willingness to be part of this project. Your style and the vintage store are just fab and so fitted in with what I was hoping for. I loved capturing all of it in the lovely winter light.

Marius Henning

A fellow Fujifilm photographer and enthusiastic leather craftsman.

Thanks for your time and patience, especially while I made you sit and stand here, there and everywhere around your home. I appreciate you sharing your passion for leather craft and for all the fascinating stories you managed to tell while I asked you to “smile”, “don’t smile”, “look there” or “do that again”, during our shoot.

Lovelyn Rossy | Noble African Fabrics

The shop owner of Noble African Fabrics in downtown Johannesburg.

Your smile is EVERYTHING! Thank you for giving me time and space in your fantastic store. This was the best slice of textile Africa and your willingness to let me photograph you in amongst all your beautiful and vibrant fabrics was the icing on the cake.

Stanley-Carl du-Pont

My husband and partner-in-crime.

Thank you for your patience and willingness to entertain the crazy idea of a quick weekend away during the coldest time of the year. The many kilometres you drove, waiting on me when I wanted to try “just one more shot” (even before breakfast), are my privileges. No special thanks for that.

Rebecca du-Pont

My daughter and post-graduate at Maastricht University, The Netherlands

Quite frankly, you were the inspiration to this project. Thank you for your impeccable timing! Thank you for being you, for all the time you made for me during the few precious weeks you had at home. Thanks for all the motivation, your way with words and your tireless energy and patience for me and my camera.

Spot InJozi

My dog and the best GSP-Springer Spaniel cross in town!

“Thank you’s” wouldn’t be complete without a shoutout to Mr SpotInJozi. He is always keen to tag along wherever we go. He deserves an extra round of thanks for being the easiest and most patient travel companion during that frosty time of the year, where the grass was prickly and the trees were scarce…

And there are more to thank

Special thanks to all the other awesome creative spirits that assisted in the final stretches, including selecting the feature images:

Cailin Scheepbouwer, Georgina Wilson, Hady Bayoumi, Leon Oosthuizen, Liezl van Rensburg, Neil Soden, Patricia Boucry, Rashida Mangera, Tania Robbertze and Yvonne Soden.

Your input was invaluable and so needed during and leading up to the project deadline. I am grateful to all of you.

A fantastic resource on Fujifilm’s website

My article on “The Rewinder” is part of a growing resource related to film simulations and recipes on Fujifilm’s global website. Many incredible creatives are involved in this project and I want to congratulate all of them for their fabulous work. It is very special to see my work published amongst theirs.

At the time of writing, not all articles have been published and I am not sure how many more are outstanding. I recommend you check the page regularly to make sure you don’t miss out on any of them.

I’d love to hear from you

Thanks for reading this all the way to the end.

I invite you to head over to Fujifilm’s page to read my article, then load “The Rewinder” into your Fujifilm camera and create awesome-looking JPEGs straight out of camera. If you prefer to read the article in your home language, it is also available in German, in French and in Japanese!

I would love to hear what you think of it and see how you use it. Please tag me @nathalieboucry when you share your images on social media! I can’t wait to see what you create!

NB: All images in this article were created with The Rewinder and are jpegs straight out of camera!

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