Nostalgia

When I heard the Canadian prime minister Mark Carney say "Nostalgia is not a strategy" at Davos a few days ago (20th Jan) - and no, I wasn't actually in Davos myself 😉 - I immediately thought "that's a great quote" at the same time as mentally thinking about Fujifilm's Nostalgic Negative film simulation.

Funny how the mind works...

The whole idea of nostalgia is making a lot of money these days. Everything from film for cameras which is currently seeing a revival in sales; vinyls as Gen Z calls them (albums or LP's in my day); as well of course as a whole array of re-created retro toys and trinkets.

Harking back to "the day" - when everything was simpler.

Supposedly.

A 2023 study found that 50% of Gen Z feel nostalgic about media from previous decades specifically because it reminds them of "simpler times." As digital experiences become increasingly algorithm-driven and curated, physical objects and retro aesthetics feel more genuine.

So it's a buzz word these days and looking back to the past with some very rose-tinted glasses I would suggest.

But here - I'm not going to dish nostalgia. I'm sort of at it myself through preferring Black & White images over colour.

Which leads me back to the Fujifilm Nostalgic Negative simulation.

Although Kodak and Agfa created colour film stock back in the mid 1930's it wasn't until the 1970's that colour technology had advanced to a stage of making it more affordable. Hence boxes of old Fujichrome colour slides in my attic thanks to my father! On a side note, I do remember my father consciously deciding to continue with B&W as that meant he could process and develop all his own images in his darkroom in the attic, rather than try - what was at the time - a costly and complicated business of home processing colour images.

Fuji Nostalgic Negative is inspired by the 1970's American colour images from the likes of Joel Sternfield (American Prospects) as well as fom William Eggleston, Stephen Shore and others. Aiming to replicate the look of 1970's era prints, it produces images that when you look at them, your mind harks back to those old family albums that you probably last looked at when someone passed away. Ritchie Roesch has created a number of recipes based on Nostalgic, see here for more on his creations.

When I was crossing the Grand St Bernard pass in the Alps (Swiss / Italian border) last year, I processed some of the images to give a more nostalgic look which I shared at the time. Those apart, I seldom process with a nostalgic look, preferring to stay with B&W with some Split-Tone as well.

Now if you want to think nostalgic, this is surely it!

Until next time.

Creatively, Des