The Beauty of Velvia Film

Back in the era of film photography, you based a lot of your work and creative style around your choice of film stock, which could make a huge difference in the final look of your images. If you are interested in using film for landscape photography, be sure to check out this great video that shows what it is like shooting with one of the most famous landscape films ever, one that was the stock of choice for many shooters.

Coming to you from Steve O'Nions, this interesting video follows him as he shoots with Velvia film. If you have not shot with Velvia before, it really is an absolutely beautiful stock to work with. It is extremely vibrant and saturated and produces very rich images, which is why it was a favorite of a lot of landscape photographers. I have always preferred working with Velvia 50 because the grain is so fine that it is practically imperceptible, and its tonal range and handling of high-contrast scenes is much better than Velvia 100, making it particularly well suited to landscape scenes that demand a ton of dynamic range and color. I particularly love it for sunsets and fall leaves. Check out the video above for O'Nions' full thoughts. 

Alex Cooke's picture

Alex Cooke is a Cleveland-based portrait, events, and landscape photographer. He holds an M.S. in Applied Mathematics and a doctorate in Music Composition. He is also an avid equestrian.

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4 Comments

I always liked Velvia 50. Inspiring video!

It can't be film, it doesn't look washed out and green like the film presets

Veliva 50, Kodachrome 64 both sorely missed

And Kodachrome 25!

Velvia 50 with my Nikon F100 in Afyonkarahisar, Turkey in August 2019, daybreak. I have always received my best amature results from Velvia.