Old tone monochrome film recipe like images from the early days of photography

For this toned monochromatic film recipe, I’m revisiting an aesthetic I’ve explored before, but feel that with this new look, there’s a bit more to add. 

The look is based on images from around a century ago, in the silent era of film and a time of photography pioneers. Styles at this time featured no colour of course, and in print, often had brown tones from the development process. 

Brown and sepia tones are sometimes divisive, and I certainly come and go from loving them. But, I also know that for certain subjects and conditions they look great. Especially if the subject can be translated to a time period when this sort of photography was the norm.

This recipe contains three main elements to achieve the look; heavy grain, a mono colour tone shift and the maximum setting for negative clarity. Together these produce the vintage images, and where depth of field gives softness in the background, a feel similar to early tintype images where the subject can seem to jump off the page.

My tip for the use of this film recipe, is to look to capture images with some imperfections. Don’t worry about some areas being out of focus, or everything being sharp. Softness and and blur are all good company for this recipe. I have had good fun using it with macro extender rings for example, which get you in close, but distort the areas out of focus.

Silent Era Film Recipe Settings

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Silent Era Film Recipe: Sample Photos

Community Photos

Photos taken with the Silent Era film recipe by members of the Film Recipes community.

Photos by Rudhi Ritzmann Yuen

Using the Silent Era Film Recipe

Each film simulation recipe has its own character and style. These features mean recipes are more suited to certain situations, or when seeking a particular look. Here are the categories that Silent Era has been tagged with.