ABOUT

Cinema Natura is dedicated to the exhibition of fine art nature photography, documenting the experience of using vintage lenses, and creating cinematic presets to enhance your photography.

The best part?

You plant a tree with each preset you purchase.

Cinema Natura LLC is a Small Business Partner of the National Forest Foundation, which works directly with the US Forest Service to plant trees in the areas of greatest need within the National Forests of the USA.

To learn more, read Why Plant Trees?

The Format.

Cinema Natura is a multifaceted site that sets out to exhibit the character of vintage lenses through galleries, document the practical experience of using each vintage lens through articles, and explore the impact of color through cinematic presets for Capture One, Adobe Lightroom Classic, Adobe Lightroom, and Adobe Photoshop.

If you’re asking yourself, “Why Vintage Lenses?” then just skip on over to that link.

Galleries.

Regular galleries demonstrate the qualities of vintage lenses through photos taken in nature, as well as color characteristics of newly introduced cinematic presets.

Galleries alternate between using the lenses on the 35mm format (‘full frame’) and APS-C.

Photos are taken at parks, forests, nature preserves, gardens, and anywhere else where nature is the star of the scene.

Galleries are accompanied by a write-up of shooting conditions, scene history, lens impressions, and any other notables.

Articles.

After a vintage lens has been thoroughly tested on both formats, the experience is documented in a long-form, evergreen article.

Whereas galleries display the visual character of a lens, articles focus on what it’s like to practically use the lens as far as ergonomics and other relevant considerations for users.

Articles are updated over time to reflect the added context of other vintage lenses.

Continuing with my background in higher education, the goal for my writing is to be educational at various levels, but especially for those who are just starting out.

Photography culture can be quite pretentious, if not outright toxic. Forums and comment sections are generally full of gatekeepers who pounce at every opportunity to debase other users. I’m no psychologist, but this sort of behavior radiates a rather ‘insecure’ aura, especially when the offending users usually have little-to-no work to show for themselves.

I endeavor to make Cinema Natura a place for learning; free from gatekeepers, naysayers, and anyone else with a proverbial chip on their shoulder.

Cinematic Presets.

You can apply Cinema Natura’s styles to your own photographs by purchasing any number of the cinematic presets available in the store.

These presets are available for Adobe and Capture One. Adobe Presets and Profiles are supported in Adobe Lightroom Classic, Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Lightroom Mobile, Adobe Photoshop, and Adobe Camera Raw.

I don’t typically set out to mimic any particular film, stock, or style. Rather, I’m inspired by certain aesthetic genres and eras of film to create presets unique to Cinema Natura.

That said, the style of my processing takes inspiration from classic cinema film stocks and modern digital cinema grades that have that oft-sought-after ‘film’ look.

My color outdoor styles are largely inspired by cinema film stocks of the 1960’s through the 1990’s. I’m particularly fond of the look of Toho’s Godzilla films through the Showa and Heisei eras, which frequently contained pro-environmental themes. (All hail Mothra, Protector of the Earth and Queen of the Monsters.)

I also take inspiration from non-live-action sources, like Studio Ghibli’s animated films and the Legend of Zelda video game series, which share a fantastic way of portraying flora and light.

Other color inspirations include more recent dark fantasy films, like The Green Knight (2021), Gretel & Hansel (2020), and Kong: Skull Island (2017), as well as sci-fi cosmic horror films like Annihilation (2018) and Alien: Covenant (2017).

Finally, I can’t talk visual inspiration without including Wes Anderson. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) and Moonrise Kingdom (2012), in particular, feature beautiful depictions of nature (even if the depictions themselves aren’t exactly natural).

My monochrome styles are largely inspired by gothic classics like Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954), The Bride of Frankenstein (1935), and Metropolis (1927), as well as Tim Burton’s Ed Wood (1994) and Frankenweenie (2012).

For my studio photography, I go with a more industrial look that’s more in line with the aesthetic sensibilities of auteurs like David Fincher - or any film in a late 90’s to early oughts ‘punk’ subgenre, such as The Matrix (1999) - albeit with a softer feel that natural light provides (no fluorescents or tungstens here).

All of these influences come through in the cinematic presets developed for this site. These are perfect for creating a sophisticated, intentional look with just one click, or as a fantastic starting point that just needs some relative tweaking.

Elsewhere, presets are sold in packs in which you don’t really know what you’re getting. It’s common to see $100+ packages that might contain a half dozen presets with a couple dozen variations, in which you will probably only like one, maybe two.

Not only are Cinema Natura presets on full display in every gallery, but they are sold à la carte, which ensures that you know exactly what you’re getting for your money.

Furthermore, I intentionally price these styles to be affordable by practically anyone and everyone, no matter their walk of life.

Photography is an expensive endeavor for hobbyists and pros alike, so it’s important to me to provide a product of value.

The Logo.

The Cinema Natura ‘cineflower’ logo was influenced by a number of sources, including: Toho, Studio Ghibli, Tim Burton, and Wes Anderson.

The Site.

In many ways, the Cinema Natura site is an homage to the old internet. To a time when sites were built out of passion for a niche. To Web 2.0(ish).

As someone who values aesthetics, I refuse to pollute my site with obtrusive advertisements. I hope you appreciate this enough to support this site by buying presets, tipping via Paypal, and sharing on social media.

Ultimately, Cinema Natura is my endeavor to make a living doing what I love, and to make a positive difference in this world, our Mother Earth.

Thank you for reading.