Gran Canaria with the X100VI and Holiday Radeon
This trip to Gran Canaria wasn’t planned around photography. But like most holidays, the camera came anyway. I packed light: just my Fujifilm X100VI, a few SD cards, and the film simulation recipe I’d been testing over the past month, now named Holiday Radeon.
The inspiration? A new pair of sunglasses. I loved how the world looked through those lenses. Warm, soft, slightly nostalgic. I wanted to recreate that through the camera, and after some tweaking and trial-and-error, Holiday Radeon was the result.
I’ve shared the full recipe here:
Holiday Radeon Fujifilm Recipe
Shooting with a Fixed Lens and a Fixed Mindset
Shooting with the X100VI means embracing limitation. No zoom. No lens swapping. Just you, your feet, and the light you’ve got. That suited this trip.
I tried to avoid the usual habit of seeing something, snapping one photo, and moving on. Instead, I slowed down. Reframed. Looked again.
One example was a small ferry boat moored near our apartment. I took different compositions of it across the week. One straight-on with perfect symmetry, another from the cliffs during a coastal walk. Same boat, completely different feeling. That became a bit of a theme.
The Plane Engine Shot
Taken mid-flight through the window. The red engine glows in the sun, with my silhouette in the corner grounding the perspective. A retro feel without trying too hard.
Shadows on the Balcony
Shot using spot metering. The subject’s in deep shadow, the sky is bright and clear. You’re left asking what she’s looking at.
The Mini Grand Canyon
A tourist snapping a family photo, silhouetted against the darkness of a cave. I left in the sunscreen bottle and other background details. It feels honest. Unstaged.
Cat and the Coke Can
Clean lines, minimal colours, and two points of interest that raise more questions than answers. The red can and black cat pop out against a muted background. Very Mediterranean.
Gran Canaria Light
Gran Canaria gave me a lot to work with. Strong sunlight, hazy evenings, faded architecture, strange signage. The kind of stuff that looks best with warmth and softness baked in.
That’s where Holiday Radeon worked well. It suited the beige walkways, sun-bleached signage, and the soft blue tones of sea and sky. A great match for this kind of location.
Final Thoughts
This wasn’t a photography trip, but it turned into one. Around 70 photos made the final cut. Most were JPEGs straight out of camera using Holiday Radeon with little to no editing. That’s what I love about Fujifilm. When the recipe fits, the camera does the work for you.
Would I change anything? Maybe. I’m still learning to embrace imperfection and avoid over-editing. But this trip felt like a step in the right direction.
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