Three new looks from our Nikon Imaging Cloud Creators

Eyes of Belga (Guillaume Lemaire)

Guillaume Lemaire, known as Eyes of Belga, is a France-based photographer, artistic director and trainer whose ‘wildstyle’ approach blends human emotion and natural landscapes in striking outdoor portraits.

 

Recipe: Cyanora

 

Nikon magazine: How would you describe your Recipe Cyanora, to someone who hasn’t seen it?

“If Cyanora were a feeling, it would be a calm kind of melancholy; a moment suspended between silence and light. If it were a scene, it would be the end of the day by the sea, when the blue of the sky blends with the blue of the water and everything slows down. Cyanora blends softness and contrast, built around blue and cyan tones with diffused light and a dreamy look. It evokes the serenity of water with a touch of melancholy and freshness, turning an ordinary scene into something quietly poetic – that calm, deep feeling I always try to capture in my portraits.”

 

What inspired your Recipe?

“Cyanora was inspired by the colour contrast that has defined my style over the years. I’ve always been drawn to water, so blue had to be the dominant tone. The name combines cyan, my favourite colour, with ora, which means ‘now’ in Italian. It’s a reminder to live fully in the moment while embracing the calmness and freshness of blue.”

 

What do you like most about your Recipe?

“I love the softness it brings to an image, the way blue tones blend with warm light to create a visual balance that feels soothing and poetic. The look has a cinematic quality, as if each photo tells a quiet, melancholic story. It’s that mix of freshness, contrast and emotion that I love most.”

 

How did you create Cyanora?

“I focused on colour harmony and emotional tone. I fine-tuned the curves and hues to balance blue, cyan and their complementary shades, aiming for both chromatic accuracy and feeling. I adjusted curves to build contrast between shadows and highlights, then refined the HSL to achieve the matches that have long defined my style. Creating a Recipe is like composing an atmosphere. Each choice of tone and contrast builds a mood. Blue and cyan have always expressed serenity and nostalgia for me, but I wanted to soften them, to make the blues feel calm rather than cold. The process is both technical and meditative, a way to express how I see colour and light. Sharing that vision through Nikon Imaging Cloud and connecting with other photographers makes the process even more rewarding.”

 

What subjects and genres suit Cyanora best?

“It’s ideal for landscapes or portraits that feature blue tones or complementary colours – anything that plays with mood, contrast and a sense of stillness.”

 

What are the benefits of using a Nikon Recipe?

“Recipes are valuable for photographers at any level. For beginners, they’re a great way to explore how colour and light shape emotion without spending hours in post-production. For more experienced creatives, they’re a tool for refining style, saving time and focusing more on composition and storytelling.”

 

Have you tried Recipes for video?

“Yes! It’s brilliant for achieving a consistent look straight out of camera, especially when you want to share footage quickly without heavy grading.”

 

Are there any other elements of Nikon Imaging Cloud you use?
“I love the wireless firmware updates on the Z6III. Plus, when I travel for portrait sessions, I really like backing up my files to the cloud to make sure they are safe, just in case a memory card fails or my gear gets stolen. It gives me real peace of mind, which I think is invaluable. I’m sure the future of this cloud system is going to be incredible.”

Marcello Zerletti

Berlin-based photographer, author, and coach Marcello Zerletti makes light and atmosphere central to his work across portrait, travel, automotive and architectural photography.

 

Recipe: Summertime

 

How would you describe your Recipe Summertime, to someone who hasn’t seen it?

“Summertime is colourful and designed to evoke a sense of nostalgia. The colours are slightly richer and more vibrant than they are in reality, where everything appears warmer and more alive. Imagine a warm summer day, not too hot, with a gentle breeze blowing. An ice cream in one hand, a camera in the other. The air smells of flowers and sunscreen. People are happy and smile back when you look at them. Everything is just beautiful.”

 

What inspired your Recipe?

“I wanted a look that would transport me back in time a little, perhaps to the 70s or 80s. That was the time of my childhood and the first photos I ever saw. I created the recipe on a summer day with blue skies and tried it out straight away. The pictures I took perfectly captured the feeling of that day, so the name just fit perfectly.”

 

What do you like most about your Recipe?

“I particularly like the blue in the sky. It shines beautifully. The warm red and yellow tones complement it perfectly. It reminds me of a wonderful time when everything felt simpler and more honest. Back then, photos were taken as they were, without spending hours editing afterwards. That’s what Recipes make possible again. You can install a look beforehand and capture the moment as you see it.”

 

How did you create Summertime?

“I started by experimenting with Picture Control and taking a few test images, but I did the fine-tuning at home in NX Studio. It’s easier to work in detail there, and the larger image view helps me shape what I imagine in my head. I take a picture and adjust it in NX Studio until it matches that vision. The thought that anyone in the world can download and use it makes me extremely proud. I’d love to see what others capture with it, and where in the world it’s being used.”

 

What subjects and genres suit Summertime best?

“It works beautifully on sunny days with blue skies, a few clouds and trees or landscapes. I can imagine it on a minimalist beach scene with a single red parasol, or in cities where sunlight hits historic buildings. It might even look great in abandoned or forgotten places, though I haven’t tried that yet.”

 

What are the benefits of using a Nikon Recipe?

“You can use or share the images straight away, without editing software. The finished image is already on your camera and can be uploaded to the cloud or sent directly from your smartphone via SnapBridge. It saves time and keeps the process enjoyable. I’ve tried other photographers’ Recipes, and in particular I love Fabio Oliveira’s cinematic Filmic look for video and the warm colours in Honey by Ian Harland, which I use from time to time.”

 

Have you tried Recipes for video?

“Yes, and that was actually my main motivation. It saves a lot of time, and the results look fantastic. It’s a huge advantage to be able to produce photos and videos in the same look without much effort.”

 

Are there any other elements of Nikon Imaging Cloud you use?

“Nikon Imaging Cloud makes my workflow much easier. Once everything’s set up and connected, it all runs automatically in the background, letting me focus on taking photos and filming. What I like best is being able to select a Recipe on my smartphone and have it installed automatically on the camera. It couldn’t be simpler.”

François Lamoureux

Filmmaker and photographer François Lamoureux, based in southwest France, brings a cinematic sensibility to weddings, commercial projects and personal work and shares creative insights via his YouTube channel ‘Explique-moi Encore’.

 

Recipe: Vibrant 2383

 

How would you describe your Recipe, Vibrant 2383, to someone who hasn’t seen it?

“Think golden light after a storm: calm, cinematic and alive. Vibrant 2383 creates a look that’s both nostalgic and vivid, a world more intense than reality but still believable. The shadows are dense, the highlights soft and the colours have a warm, filmic glow. It gives ordinary scenes a sense of story, like a frame from a movie you’d want to step into. I wanted viewers to feel that tension between light and shadow, between clarity and softness; a calm intensity that feels controlled yet emotional.”

 

What inspired your Recipe?

“Vibrant 2383 is inspired by the colour grading I use in my films and YouTube videos. My visual style is rooted in cinema. I’ve been influenced by films like Interstellar, Dune and The Batman, which balance contrast and colour in a way that’s both grounded and poetic. I wanted to capture that feeling: deep, rich tones and cinematic contrast that still feel alive and natural. I’ve always loved how analogue film interprets light. It doesn’t just record it, it shapes it. Stocks such as Kodak 2383, used in many iconic Hollywood films, have this unique mix of richness and restraint. They let emotion breathe. Translating that digitally meant finding the right curve: reproducing that cinematic roll-off in the highlights, the density in the blacks and those slightly muted yet deep colours that make skin tones timeless. The name reflects that blend, ‘2383’ comes from Kodak Vision Colour Print Film 2383, while ‘vibrant’ marks the modern twist. I didn’t want a vintage emulation, but a reinterpretation through the eyes of someone working in digital today.”

 

What do you like most about your Recipe?

“It brings coherence. Whether I’m capturing a portrait, a street scene or video, the tones connect. It unifies light and colour in a way that feels cohesive, as if everything belongs in the same universe.”

 

How did you create Vibrant 2383?

“I usually start from instinct. I know what I want to feel, then I use technical tools to get there. This Recipe began with testing contrast curves and colour hues under different lighting conditions: daylight, tungsten, mixed light. I adjusted the midtones to keep skin natural while pushing saturation in the secondary colours, then fine-tuned clarity and sharpening to achieve a subtle cinematic texture, avoiding an overly digital look. I find creating Recipes bridges photography and filmmaking – both rely on how we interpret light and colour. Developing one is like distilling my visual identity into something others can use. It’s rewarding to share a piece of that with others, directly inside their cameras. It’s like passing on a fragment of how I see the world.”

 

What subjects and genres suit Vibrant 2383 best?

“Anything that carries emotion: human stories, travel, documentary, music, even everyday moments. It enhances what’s already there without over-stylising. It feels cinematic yet true to life.”

 

What are the benefits of using a Nikon Recipe?

“For beginners, it’s a shortcut to a cinematic look that lets them focus on emotion and composition instead of post-production. For experienced users, it’s a creative foundation to build on and personalise. I’ve also tested Recipes from other Nikon Creators – it’s inspiring to see how differently others interpret colour. Some lean towards minimalism, others towards bold, expressive palettes. Even when they differ from my taste, it’s interesting to see the diversity of creative visions. I particularly love Eyes of Belga’s recipe, Cyanora.”

 

What do you think of using Recipes for video?

“I love the results. For example Vibrant 2383 gives me a filmic base straight out of camera, with deep contrast, organic roll-off and natural colour separation. It means I can focus on storytelling rather than heavy colour correction, which saves time and keeps the footage consistent.”

 

Are there any other elements of Nikon Imaging Cloud you use?

The wireless firmware updates are a game-changer – no more manual downloads! Also the cloud sync for Recipes is brilliant. It lets me test, tweak and share instantly, which is exactly how creators work today.”

 

Discover all the Nikon Imaging Cloud Recipes here.